Free Republic

Former Sen. Max Cleland, who has battled bouts of depression since losing an arm and both legs in Vietnam, is being treated for post- traumatic stress disorder. Cleland, who represented Georgia in the Senate from 1997 to 2003, said he believes the condition _ cases of which are increasing rapidly among Vietnam war veterans _ was in part triggered by the ongoing violence in Iraq. "I realize my symptoms are avoidance, not wanting to connect with anything dealing with the (Iraq) war, tremendous sadness over the casualties that are taken, a real identification with that. ... I've tried to disconnect...

Paramedics are at an increased risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress, but not enough is known about how best to help them cope, an emergency medical services conference heard Friday. The first phase of a three-year study into the stress of first-responders was presented at the Emergency Medical Services Chiefs of Canada conference in Dartmouth, N.S., on Friday. The study is looking at prevention and management of post-traumatic stress disorder. While post-traumatic stress affects seven to eight per cent of the general population, it's up to three times more likely among paramedics, lead researcher Vince Savoia said. The Tema Conter...

CHICAGO - A look at the medical records of Civil War soldiers suggests post-traumatic stress disorder existed back then, too, according to a study. The researchers found that veterans who saw more death in battle had higher rates of postwar illness. Younger soldiers, including boys as young as 9, were more likely than older ones to suffer mental and physical problems after the war. "Increased war trauma leads to increased physical and mental illness," said study co-author Roxane Cohen Silver of the University of California at Irvine. "That message can be applied to wars around the globe." The findings, published...