Marines and Navy Join Forces Against PTSD

June 18--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was put in the limelight during an awareness campaign held aboard Camp Lejeune last week.

"The issue with PTSD is that so many Marines and sailors are not diagnosed or seeking treatment," said Jim Askins, the department head of health promotions. "Marine Corps public health estimates that 10 to 30-percent are undiagnosed from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The awareness campaign, held on Friday at the Marine Corps Exchange aboard Camp Lejeune, brought together the Health Promotion and Wellness department from the Naval Hospital and the Marine Corps Community Services resiliency education department to de-stigmatize and raise awareness about a disorder that affects many service members. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after you have gone through an extreme emotional trauma that involved the threat of injury or death.

"We did this event because we want Marines and sailors to know about their options and where they can seek help," Askins said. "Awareness leads individuals to recognize if they do have issues. It shows them we're here to help.

Leaders, family members, peers and individuals should be proactive in identifying service members who display warning signs of PTSD, Askins said. Some of the warning signs of PTSD include reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind the person of an event, feeling numb and hyper-arousal.

"Be aggressive to give assistance and intervene when you need to," Askins said. "Get them to the right people so they can get the right help."

Many Marines and sailors are afraid to ask for help, said Loida Householder, the prevention and education promotion specialist for the resiliency education branch.

"If they're afraid, many resources are anonymous," Householder said. "It's a good thing because they can pour their hearts out and they can not be afraid to show how they really feel."

The collaboration between the Navy and Marine Corps is important because it allows them to reach out to all personnel aboard the base, Householder said.

"There are so many resources available to the people on this base," Householder said. "We try our best to put all the resources out there that they can use and encourage them to use them. We want all Marines and sailors to have a happy and healthy life and career."

Contact Daily News Military Reporter Thomas Brennan at 910-219-8453 or thomas.brennan@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ thomasjbrennan.

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