PTSD Strikes Again?

The news that the massacre at Ft Hood was conducted by a psychiatrist prompted the New York Times to ask whether those who treat victims of post-traumatic stress disorder can develop it themselves.  The answer seems to be yes, in the form of "secondary post-traumatic stress disorder."

I also wonder about collective PTSD.  Can an entire community acquire a higher background level of PTSD, like a kind of low-grade radiation?  Can a whole country get a kind of "tertiary"  PTSD?

See also former Senator Max Cleland's description of how for soldiers memories of war never go away.

PTSD Strikes Again

CALIFORNIA BRIEFING, Los Angeles Times
November 4, 2008

SANTA BARBARA
Gunman arrested after standoff on 101 Freeway

A masked gunman who was waving an American flag on a 101 Freeway overpass in Santa Barbara was taken into police custody Monday after an hours-long standoff that shut down the freeway in both directions and caused a rush-hour traffic snarl, officials said.

Edward Van Tassel, a 28-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq, first surrendered his handgun to police, officials said. As part of the negotiation, Van Tassel asked authorities for a Barack Obama sign, which he posted on a chain-link fence on the overpass along with the flag he was holding, said Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte of the Santa Barbara Police Department.

No shots were fired. The revolver Van Tassel was holding was not loaded, Duarte said. He was arrested by SWAT officers about 11 a.m. without incident.

Van Tassel was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges including resisting or delaying arrest and wearing a mask while committing a crime.

Aaron Jacob Levy, 33, also was arrested for driving Van Tassel to the overpass and participating in the incident. Van Tassel is also believed to have been involved in an incident Friday in which a masked man with a weapon was found at a radio station.

Van Tassel served in the Army from 2003 to 2005, said Sgt. Jim Pfleging of the Santa Barbara Police Department. Officials said Van Tassel appeared to be shouting statements against the war and making comments about veterans' benefits during the standoff.

The freeway -- which had been closed from State Street on the southbound side and from Las Positas Road on the northbound side, causing gridlock throughout the area -- was reopened shortly after the incident ended.

-- Victoria Kim

Soldier Mental Health

As newspapers continue to describe some urban neighborhoods as war-zones, here's some news from the Iraq war-zone. A new report, as described by Peter Spiegel in the Los Angeles Times, has found that soldiers are more likely to suffer from mental health problems in their third and fourth tours of duty. "27.2% of noncommissioned officers - the sergeants responsible for leading troops in combat - reported mental health problems during their third or fourth tours. That was up from 18.5% of those on their second tour and 11.9% of those on their first tour." These are self-reported numbers.

Soliders also have increasing trouble concentrating on their work. "Most strikingly, soldiers reporting they intended to separate from or divorce their spouses shot up over the courses of the 15-month tours, with 30% of all junior enlistees saying they planned to break off personal relationships at the end of their deployment. Only 10% reported similar feelings at the start of their tours."