When you hear the term “Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome” (PTSD), most likely you envision a tough, masculine, rifle-toting soldier who has been exposed to so much devastation and loss that his besieged psyche is struggling desperately to cope with the damaging things he has seen, heard, and experienced. But your spontaneous vision has ignored one significant aspect of PTSD: the number of female veterans who have been exposed to the same dangerous and destructive elements of war.

It may seem foreign to us to imagine our fabulous American females exposed to loss of life, limb, and liberty. But, in reality, they are facing all of the ugly facets of war, and they are fighting to maintain their emotional health—just as their male counterparts are.

Recently, several organizations have opened their eyes to the serious problems female soldiers are facing. And these organizations admit that PTSD in female soldiers is even more destructive than it is in male veterans? Why? Because medical issues in female veterans translate into serious upset for their children, especially if the veteran is a single mother.

In 2009, over 11,000 female veterans were diagnosed nationally with PTSD. Four to 10 percent of those are estimated to be homeless. Many of those homeless are mothers. And the sad consequence of these statistics is that the Veterans Administration is having an increasingly difficult time providing homeless services for these veteran families.

In the last 30 years, the number of females joining the military has doubled. Twenty percent of our new recruits are now female. Even though that number demonstrates a substantial increase, you can expect those numbers to double again over the next 10 years.

Telemedicine, specifically real-time video therapy, may be an ideal, safe, and convenient way to reach female veterans with PTSD and get them the help they deserve.

Nesta Aharoni

Access to Therapy Network

www.AccessToTherapy.com

Andrew Pogany was once labeled a coward. The military charged him with “cowardly conduct as a result of fear” because he experienced vomiting and hallucinations after exposure to a graphic and deadly war scene. But was his reaction cowardly, a normal response to an abnormal situation, or something else? The answer to that question is imperative because, in the military, a charge of cowardly conduct can be considered a crime punishable by death.

After Pogany was charged, he started the long process of clearing his name, even though he was not yet sure what was wrong with him. During that demanding process, Pogany suffered despair and revealed that “Life in itself became combat for me.” In the end, his “cowardice” was determined to be a bad reaction to an anti-malarial drug, but the totality of the protracted experience changed the direction of his life forever.

Pogany is well aware of how easy it is for soldiers to receive discharges that would preclude them from receiving medical benefits. And he is determined to make sure that other military members receive the benefits they deserve. He has encountered too many compatriots who are struggling with symptoms of PTSD and thoughts of suicide, too many warriors who are estranged from family and friends because they are preoccupied with feelings of anger and sadness. Pogany has dedicated his life and his energy to help other struggling soldiers. He feels strongly that “Those of us who have come home and survived this war … we have an obligation to help those who come home and struggle.”

By the time of this writing, Pogany has helped hundreds of soldiers receive the medical treatment and benefits owed them for brain injuries and PTSD. He has turned his personal anger into community action, and the process has been restorative and invigorating. Andrew Pogany is a symbol of courage because he faced his challenge head on and didn’t give up until he got the results he needed. Hundreds of soldiers have benefitted from one man’s fortitude and resolve. Hat’s off to Andrew Pogany for his devoted advocacy for vulnerable soldiers!

Nesta Aharoni

Access to Therapy Network

www.AccessToTherapy.com

Here comes another study. This one is out of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. It really opened my eyes and eased my aching back. So many of us sit glued to a chair—ergonomic or not—in front of a computer screen all day, and, as a result, a number of us experience aches and pains in our low backs, upper backs, shoulders, arms, hands, wrists, necks, and more.

The study out of England offers hope and comfort to all of us who struggle to get out of bed in the morning and out of a chair in the afternoon. The study concludes that we no longer have to be trapped in a vicious cycle of chronic pain. We can free ourselves comfortably, noninvasively, and inexpensively by participating in cognitive behavioral therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is talk therapy that teaches us how to reframe the negative thoughts we focus on with regard to our back pain. It teaches us to change our thinking about our discomfort—and our behavior—because our thoughts and behavior will determine how our condition progresses. For example, you may be avoiding movements or activities that you believe are pain inducing because you believe that pain equals damage. Consequently, you may be restricting your movements and your activities in order to avoid pain. But the opposite thought—the idea of movement and activity—might, in fact, be more healing for you. By increasing activity levels, you may be able to relieve some of your stiffness and soreness.

The message is that we should not let our back pain limit our choices. With cognitive behavioral therapy we can learn to think new thoughts and engage in new behaviors that will liberate us from a cycle of throbbing, aching, jolting pain—morning, noon, and night. Cognitive therapy via real-time video interaction with a professional may be an ideal, safe, and convenient solution to your chronic back pain.

Nesta Aharoni

Access to Therapy Network

www.AccessToTherapy.com

When I heard about the death of 41-year-old Andrew Koenig, the talented actor who appeared as Richard “Boner” Stabone on the 1880s sitcom Growing Pains, I had to stop and wonder: Could he have been helped? Was his tragic suicide, in fact, preventable? Andrew Koenig was in severe pain. He suffered from depression and was undergoing treatment for it. But about a year before his suicide, he decided to take himself off of his medication and handle the depression on his own.

Help comes in many forms: family members, close friends, and caring professionals. And it also is available on computer screens. For a sufferer who doesn’t have the will or the means to pick himself up and travel to someone else’s home or office, real-time video therapy may be an ideal, safe, and convenient solution.