Educate Others And Raise Awareness About Ptsd
A major roadblock to the treatment and rehabilitation of veterans with PTSD is a lack of understanding regarding the disorder itself. Families and friends of veterans can help their loved ones by educating them, clarifying what PTSD is and what the possible symptoms are.
PTSD does not only afflict veterans who have faced combat or military action during their time in service. It can be the result of any trauma experienced by the veteran, regardless of whether it had a violent component or not. Veterans may struggle with trauma incurred during their time in the military for several months or even years after theyve completed their service.
In some cases, people experience chronic trauma that continues or repeats for months or years at a time. The current PTSD diagnosis often does not fully capture the severe psychological harm that occurs with prolonged, repeated trauma, according to an article from the VAs National Center for PTSD. People who experience chronic trauma often report additional symptoms alongside formal PTSD symptoms, such as changes in their self-concept and the way they adapt to stressful events.
Military Sexual Trauma And Ptsd
Military Sexual Trauma can be the cause of PTSD. While in the military, many veterans were subjected to rape, hazing, groping, or other inappropriate sexual behavior. Many scandals have broke over the last few years showing that the armed forces did very little to prevent sexual crimes and often ignored them. Many victims of MST never got the treatment they deserved after their horrifying event.
Veterans Affairs Disability Ratingsfor Mental
Once the VA is satisfied that a Veterans mental-health condition is service-connected, it will review the Veterans medical records, statements, and any VA examinations to rate the severity of the condition. A Veterans mental-health disorder can be rated as 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, or 100 percent disabling. The rating assigned depends on the severity, frequency, and duration of your mental-health symptoms, as well as the overall effect of your disorder on your ability to function normally in work and social settings.
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A Message From Lsc’s Board Chair John G Levi
On Veterans Day, we honor those who honored our country with their service and sacrifice. They have earned our enduring respect and gratitude, and, when they need it, they should get help obtaining the benefits and assistance they are entitled to and so richly deserve.
A department of Veterans Affairs survey of homeless vets earlier this year found that four of these 40,000 veterans top ten unmet needs were legal– assistance with child support issues, drivers license restoration, outstanding warrants and fines, and evictions and foreclosures.
LSC and its 132 grantees in every state across the country assist the nations 1.7 million vets eligible for LSC-funded services with these and many other civil legal issues.
Among our initiatives: launching in 2010 StatesideLegal.org, the first national website focused on helping veterans and military families providing on-site legal help at veterans centers establishing medical-legal partnerships with veterans health centers operating legal hotlines for veterans taking part in Stand Down events for homeless veterans organizing pro bono assistance and other outreach and advocacy programs.
LSC and its grantees stand with our veterans every day, and on this day, join all Americans in saluting their service.
Variety Of Legal Issues
Stateside Legal provides a range of services across the country including self-help, discharge upgrades or military record changes, health, housing, education, employment debt, family, criminal concerns, and resources that are specific to women and LGBTQ+ community. They serve Veterans, service members, people with military experience and their families.
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Eligibility For Ptsd Va Disability Benefits
Veterans who wish to receive PTSD VA disability benefits must be eligible by the rules and regulations of the Veterans Administration. Veterans must have served active-duty and must not have a dishonorable discharge. The Veterans Administration also requires veterans to have mental or physical impairments that are service-related for VA benefits.
Contact Our Veterans Disability Lawyers Today
Complex VA regulations make it difficult and time-consuming for veterans to navigate the claims process. Its well known that the claims processing time is lengthy, and any mistakes can make it even longer before you receive your benefits.
Count on the attorneys at Joye Law Firm to compassionately and respectful provide the assistance you need to receive the benefits you deserve. Call Joye Law Firm or fill out our online case evaluation form to schedule a free case review.
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Find Healthy Ways To Socialize And Collaborate With Veterans
There are many ways that friends and family can help veterans suffering from PTSD heal by socializing and collaborating with them.
When moving to a new base or post, the military helps military personnel and families adjust. This structure is often not automatically in place when someone separates from the military. The veteran and their family may have to find new ways to join or create a social community, according to a help sheet from the VAs Mental Health Services department.
As veterans adjust to civilian life, friends and family can help by finding and participating in activities with their loved one. This can include helping veterans in their pursuit of a new hobby or activity or introducing veterans to new social or peer groups.
PTSD is a challenging disorder that can impair the quality of life for many veterans. But with these tools and resources, both veterans and their loved ones can find ways to address PTSD and help former service members live healthy and fulfilling lives.
Va Disability Benefits And Discharge Upgrades
VetLex is a dedicated web-based network of coordinated pro bono legal service providers. It connects Veterans to someone who can help with a legal issue. Most legal work focuses on discharge upgrades and VA disability benefits, but VetLex has some services for other legal needs in select locations. To use this resource, youll be asked to enter information about your legal situation, then VetLex will connect you to a volunteer attorney in your area.
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The Veterans Law Project Helps Low
We focus our advocacy on cases that can have a serious impact on a veterans ability to find work, secure housing and establish economic stability.
The Va Disability Claims Process
To file a claim for VA benefits, you must establish a relationship between your PTSD and a traumatic experience that occurred during the course of your service.
In the past, a veteran-claimants testimony alone was not sufficient to establish the relationship between a stressor and PTSD. This is no longer the case.
Before, you had to document events such as firefights or bomb explosions that caused your PTSD. Now, you need to show only that the occurrence of the stressor is consistent with the circumstances of your service. For example, if the stressor is related to your combat service, as long as there is no strong evidence that the stressor didnt occur, your testimony should hold up.
You may still need a medical opinion from a psychologist or psychiatrist employed by or contracted with the VA saying that the stressor is adequate to support a diagnosis of PTSD.
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What Are The Causes And Symptoms Of Ptsd
It takes an incredibly substantial chain of events to trigger PTSD in a veteran, starting with heredity, biology, and an exposure to trauma either in a single episode, or in the aggregate starting in childhood and moving outward. A person does not have to directly go to war to obtain PTSD, because everyone who comes back from combat is not exactly the same.
Symptoms of PTSD include, but are not likely limited to the following:
- Intrusive memories: Distressing and recurrent dreams that occur while awake, most typically with severe emotional or physical reactions.
- Flashbacks: Reliving the events of a past occurrence.
- Avoidance: Typically refers to avoiding people, places and events that can potentially trigger memories, or refusing to talk about any prior traumatic events.
- Depression: Poor feelings, or a general sense of emotional numbness, which is coupled with a lack of interest in themselves or others, hopelessness in terms of the future, and potentially also suicidal thoughts.
- Memory problems: General holes in the memory relating to a traumatic event, can be either short or long term.
- Loss of emotional control: Highs and lows emotionally, self-sabotage, and general physical anxiety symptoms.
Hear From Veterans We’ve Helped
MEET CHET
Having the ability to go talk to a fellow veteran that will be able to represent me and has been where Ive been has literally walked the streets in Iraq that I walked and now is able to convey the message that I need to convey, on my behalf, is critical.
Meet “Smiley”
John Berry and Perry…they have been a life saver for me…wherever I have been, they have always protected me.
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder And Veterans Benefits
The transition from military life back to civilian life isnt always easy. It is particularly difficult when a service member has been through a traumatic event such as combat, a terrorist attack or a physical assault.
While its normal for stress-related reactions to trauma to persist for a while, when symptoms dont go away or get worse and they end up disrupting your life, you might have post-traumatic stress disorder .
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is the third most common service-connected disability among veterans who are receiving disability benefits. Claims for VA disability compensation for PTSD began to rise dramatically with the start of the global war on terror. Nearly 600,000 veterans now receive PTSD disability.
The VA eased the requirements for receiving PTSD disability in 2010. However, some of the very effects of PTSD lack of focus, confusion, an inability to complete tasks commonly lead to missed deadlines and inaccuracies which in turn contribute to claim denials and appeals.
The South Carolina veterans disability attorneys at Joye Law Firm want to help you secure the benefits you deserve for your military service. Our team, which includes an attorney who is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a disability representative, is prepared to deal with the frustrations of the claims process so that you can focus on making a full recovery.
Call Joye Law Firm or contact us online today for a free case review.
Serving Veterans For Over 50 Years
We are proud to have helped thousands of Veterans in their fight for increased disability benefits. In the past decade, we helped Veterans recover over $170 million in backpay awards in addition to their regular monthly payments. We represent Veterans in all 50 states and Veterans living abroad.
Why Bring Us Into the Fight? Watch Now:
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How Hnb Helps Veterans With Disabilities
If youre not getting what you should from the VA, these are some of the steps HNB takes to fix it:
- Advising you on getting medical treatment you need
- Finding doctors who understand how to fill out the VAs Disability Benefits Questionnaire
- Ordering a medical review of your case file
- Appealing for a higher disability rating from the VA
- Appealing denied claims
We can take your appeal to the highest level needed:
- Your VA Regional Office
- The Board of Veterans Appeals
- US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Free Legal Services For Veterans Service Members
Having legal challenges can get in the way of living the life you want to live. It can interfere with transitioning from the military, getting that next job or housing, as well as benefits and services you are eligible to access. Ignoring legal difficulties tends to make them worse however, there are free and low-cost resources available to service members and Veterans that can make legal concerns less burdensome.
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Ptsd Plagues Millions Every Year In The United States
Post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly known as PTSD is a horrific epidemic that sweeps into thousands of veterans lives, those of which, have already paid their debt by serving to protect our country. Marcari, Russotto, Spencer and Balaban understand how terrible this can really be, and we treat our veterans like family members. If you ever have a problem claiming your disability benefits for PTSD, our team of accredited attorneys will fight for you, working to obtain the best possible outcome.
How Is Ptsd Treated
The treatment with the best proven results consists of two components:
Therapy An individual can go through one-on-one talk therapy sessions or counseling in group settings.
Medication The principal drugs prescribed for the condition are SSRI such as Prozac and Zoloft.
PTSD can impact your relationships, work, education and enjoyment of daily life. But it is more than a mental condition. PTSD affects you biologically as well. It can change the way you process memories and respond to fear. It can cause heightened sensitivity of the startle reflex and increase sleep abnormalities. Neurobiological changes may also occur in your hormones.
Additionally, PTSD commonly causes headaches, gastrointestinal complaints, immune system problems, dizziness, chest pain and discomfort throughout the body. Without a PTSD diagnosis, the underlying cause of these illnesses will go unaddressed.
Veterans may seek PTSD treatment through the VA Medical Center or a mental health professional in private practice.
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Learn To Become An Effective Advocate For Us Military Veterans With Pli Programs On Benefits Discharges And More
United States military veterans are eligible for a variety of medical, housing, and financial benefits, but the system can be complex and difficult to navigate. Of the more than 18 million veterans in the country, many are unaware of the full benefits to which theyre entitled from the Department of Veterans Affairs and often, those most in need of help are not receiving assistance.
This Veterans Day, learn how providing effective pro bono legal representation can be a meaningful, impactful way to give back to those who have served.
I encourage pro bono work with veteran clients because the opportunity to give back to those who sacrificed and served our country is personally rewarding, says Deepa Arora, Pro Bono Manager and Staff Attorney with the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares, which serves thousands of homeless, low-income, and at-risk veterans in the Bay Area.
She adds: Navigating the laws and administrative processes involved in representing veterans can be a very intellectually challenging, and fun, experience. Most importantly, pro bono attorneys will have the opportunity to observe the tangible impact their work can have on the health and well-being of veteran clients.
Learn How to Help
Demand is great for these benefits: Nearly 113,000 new disability claims have been submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs since the PACT Acts passage, according to the Military Times.
Additional PLI resources of interest include:
Find A Criminal Law Attorney
This article includes only a very general discussion it is critical to obtain the services of a local attorney who has experience with criminal law, and ideally, who has previously worked with veterans and with individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. To locate an attorney to help you defend yourself against criminal charges, use our attorney database.
If you’ve already bee convicted, read Nolo’s article on help for veterans with PTSD who’ve been convicted of a crime.
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Our Firm Can Help Veterans With Ptsd Get The Rating They Deserve
Suffering from shock after a traumatic event is a normal reaction. When that stress doesnt subside over time, then a person might be experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Veterans experience PTSD in higher numbers than the regular population due to their experiences while in service.
If you are having flashbacks, avoiding situations or people you believe will trigger negative feelings or thoughts, or suffering from other PTSD symptoms, you should reach out for the benefits our country has created to help you.
If you need assistance filing a claim for your Veterans Benefits contact us. Were happy to help regardless of where you are in the claims process. If your claim has been denied, then we will assist you through the processes of disputing that denial and ensure you get the benefits you deserve.
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- Negative Thoughts and Feelings
- Hypersensitivity
If you find yourself reliving a situation or event over and over, then you might be suffering from PTSD.
If youre having vivid nightmares where you can see, hear, smell, and feel the specific details of a traumatic event, then you might be experiencing PTSD.
If you have been avoiding certain situations, friends you served with, crowds, or other experiences that may trigger a flashback or relapse, then you are probably experiencing PTSD.
Seek Help And Treatment From The Va And Other Military Resources
While friends and family can be helpful to veterans with PTSD, there are more advanced services and treatment options offered by the VA and other military organizations to help former service members facing this condition.
The VA offers extensive inpatient and outpatient treatment services across the U.S. These services can range from initial evaluations of potential PTSD and suggested treatment options to specialized health services, including substance abuse treatment, anger management treatment and programs for female veterans. The VA also offers various forms of therapy to veterans, including family therapy, in which friends and loved ones can participate. On the organizations website, the VA offers both a directory and a map that shows where PTSD resources are available by state.
There are additional resources like Outward Bound, an organization that provides wilderness courses and programs to build leadership and confidence among participants, which offers a specialized program for veterans. The Mission Continues is another organization that provides veterans leadership and advocacy opportunities in their local communities, helping give former service members a sense of purpose and aiding them in the transition to civilian life.
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