By Ms. Letao Wang | IMCRA Outreach Manager
GETTING HELP TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST
On November 24th IMCRA representatives met with Congressman Jim Himes of CT to coordinate congressional and senate support for extending expert medical counseling to veterans and their families via the IMCRA handheld app for PTSD and TBI. Further action on this is anticipated toward the middle of this month.
It is clear that the psychological damage which follows exposure to life-threatening events also has a biological basis in the brain and central nervous system which can worsen if left untreated. Clinical PTSD currently affects about 7.7 million American adults. Untreated and often unrecognized, the impact on an individual’s personal and professional life is profound. Persons with PTSD become emotionally numb, lose interest in things they used to enjoy, may be easy to startle or easily become irritable, tend to be aggressive, and may have trouble falling and staying asleep.
Although many persons with PTSD after a crisis event will see their symptoms lessen over time, (especially with basic support like seeing a doctor, reconnecting with loved ones or learning about programs to help victims) the majority do not recover. At present, such people are left to their own devices to seek professional help. Often they are reluctant to do so. Occasionally a family member will step in to urge some form of therapeutic intervention. However, in the majority of cases, due to the stigma of mental illness, apathy, denial, ignorance, and medical provider unfamiliarity with post-traumatic pathologies, the condition will go unremediated for months if not years.
With the promise of some level of congressional help, IMCRA is launching a coordinated response to those left behind by deficiencies in the current VA system and local medical systems and their ability to reach servicemen and women who have been psychologically impacted by violence. IMCRA's Community Cyberspace system makes expert and interactive medical and counseling advice available to both regional physicians and well as patients and their families using a free-of-charge, completely anonymous electronic channel accessible via smartphones using the android or i-phone systems.
Although we have already mapped out and designed the details of this system expansion, even minor contributions will enable us to get it operational by year's end. Please help us make this a reality for the thousands who are just not getting the help they need. Even small donations add up quickly!
Links:
By Dr. Thomas G. Hedberg | Executive Director, IMCRA
By Dr. Thomas Hedberg / Dr. Elliot Noma | Executive Director / Systems Manager
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