Golly. I wonder how my uncles (one at D-Day, another was blown off a ship and picked up in the North Atlantic 2 days later with no memory of what happened or how he lived 2 days in the NA) or my Dad (WW2, Korea, Vietnam - killed there) survived and lived productive lives.
They went through worse than the Iraq/Afghan vets - and my son in law did 2 tours in Fallujah with the USMC, so I”m not just blowing smoke.
Sorry, but PTSD is largely a scam. Not so in WW2 & Korea, but the scale of horror in Iraq & Afghanistan isn’t even close to those.
I disagree with your opinion.
PTSD is a legitimate DSM-IV diagnosis.
Apart from the psychological effects of the mental illness that can be observed, there are also physiological effects that can be measured to help indicate PTSD, such as measuring the startle reflex to loud noises, excessive perspiration, and increased breathing (Think Fight/Flight Reflex).
There are many other measures that a therapist can use to help evaluate PTSD in a veteran, such as these:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/assessments/all_measures.asp
Of concern to PTSD therapists is the fact that many nay-sayers place obstacles in the paths of veterans who need mental health treatment for PTSD.
“A recent literature review by Vogt (2011) not exclusively focused on OEF/OIF Veterans or PTSD suggests that both concerns about public stigma and personal beliefs about mental illness may be important barriers to service use. However, Vogt points out that we understand too little about treatment-related beliefs among Veterans and that developing this area could help us design interventions to promote engagement in effective treatments.”
Health Services Use in the Department of Veterans Affairs among Returning Iraq War and Afghan War Veterans with PTSD:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/v22n2.pdf