Another way to look at it is that perhaps are truly bona fide cases. Actual physical evidence, real operational incidents that conform nicely and pretty much ensured diagnosis. When that is not really in place, then we do run the risk of either a false diagnosis or a promoted diagnosis.
I do think that real brain damage must be present and if undetectable with brain imaging Why Not?
After all we are talking about seriously shocked individuals here whose brains have not healed back to normalcy. And this diagnosis is just too convenient as a catch all for any mental disorder as well. After all they all allow opiodes and some make it easier than others.
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Why I’m Skeptical Of PTSD Claims… And Why You Should Be Too
Originally published by The Havok Journal in June of 2015 and updated after a recent article in The Guardian.
http://havokjournal.com/culture/why-im-skeptical-of-ptsd-claims-and-why-you-should-be-too/
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I know I’m going to catch hell from my brothers and sisters in the
veteran community on this one, but it needs to be said: I’m becoming
skeptical of some PTSD claims, and you should be too.
Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder is to this generation of veterans what “back
pain” was to mine; both are real conditions with real victims, but the
symptoms are so common and so easily faked that anyone can claim they have the condition, and no one can prove that they don’t.
PTSD has become a “get out of jail free” card, or at least a “feel
sorry for me and excuse my behavior card,” a very powerful one with no
expiration date. This has become increasingly — and distressingly — true
in the veteran community.
Don’t believe me? Read any news story about a veteran who gets in
trouble with the law, either military or civilian, and I guarantee that
in at least ¾ cases (and nearly 100% of felony cases) either the
individual charged or one of the lawyers involved will explicitly or
implicitly claim “the PSTD made me do it.” These days, in the veteran
community no offense is too big, or too small, to use PTSD as an
excuse. Examples:
Plagiarized your War College thesis? PTSD! Like to get drunk and pick fights with civilian women? PTSD! Murdered a police officer? PTSD! Drug smuggling, kidnapping, spousal abuse, sexual assault? PTSD! Made some really, really bad life choices? PTSD! Want to get paid, get attention, or get sympathy? PTSD, PTSD, PTSD!!!
Additionally, PTSD has become sort of a “third rail” within the
veteran community, to the point that few people are willing to write
objectively about it. Even fewer major publications are willing to run
articles the slightest bit critical of anyone who has, or who claims to
have PTSD. Well, that’s not how we roll here. Sometimes the truth
hurts, but that doesn’t make it any less true. So if you don’t
appreciate Real Talk, then do us both a favor and stop reading Havok
Journal.
How easy is it to get a PTSD diagnosis? The short answer is, “too
easy.” Here’s a personal anecdote: I was once referred to a civilian,
off-post doctor to seek relief for my sleep apnea. The discussion was
going well until he found out I’m a veteran, at which time he wanted to
put me on all kinds of drugs for PTSD. I had to talk him out of it by
categorically refusing to go on PTSD meds in the first place. As
confirmed by 2nd and 3rd opinions as well as my objective self-evaluation, I don’t have PTSD; I have sleep apnea.
Whether my sleep apnea is pre-existing, age-related, or service-related, I don’t know. But I do know
that if I went with the PTSD diagnosis, I would have joined a long line
of people who were misdiagnosed with the condition. I would have been
on a cocktail of behavior-modifying, mood-altering, and
thought-inhibiting drugs. I felt that I also would have been at risk to
lose access to my firearms or perhaps even my security clearance
(although I later found out PTSD is not necessarily a disqualifier for a clearance). And most importantly, I never would have gotten help with my real, underlying health condition.
I respect doctors and almost always heed medical advice or believe
professional diagnoses. If a doctor looks at an X-ray and tells me my
leg is broken, I believe him. If a doctor does an MRI and says she
thinks I have cancer, I take it seriously. But telling me I have PTSD
simply because I’m a veteran is the kind of voodoo, kneejerk
misdiagnosis that clogs the medical system and does a disservice to the
veteran community.
The evidence of over-diagnosis of PTSD in the veteran community is
not just anecdotal, nor is it unique to the US military. In a January
2016 article posted by The Guardian,
a leading newspaper in Great Britain, the former head of the UK’s
veterans’ mental health program opined that 42% of PTSD claims were for
issues unrelated to military service, and that at least 10% of claims
were either grossly exaggerated or were based on total fabrications. If
true, those are some pretty damning figures.
Of course, the “PTSD for profit” problem is not confined to the veteran community. The easily-offended, everyone-is-a-victim, “trigger-warning” culture of America has its share of sketchy PTSD claims
as well. But within the veteran community, it has becoming
increasingly acute. For a small, but growing segment of veterans, fueled
by perverse incentives including VA payouts, sympathy, and attention, a
PTSD claim is a badge of honor, whether earned or not. And for many
outside of our community, PTSD is now not only accepted, but expected.
The attitude almost seems to be, “if you went to war and didn’t come
back with PTSD, did you even deploy at all?” That’s not a healthy
perception for the American people, or for vets themselves, to have of
the veteran community.
Before I wrap this article up, I want to make a couple of things
clear. First of all, I whole-heartedly agree that PTSD is a real
condition that genuinely affects many people, including several of my
personal friends. People should continue to get help for their
conditions, and if a diagnosis of PTSD is confirmed (by multiple
doctors!), then they should follow the treatment regimen accordingly.
But the problem of misdiagnosis and false PTSD claims has become so
widespread that it is seeming more and more like “everyone” has it. And
if everyone has it, then no one has it, and that’s really, really bad
for those few who genuinely suffer from the disorder. That pisses me
off, and it should piss you off as well.
So yeah, I’m skeptical when I hear people, especially veterans, trot
out claims of PTSD to explain away their criminal actions, boorish
behavior, or poor life decisions. Bogus, weak, or misdiagnosed PTSD cases are overloading the system at a time that it should have been laser focused on those with real problems.
And that should concern all of us.
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