And of course, unlike 2004, once again it will not be cool to have been a Vietnam vet.

I just hope, but not very optimistically, that the public is smarter than that.

Gary

Exactly! You know, that’s a BIG deal to me, and I’ve said so many times. It’s like they say, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We know McCain has the fortitude to withstand the extreme pressures in the job. Not to flog a dead horse, but that’s one thing that I always thought about with Romney. The whole charmed life thing. If you’ve come face to face with your own mortality or overcome another extreme traumatic life event, you get a certain inner strength, confidence, serenity. There’s nothing incongruent about having that inner strength combined with a legendary sharp tongue.

I don’t think McCain’s got PTSD–he’s had a successful post-war life. He’s just like that, just like millions of other people. He may be a pill sometimes, but I don’t think it’s an indication of weakness or “issues.” Besides, weren’t we all cheering John Bolton because he’s hardcore and sometimes almost too blunt, too?

I never, ever read Mr. King…except for his interesting book on how to write.

He has said at one time or another that heart disease in middle age will turn out to be related to early PTSD.

There’s a mnemonic for quickly assessing chronic PTSD: S.N.A.P.

S is the universal marker for the various kinds of this disorder. It stands for “startle” — People with PTSD have an extremely exaggerated startle response. NEVER scare them or touch them unexpectedly: they jump. I mean, sky high. And it takes a long time to calm down.

N is for numbing. People with chronic PTSD learned a long time ago to numb out, or dissociate. It’s the primary escape from uncomfortable situations and they’re often not aware that they’re not “there” because it’s so habitual a defense.

A can be for anger, or reactive aggression that is more than would be called for. Easily aggravated because one’s “shell’ is so brittle.

P is for persisting. Emotional base lines that normal people return to quickly are much slower for the PTSD sufferer. That’s why emotional crises do them more physical harm. The HPA axis is the endocrine system seems to get set on a feedback loop. Sometimes sleeping for awhile (when possible) helps things return to normal…or at least what is normal for those with PTSD.

Generally speaking, they have higher heart rates and the rate is much slower to return to base rate after exercising.

Needless to say, there are many more signs and symptoms in the constellation than these four. But they are the easiest to check when diagnosing someone.

Today, I heard about a little boy who was found alive after a tornado in which his mother died. I’m sure he’ll be taken good care of, but no one will think to have his PTSD treated.

Best book on childhood (and later) PTSD for us lay folk: “Too Scared to Cry” by Lenore Terr, MD. She does an interesting profile of Stephen King and the etiology of *his* PTSD and how his ongoing attempts to resolve it are scattered through his creative work.

I wonder if population has contributed to modern societies pushing away those who have lived the hard life. In older days there was hardly anyone who wasn’t effected in some way by war. Nowadays the warriors constitute a much smaller percentage of the population… much easier to shunt away, and hence to label them ‘different’.