Veterans Affairs

When we opened up this new blog, there were a few posts from our old blog that we made sure to hold onto — our series on PTSD and the VA and this post on the impact of the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. We hope you’ll take the time to read it again, in respect to the Marines and their families exposed to the sometimes fatal water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

2014 marked the centenary of the beginning of World War I. This year, in many parts of the world, commemorative events will be held, marking the 100th anniversary of the start of what was referred to at the time as the Great War. In the history of psychiatry, the First World War is often identified with the first time in history that military Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was officially recognized, then known as “shellshock.” [1] “Shellshock” would undergo a long metamorphosis to emerge in 1980 as “PTSD”. The VA process for service connection for PTSD has travelled a long and often uncertain road. Let’s take a look at how you should present your case to the VA. Part I Part II Part III

Mankind’s earliest literature tells us that a significant proportion of military casualties are psychological, and that witnessing death can leave chronic psychological symptoms, known today as service-connected Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Part I Part II Part III

As early as 440 B.C., the first case of chronic mental symptoms caused by sudden fright in the battlefield is reported. Found in the account of the Battle of Marathon by Herodotus, it involves a brave man suddenly stricken blind after witnessing the death of the man at his side. [1] In modern warfare, the mental toll of the aftermath of war has had many labels, ranging from World War I (“shell shock”); World War II and Korea (“combat fatigue” or “war neurosis”); to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan [(post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)]. Part I Part II Part III