1. Is PTSD Contagious?

Background: This Mother Jones article by Mac McClelland tells us of the PTSD-stricken Vines family. Husband Caleb Vines served two tours in Iraq before returning home in 2006. He suffers from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Since his return home, his wife and daughter have started to show signs of Secondary PTSD. Wife Brannan has hyper-awareness, hyper-vigilance and many other symptoms those with PTSD have. Daughter Katie is only six-years-old, and suffers from a short temper and overacting, something she gets from her dad’s outbreaks and reactions to flashbacks. Daily life in the Vines household is quiet and solemn, and Brannan has taken it upon herself to reach out and help other families in the same situation, since there is little to no help from other sources.

Intended Use: This article will allow for an inside look at a family that suffers from Secondary PTSD. It provides a look at the Vines’ actions, daily life, and what they are doing to get help. It is one of the few articles that provide such a detailed look at a family that is stricken by Secondary PTSD, so it will be helpful in providing information that can be related to by readers.

2. Effects of PTSD on Family

Background: This article from the government’s PTSD website informs us of how PTSD affects the family of someone who suffers from it. PTSD makes a family member very hard to live with; victims suffer from a wide range of hurtful symptoms that all take a toll on the family. Outbursts, anger, and violence put wives on edge and make children scared of their father. Guilt, avoidance, and depression make wives question if their husband still loves them and if the family will ever return to normal, while children wonder why Dad doesn’t play with them anymore or why he is constantly crying.

Intended Use: This will be helpful in explaining exactly what family members of PTSD victims feel and how they may react to a loved one having PTSD. In order to understand what Secondary PTSD is and how it is caused we need to understand PTSD.

3. Relationships and PTSD

Background: This government article explains that during the first few months after returning from war, PTSD victims’ anger and detachment strain their family relationships. Sleeplessness, paranoia, and countless other symptoms interfere with their ability to re-connect with their spouses and children. The article also offers solutions to help, like a spouse offering social support to the PTSD victim and sticking in the relationship to ease depression and guilt on the victim.

Intended Use: This article will be helpful in showing how PTSD victims may feel and react when they are home from war, and how the family may react towards the victim. It will also be helpful in providing solutions for the family to overcome PTSD and Secondary PTSD.

4. Secondary PTSD in Children

Background: This article explains the signs and symptoms of Secondary PTSD in a child and how to combat it. Children are affected differently by PTSD than adults. Flashbacks cause confusion and fear, while a withdrawn and depressed parent makes children think they are doing something wrong to make their parent that way. Children may also start to seem numb and emotionless, and may try to avoid their parents. The best thing parents can do is talk to the child about what PTSD is, what it does, and how it affects the family. Shielding younger children from symptoms is also something parents can do to prevent a child from beginning to form Secondary PTSD.

Intended Use: Secondary PTSD in children is a big problem when their parents suffer from PTSD. Since children act differently and are younger than adults, their symptoms and reactions may be different. While the other articles explain Secondary PTSD in adults, this article will be helpful in explaining what symptoms to look for in children, how to prevent Secondary PTSD in children, and how to combat it if the child already suffers from it.

5. Secondary Traumatization of Wives of War Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background: This is a document on a study conducted to determine if wives of war veterans suffer from Secondary PTSD. Using 56 wives of war veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD, researchers discovered that 53 of the 56 women in the study showed a varying number of symptoms of Secondary PTSD. When asked if they had sought professional psychological help, only four of the 56 wives said they had, while 36 thought they needed professional help. The study also looked at demographics, as well as how long the wife and veteran have been in a relationship, to see if there are unique factors that make a veteran’s wife more prone to falling victim to Secondary PTSD.

Intended Use: This study will be very useful in providing facts and data to aid in my paper, and may reveal if there are specific factors in people that make them more prone to suffering from Secondary PTSD.

6. Secondary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Background: This article written by Victoria Bass breaks down what Secondary PTSD is, and what caregivers of PTSD victims go through. The family or caregiver will constantly be looking for triggers which may cause the solider to have an episode or will be constantly trying to make everything perfect for the victim so they won’t have an episode and will be happy. This creates a lot of stress to get things right and to take good care of the loved one. Also, Secondary PTSD isn’t recognized in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, a big issue since there is little to no treatment by official doctors for Secondary PTSD.

Intended Use: I intended to use this for the information that Secondary PTSD isn’t recognized in the official Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, and to show that there isn’t much being done for Secondary PTSD victims.

7. PTSD History and Overview

Background: While PTSD has been around since pretty much the beginning of time, its definition and what was thought to cause it has changed numerous times throughout the years. The American Psychiatric Association added PTSD to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980. The criteria for PTSD was later revised in 1987, 1994, 2000, and most recently 2013, and each time more symptoms and causes were added and more information was made known. In the most recent revision, PTSD was re-categorized from an Anxiety Disorder to a Trauma/Stressor-Related Disorder.

Intended Use: This article will be very useful for my comparison of PTSD and Secondary PTS in how the two are similar in their early stages of recognition by officials and the public.

8. Secondary PTSD

Background: The signs and symptoms of Secondary PTSD are very similar and just as varied as those of PTSD. A PTSD victim’s family becomes the ultimate caregiver, sacrificing most of their time and life to making sure everything is perfect and that the PTSD victim is happy and stable. It’s a one-way road as well, since the PTSD victim cannot give support back. There are a few things that a person can do at home to cope with Secondary PTSD. They can create time for themselves, taking a break from the grind of taking care of the victim. Finding someone to talk to and getting involved with various activities to get the mind off the struggle at home are very helpful things. If the problem becomes too severe, family members can go to VA Vet centers for counseling. Unfortunately, not all VA Vet centers offer counseling for spouses and family members.

Intended Use: I intend to use this article for a bit of background information on what Secondary PTSD is and how a family member catches it. The article will also be helpful for providing solutions to combat and prevent Secondary PTSD.

9. Second Hand PTSD

Background: This editorial by Jere Beery discusses the issue of women who have gone through a divorce claiming they suffer from PTSD as the result of living with a PTSD victim. Beery, who served three tours and five military campaigns in Vietnam, officially does not have PTSD, yet his wife claims she does.  Beery has asked doctors and psychiatrists about the possibility of PTSD spreading from one person to the next, and the majority response has been no. People can feel compassion and sorrow over a PTSD victim and what their trauma was, but PTSD itself is not contagious.

Intended Use: This article will be good for support that many doctors and officials don’t think PTSD is contagious nor recognize Secondary PTSD. It is also helpful in that it is an editorial, and first-hand account, of someone who is suffering from unofficial PTSD and whose wife claims she suffers from Secondary PTSD.

 10. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Management of PTSD in Adults and Children in Primary and Secondary Care

Background: A study by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health conducted a massive study on PTSD using various ages and kinds of people. PTSDis created when a person experiences an exceptionally threatening and distressing event. Symptoms include flashbacks, outbursts, quietness, and many other things. The person usually isn’t the same, depending on the severity of the PTSD. There are many things that can be used to help the PTSD victim, such as counseling, and identifying PTSD early before it completely ruins the person’s life.

Children are more prone to suffering from PTSD because of their age and innocence. Family can also play a big role in a child catching PTSD since children are very impressionable and always watch their parents’ reactions to things. Children suffer from the same symptoms of PTSD as an adult would, but they can be much worse due to the age and the child not understanding what is wrong. Early intervention is a good way of preventing the spread of PTSD in a child, as well as counseling and parents talking to their child about what is wrong and how to cope with it.

Intended Use: This study will be helpful is defining PTSD and how it may spread. It will also be helpful in identifying how children and younger people catch PTSD and what makes them more likely to suffer from it.