EXPERTS STAY WATCHFUL FOR STRESS DISORDER IN VETERANS

Experts on post traumatic stress disorder are keeping a close eye on
returning veterans, aiming to get an early start on possible
treatments before the condition spirals out of control.

People who suffer from PTSD relive a traumatic event over and over
again. Left untreated, veterans can suffer from symptoms for decades.

According to Mike Clements, Portage County's veterans service officer,
more than 20 percent of combat veterans initially show signs of PTSD.
The condition is caused by a violent, traumatic event that is relived
through flashbacks and nightmares. Clements said he has spoken with
many combat veterans from several wars who suffer from the condition.

The Sidran Traumatic Stress Foundation, based in Baltimore, is a
non-profit organization that publishes literature on traumatic stress
and trains professionals throughout the country on how to treat the
disorder. They estimate 5 percent of Americans develop PTSD and said
women are twice as likely as men to develop it.

"Basically, what happens to a person is they go through a traumatic
event, and they're not capable to handle what they went through
emotionally," said Tracy Howard, a spokesperson with Sidran.
"Treatment helps them get in touch with the emotions related to the
event."

Kurt Euller is a psychologist with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center
in Tomah and serves as the hospital's service line manager for mental
health. "PTSD is very disruptive to people's lives," he said. "They
might react very strongly, even by falling down, to sounds or sights
that remind them of their combat experience," he said.

Euller said sufferers tend to be very emotionally withdrawn. "They are
so loaded with emotions inside in reaction to the trauma, they don't
have any capacity to react on the inside with what's going on around
them," he said.

Soldiers in combat often don't have time to process their traumatic
experiences, Euller said. "In combat, things are happening so fast,
situations that we would normally grieve about or talk out, they
can't," he said. "The unresolved finished business tends to
accumulate."

Euller said soldiers often turn to substance abuse to help them cope
with PTSD. Soldiers from Vietnam, Korea and World War II tended to get
addicted to marijuana and alcohol. Younger veterans returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, tend to reach for methamphetamines,
cocaine or heroine.

He said the VA in Tomah has treated about half a dozen veterans of
Iraq and Afghanistan in residential care programs.

"You have to realize that post traumatic stress disorder may be one of
several disorders that veterans may suffer from," Clements said. Other
common problems include adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.
He said that full-time soldiers are given pre-screening questionnaires
before they leave Iraq or Afghanistan by the Department of Defense.
National Guardsmen are given classes on PTSD and are encouraged to
contact the VA or their county's veteran's service officer. "They do
not have to live with this alone," Clements said. "There is a support
system out there for them."

Experts say the disorder is very treatable and curable if caught
early. "It's much better to deal with trauma soon after they occur,
because the habits that people use to compensate for PTSD tend to be
bad habits that get cemented over a period of time," Euller said.

He said that veterans can be helped to have a more successful life in
almost every case, although many will have to deal with the disorder
for the rest of their lives.

"I've interviewed many World War II veterans whose memories are as
vivid now as they were 55 or 60 years ago," Euller said.