There are a substantial amount of post traumatic stress disorder patients who are not receiving help. Sadly, this is how some of them prefer to live. The victims do not want to be bothered by being screened for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mary Susan Littlepage, author of “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is Underdiagnosed,” claims that there has been an underdiagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients (Littlepage par. 3). After a traumatic event, individuals do not like to be screened or be asked about the event. The author of “VA to Ease Rules on PTSD” described veterans as individuals who do not want to be screened. Veterans normally have battle wounds and have experienced an extremely traumatic incident in war: “Veterans who say they have PTSD would have to show they were in places where events like a roadside bombing might have happened” (“VA to Ease Rules on PTSD” par. 2). The victims want to move on with their life and never think about the traumatic event again. By doing this, the individuals can go into denial. When soldiers come back from the war, all they want to do is see their family. They are going to want to spend a generous amount of time with their loved ones because they have missed out on precious time with their family. Some soldiers will want to go back to college or travel the world. According to Littlepage, “ That's because the VA admitted “it purposefully destroyed responsive records during the pendency of CREW's FOIA request and this lawsuit.”” (Littlepage par. 10). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients want to be left alone, and they do not want to be screened. The patients want to get back to their normal lives after this traumatic event happens.
Argument: Should be screened
When one is in a traumatic event such as war or a car accident, they should have to go through a screening process to test for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mary Sykes Wylie, author of “The Limits of Talk,” insists that screening for any person who has been in a traumatic event should be required because when Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients have physical symptoms, they need to be helped. The importance of catching Post Traumatic Stress Disorder early is crucial. The earlier one is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the sooner it can be treated. Some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients may look frightening, but therapists can tell they need help. Wylie talks about how some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients look: “Their physical symptoms--paralysis, violent trembling, spasmodic movements, repetitive facial grimaces, zombie like demeanor--look exotic to our eyes because PTSD generally doesn't show up like this anymore in most clinicians' offices” (Wylie par. 2). Wylie is explaining how some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients look so people can recognize them and try to help them. Basically, Wylie is saying that anyone who has been through a traumatic experience should have to be screened to make sure they are mentally stable. The author of “VA to Ease Rules on PTSD” says that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patient’s symptoms must match the amount of of trauma they went through (“VA to Ease Rule on PTSD” par. 2). For instance, if a veteran comes home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he or she will probably be afraid of loud noises such as fireworks. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be considered a “hidden wound” because Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental disorder; no individual can actually see the disorder, but the disorder is still a wound from war (“VA to Ease Rules on PTSD” par. 4). Traumatic experience survivors should be screened at least once. If they need therapy, then the screening will help with their disorder.