Community Cyberspace: PTSD/TBI Care For Veterans

Dear Friends,

For some time this project has focused on providing support and counseling to veterans and other Americans overwhelmed by the violence and evil that has characterized so much of recent world history.  From the barbaric obscenities of ISIS to the mind-numbing mass-murders of innocent civilians in the the US and elsewhere, good people have seen little reassuring about human civilization in the 21st Century. 

Domestically, while our program is and must remain apolitical, it would be inaccurate and unfair to ignore the fact that the socio-political climate in this country is a critical determinant of the mental health of its citizens.  In 2017 media permeates American life at all levels making the impact of sociopolitical realities unavoidable.  An article which appreared in Forbes Magazine last November perhaps says it best:

"...this exceedingly bizarre election and its reporting have made one thing very clear: many people are not happy.  Now, for a sizable portion of our country, add depressed and scared.  Nearly everything, ranging from the campaigns to debates, to the chatter on results, would not reflect well if America were a patient lying in a chair in a psychiatrist's office. Finger-pointing. Scapegoating. Blaming. Anguish. Talk of moving to Canada. Multiple personalities, polarization, hatred..."

For those already overwhelmed and depressed by their own personal experiences, the current of intolerance, belligerence and polarization now dividing the country achieves nothing so much as an acute exacerbation of underlying pathologies.  Psychological assessments made over the last decade have shown all mental health indicators pointing in the wrong direction.  The incidence of emergent psychopathologies has parallelled the rise of antidepressant use as well as of anxiety and the medications needed to control it. The same applies to other mental health issues such as the epidemic of loneliness, the continuing rise of PTSD and not surprisingly, obesity and alchoholism.  Many Americans just are not well, and those who have experienced horrors first-hand are the most at risk.

For those now suffering from PTSD at some level, this re-emergence of hatred, intolerence, xenophobia and racial discord as prominent and acceptable domestic news items has been perceived in two ways: First, as a release for the darker impulses engendered by the disorder; Second, as a cause for hopelessness for those whose experiences with violence, anger and misery have already scarred them sufficiently for a lifetime.

Within the past two months, IMCRA has begun a new initiative intended to expand its outreach efforts to those most at risk via an email campaign designed to be both attractive as well as therapeutic. The "attractive" element of the campaign has been developed in consultation with veterans as well as with social psychologists who have noted a rejection of efforts that seem either too predictable and strident, or conversely, too "goody-goody liberal".  It is an important reality that having such insight and expertise in this new and emerging manifestation of social psychopathology is essential to our ability to make progress.

Since this modification of our extant program is new, in addition to your support we are interested in receiving any suggestions or insights you may have into combatting this important and growing problem.

Sincerely,

The IMCRA Team

Links:

• Psychological Review of Sociopolitical Pathologies
• Sociopolitical PTSD
• Sociopolitical Anxiety and Depression