Why Do Some Soldiers Develop PTSD and Some Don’t?

I recently saw this question asked in a forum and I think it’s a good one. So let’s explore this…

Let’s assume we have two new recruits. They meet at boot camp. They’re from different parts of the country. They go through the same training. They both get orders for deployment. They go. One day outside the wire they experience a traumatic event (I will allow you to insert what you will to avoid triggering anyone reading this), both of them are present. Both of them see, smell, hear, feel the exact same thing. Neither has a traumatic brain injury. Neither has physical wounds. Both come home. One develops symptoms of PTSD. One does not. Why?

Before we get to answering this I want you to understand that if you are the one who has developed symptoms of PTSD you “weak”. There is not something “wrong” with you. I hear this often. Please remember there is nothing weak about having left your home, your country, your friends and family to go to an unfamiliar place that stinks, where you are dependent on others for you water, your meals, went weeks or months without bathing, where your life was at risk every moment you were there, saw and heard the things that no one should and had to do things you didn’t know you could. There is nothing weak about that. That is your brain (I’ll call it right now) lying to you.

So Why? Why Does it Happen?

There are a few different factors that play in to this…

• Your history. How were you taught to handle stress and life’s adversities from a young age? How were you taught to cope? What internal dialogue has been programmed in to you that you automatically say to yourself when something stressful, irritating, angering, seemingly impossible happens? At the age of 18- say perhaps 25 the dialogue you have in your mind when these events occur is largely due to experiences and guidance or lack thereof from your childhood. Your environment and resources growing up affects this as well. For example, someone who grew up with on ongoing source of food and has never had to fight for their next meal or go days without has a different dialogue in their head than someone who has when potentially facing a sudden food shortage or a couple of days without food when a natural disaster strikes or base is destroyed.

• Your genetics. Every person is literally wired differently. We are able to process information differently. Cope differently. We all have different chemicals in different amounts flowing through our bodies that regulate emotions and hormones. Our brains are all made differently, even if slightly. When a person experiences a traumatic event, the brain is changed. How our brain is able to handle and process this information is affected by our chemical and genetic makeup. And no two people are the exact same with the exact same chemicals and hormones and structuring of the brain.

• Your support system. When the traumatic event occurred and you were literally shaken to your core, how were you first treated by those around you? If you were assaulted and you informed someone did they believe you or tell you that due to your rank nothing would be done, that you would be the one to be moved or discharged? How did your family/friends support you? When you returned from your deployment were you greeted warmly and given the time and space you needed to process what had just occurred and how different you felt now or were you thrown into a divorce and custody battle? Did you find yourself suddenly homeless? Had you lost someone close to you and some of your support system was now missing? Every person’s experience with this is different as well. And even if a support system is in tact there are still multiple other factors that contribute to the development of the symptoms of PTSD.

If you have sensed a theme here it is every person is unique. So even though two people experience the exact same thing, those two people are very different and experience the event in a very different way. Please know there can be other contributing factors for your unique situation such as your rank, if you were physically injured (including a TBI), if you felt you had a decision going on that particular assignment or location when the event occurred, the nature of the events you witnessed and what was expected of you at that time, who you perceive is responsible for the events as well can affect your ability to heal.

The next question is can you heal if you did develop PTSD? I also get asked this. Many believe that once PTSD symptoms develop you are stuck with them forever. This is most definitely not the case. What I tell my Veterans is “I cannot erase your memory like Will Smith did in the alien movie with that pen looking thing, but we can reduce the severity of your symptoms, you will feel relief, if you are willing to put in the work and stick with this”. We actually have ways to measure how you are improving. It’s a measuring tool called a PCL5. It measures the intensity of your PTSD symptoms. We do this several times throughout treatment to see how you’re doing and if treatment is working for you.

Types of Treatment

There are several different types of treatment too, so if one doesn’t work well for you there are others to try. Don’t give up. I will cover in another article what some of the different forms of therapy are but for now I’ll just list them as CBT, PE, CPT, EMDR, etc. If you are interested please contact a therapist who is certified in them. Your U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has several therapists trained in all of these as well. I’d like to note that if for some reason you do not “click” with a therapist you can ask for a different one. You are not stuck.

Please always remember if you are struggling today and need assistance reach out to the crisis hotline number at 1-800-273-8255.

To read more about Veterans click here.

-Holly