NORFOLK – Mental health specialists are reporting that more women are coming back from this war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than any other war.
Women make up 14% of the US military, but the roles they fill are now much closer to the front lines than in past wars.
“The sheer fact that women are in more risk position, it increases that risk,” said Dr. David Spiegel, an associate professor and psychiatrist with Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Spiegel says the number of women coming back from war with PTSD was 2% during the Gulf War, and now it's up to 13% of women. That's compared to 15% of men.
The doctor says the triggers are same for both sexes.
“Loud sounds will make them hit the deck. Helicopters sounds like that will make them feel like it's happening again.”
The way women show the stress; however, is much different from men.
“Men have a much higher risk of substance abuse to cope with PTSD, alcohol or illicit substances. “Women on the other hand have a higher risk of binging and purging, over spending, over exercise, and addiction to prescription drugs.
Dr. Spiegel says to be especially empathetic to female warriors especially if they're returning mothers. The guilt of being away can be much more suffocating than for the men.
One reason that makes women so tough to treat is that 1/3 of the women who are military have been abused as a child. Many of them join the military for the sense of structure it offers.
