Signs and symptoms
Combat stress reaction symptoms align with the symptoms also found inFatigue-related symptoms
The most common stress reactions include: *The slowing of reaction time *Slowness of thought *Difficulty prioritizing tasks *Difficulty initiating routine tasks *Preoccupation with minor issues and familiar tasks *Indecision and lack of concentration *Loss of initiative with fatigue *ExhaustionAutonomic nervous system – Autonomic arousal
*Battle casualty rates
The ratio of stress casualties to battle casualties varies with the intensity of the fighting. With intense fighting, it can be as high as 1:1. In low-level conflicts, it can drop to 1:10 (or less). Modern warfare embodies the principles of continuous operations with an expectation of higher combat stress casualties.. The World War II European Army rate of stress casualties of 1 in 10 (101:1,000) troops per annum is skewed downward from both its norm and peak by data by low rates during the last years of the war.''Military Psychiatry'' Ed. Gabriel, R.A., (1986)Diagnosis
The following PIE principles were in place for the "not yet diagnosed nervous" (NYDN) cases: * Proximity – treat the casualties close to the front and within sound of the fighting. * Immediacy – treat them without delay and not wait until the wounded were all dealt with. * Expectancy – ensure that everyone had the expectation of their return to the front after a rest and replenishment. United States medical officer Thomas W. Salmon is often quoted as the originator of these PIE principles. However, his real strength came from going to Europe and learning from the Allies and then instituting the lessons. By the end of the war, Salmon had set up a complete system of units and procedures that was then the "world's best practice". After the war, he maintained his efforts in educating society and the military. He was awarded theBetween the wars
The British government produced a ''Report of the War Office Committee of Inquiry into "Shell-Shock"'', which was published in 1922. Recommendations from this included: Part of the concern was that many British veterans were receiving pensions and had long-term disabilities. By 1939, some 120,000 British ex-servicemen had received final awards for primary psychiatric disability or were still drawing pensions – about 15% of all pensioned disabilities – and another 44,000 or so were getting pensions for 'soldier's heart' orWorld War II
American
At the outbreak of World War II, most in the United States military had forgotten the treatment lessons of World War I. Screening of applicants was initially rigorous, but experience eventually showed it to lack great predictive power. The US entered the war in December 1941. Only in November 1943 was aBritish
Unlike the Americans, the British leaders firmly held the lessons of World War I. It was estimated that aerial bombardment would kill up to 35,000 a day, but the Blitz killed only 40,000 in total. The expected torrent of civilian mental breakdown did not occur. The Government turned to World War I doctors for advice on those who did have problems. The PIE principles were generally used. However, in the British Army, since most of the World War I doctors were too old for the job, young, analytically trained psychiatrists were employed. Army doctors "appeared to have no conception of breakdown in war and its treatment, though many of them had served in the 1914–1918 war." The first Middle East Force psychiatric hospital was set up in 1942. WithCanadian
The Canadian Army recognized combat stress reaction as "Battle Exhaustion" during the Second World War and classified it as a separate type of combat wound. Historian Terry Copp has written extensively on the subject. In Normandy, "The infantry units engaged in the battle also experienced a rapid rise in the number of battle exhaustion cases with several hundred men evacuated due to the stress of combat. Regimental Medical Officers were learning that neither elaborate selection methods nor extensive training could prevent a considerable number of combat soldiers from breaking down."Germans
In his history of the pre-Nazi Freikorps paramilitary organizations, ''Vanguard of Nazism'', historian Robert G. L. Waite describes some of the emotional effects of World War I on German troops, and refers to a phrase he attributes to Göring: men who could not become "de-brutalized". In an interview, Dr Rudolf Brickenstein stated that: However, as World War II progressed there was a profound rise in stress casualties from 1% of hospitalizations in 1935 to 6% in 1942. Another German psychiatrist reported after the war that during the last two years, about a third of all hospitalizations at Ensen were due to war neurosis. It is probable that there was both less of a true problem and less perception of a problem.''Contemporary Studies in Combat Psychiatry'', (1987)Finns
The Finnish attitudes to "war neurosis" were especially tough. Psychiatrist Harry Federley, who was the head of the Military Medicine, considered shell shock as a sign of weak character and lack of moral fibre. His treatment for war neurosis was simple: the patients were to be bullied and harassed until they returned to front line service. Earlier, during the Winter War, several Finnish machine gun operators on the Karelian Isthmus theatre became mentally unstable after repelling several unsuccessful Soviet human wave assaults on fortified Finnish positions.Post-World War II developments
Simplicity was added to the PIE principles by the Israelis: in their view, treatment should be brief, supportive, and could be provided by those without sophisticated training.Peacekeeping stresses
Pathophysiology
SNS activation
Many of the symptoms initially experienced by people with CSR are effects of an extended activation of the human body's fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight response involves a generalGeneral adaptation syndrome
The process whereby the human body responds to extended stress is known as general adaptation syndrome (GAS). After the initial fight-or-flight response, the body becomes more resistant to stress in an attempt to dampen the sympathetic nervous response and return to homeostasis. During this period of resistance, physical and mental symptoms of CSR may be drastically reduced as the body attempts to cope with the stress. Long combat involvement, however, may keep the body from homeostasis and thereby deplete its resources and render it unable to normally function, sending it into the third stage of GAS: exhaustion. Sympathetic nervous activation remains in the exhaustion phase and reactions to stress are markedly sensitized as fight-or-flight symptoms return. If the body remains in a state of stress, then such more severe symptoms of CSR as cardiovascular and digestive involvement may present themselves. Extended exhaustion can permanently damage the body.Treatment
7 Rs
The British Army treated Operational Stress Reaction according to the 7 R's: *Recognition – identify that the individual has an Operational Stress Reaction *Respite – provide a short period of relief from the front line *Rest – allow rest and recovery *Recall – give the individual the chance to recall and discuss the experiences that have led to the reaction *Reassurance – inform them that their reaction is normal and they will recover *Rehabilitation – improve the physical and mental health of the patient until they no longer show symptoms *Return – allow the soldier to return to their unitBICEPS
Modern front-line combat stress treatment techniques are designed to mimic the historically used PIE techniques with some modification. BICEPS is the current treatment route employed by the U.S. military and stresses differential treatment by the severity of CSR symptoms present in the service member. BICEPS is employed as a means to treat CSR symptoms and return soldiers quickly to combat. The following subsections on the BICEPS program are adapted from the USMC combat stress handbook:Brevity
Critical Event Debriefing should take 2 to 3 hours. Initial rest and replenishment at medical CSC (Combat Stress Control) facilities should last no more than 3 or 4 days. Those requiring further treatment are moved to the next level of care. Since many require no further treatment, military commanders expect their service members to return to duty rapidly.Immediacy
CSC should be done as soon as possible when operations permit. Intervention is provided as soon as symptoms appear.Centrality/Contact
Service members requiring observation or care beyond the unit level are evacuated to facilities in close proximity to, but separate from the medical or surgical patients at the BAS, surgical support company in a central location (Marines) or forward support/division support or area support medical companies (Army) nearest the service members' unit. It is best to send service members who cannot continue their mission and require more extensive respite to a central facility other than a hospital, unless no other alternative is possible. The service member must be encouraged to continue to think of themselves as a war fighter, rather than a patient or a sick person. The chain of command remains directly involved in the service member's recovery and return to duty. The CSC team coordinates with the unit's leaders to learn whether the over-stressed individual was a good performer prior to the combat stress reaction, or whether they were always a marginal or problem performer whom the team would rather see replaced than returned. Whenever possible, representatives of the unit, or messages from the unit, tell the casualty that they are needed and wanted back. The CSC team coordinates with the unit leaders, through unit medical personnel or chaplains, any special advice on how to assure quick reintegration when the service member returns to their unit.Expectancy
The individual is explicitly told that he is reacting normally to extreme stress and is expected to recover and return to full duty in a few hours or days. A military leader is extremely effective in this area of treatment. Of all the things said to a service member experiencing combat stress, the words of his small-unit leader have the greatest impact due to the positive bonding process that occurs during combat. Simple statements from the small-unit leader to the service member that he is reacting normally to combat stress and is expected back soon have positive impact. Small-unit leaders should tell service members that their comrades need and expect them to return. When they do return, the unit treats them as every other service member and expects them to perform well. Service members experiencing and recovering from combat stress disorder are no more likely to become overloaded again than are those who have not yet been overloaded. In fact, they are less likely to become overloaded than inexperienced replacements.Proximity
In mobile war requiring rapid and frequent movement, treatment of many combat stress cases takes place at various battalion or regimental headquarters or logistical units, on light duty, rather than in medical units, whenever possible. This is a key factor and another area where the small-unit leader helps in the treatment. CSC and follow-up care for combat stress casualties are held as close as possible to and maintain close association with the member's unit, and are an integral part of the entire healing process. A visit from a member of the individual's unit during restoration is effective in keeping a bond with the organization. A service member experiencing combat stress reaction is having a crisis, and there are two basic elements to that crisis working in opposite directions. On the one hand, the service member is driven by a strong desire to seek safety and to get out of an intolerable environment. On the other hand, the service member does not want to let their comrades down. They want to return to their unit. If a service member starts to lose contact with their unit when he enters treatment, the impulse to get out of the war and return to safety takes over. They feel that they've failed their comrades who have already rejected them as unworthy. The potential is for the service member to become more and more emotionally invested in keeping their symptoms so they can stay in a safe environment. Much of this is done outside the service member's conscious awareness, but the result is the same. The more out of touch the service member is with their unit, the less likely they will recover. They are more likely to develop a chronic psychiatric illness and get evacuated from the war.Simplicity
Treatment is kept simple. CSC is not therapy. Psychotherapy is not done. The goal is to rapidly restore the service member's coping skills so that he functions and returns to duty again. Sleep, food, water, hygiene, encouragement, work details, and confidence-restoring talk are often all that is needed to restore a service member to full operational readiness. This can be done in units in reserve positions, logistical units or at medical companies. Every effort is made to reinforce service members' identity. They are required to wear their uniforms and to keep their helmets, equipment, chemical protective gear, and flak jackets with them. When possible, they are allowed to keep their weapons after the weapons have been cleared. They may serve on guard duty or as members of a standby quick reaction force.Predeployment preparation
Screening
Historically, screening programs that have attempted to preclude soldiers exhibiting personality traits thought to predispose them to CSR have been a total failure. Part of this failure stems from the inability to base CSR morbidity on one or two personality traits. Full psychological work-ups are expensive and inconclusive, while pen and paper tests are ineffective and easily faked. In addition, studies conducted following WWII screening programs showed that psychological disorders present during military training did not accurately predict stress disorders during combat.Cohesion
While it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of such a subjective term, soldiers who reported in a WWII study that they had a "higher than average" sense of camaraderie and pride in their unit were more likely to report themselves ready for combat and less likely to develop CSR or other stress disorders. Soldiers with a "lower than average" sense of cohesion with their unit were more susceptible to stress illness.Training
Stress exposure training or SET is a common component of most modern military training. There are three steps to an effective stress exposure program. *Providing knowledge of the stress environment Soldiers with a knowledge of both the emotional and physical signs and symptoms of CSR are much less likely to have a critical event that reduces them below fighting capability. Instrumental information, such as breathing exercises that can reduce stress and suggestions not to look at the faces of enemy dead, is also effective at reducing the chance of a breakdown. *Skills acquisition Cognitive control strategies can be taught to soldiers to help them recognize stressful and situationally detrimental thoughts and repress those thoughts in combat situations. Such skills have been shown to reduce anxiety and improve task performance. *Confidence building through application and practice Soldiers who feel confident in their own abilities and those of their squad are far less likely to develop combat stress reaction. Training in stressful conditions that mimic those of an actual combat situation builds confidence in the abilities of themselves and the squad. As this training can actually induce some of the stress symptoms it seeks to prevent, stress levels should be increased incrementally as to allow the soldiers time to adapt.Prognosis
Figures from theControversy
There is significant controversy with the PIE and BICEPS principles. Throughout a number of wars, but notably during the Vietnam War, there has been a conflict among doctors about sending distressed soldiers back to combat. During the Vietnam War this reached a peak with much discussion about the ethics of this process. Proponents of the PIE and BICEPS principles argue that it leads to a reduction of long-term disability but opponents argue that combat stress reactions lead to long-term problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The use of psychiatric drugs to treat people with CSR has also attracted criticism, as some military psychiatrists have come to question the efficacy of such drugs on the long-term health of veterans. Concerns have been expressed as to the effect of pharmaceutical treatment on an already elevated substance abuse rate among former people with CSR. Recent research has caused an increasing number of scientists to believe that there may be a physical (i.e., neurocerebral damage) rather than psychological basis for blast trauma. As traumatic brain injury and combat stress reaction have very different causes yet result in similar neurologic symptoms, researchers emphasize the need for greater diagnostic care.See also
* Acute stress disorder * Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (modern treatment) *References
Further reading
* * * * * *External links