Military Families - Symptoms

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Research has shown that wives of deployed soldiers suffer from depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health issues more often than military wives whose husbands don’t deploy. A challenging part of depression is recognizing a spouse of a soldier is suffering. It is sometimes mistaken for a case of the blues triggered when a spouse leaves for an extended period of time, such as with a tour of duty or another life-altering event.  Soldiers returning from a tour of duty can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the following are symptoms of PTSD

Physical Symptoms:

  • Recurrent nightmares of events
  • Extreme physical reactivity- racing pulse, sweating, intense fear
  • Poor concentration
  • Trouble sleeping

Emotional Symptoms:

  • Irritability and restlessness
  • Anger and frustration
  • A sense of a foreshortened future

Psychosocial Symptoms:

  • Feeling detached and estranged from others
  • Hyper vigilance- scanning environment for danger
  • Persistent avoidance of talking about events