News Release
For Immediate Release
April 21, 2010
Contact: Aaron Zappia
(215) 657-7700

Senate Adopts Greenleaf Resolution Designating May as Military Service-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month 

Yesterday, the State Senate adopted Senate Resolution 312 offered by State Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf (R, Montgomery/Bucks) designating May 2010 as "Military Service-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. 

The month of May has been designated by Congress as National Military Appreciation Month to remember those who gave their lives in defense of freedom and to honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have served and are now serving this country.  

Beginning with the ravages of the Civil War, a war-related syndrome has been identified and called various names: in World War I, it was "shell shock"; in World War II, it was "battle fatigue"; and since the Vietnam Conflict in the 1960's and 1970's, the syndrome has been known as "post-traumatic stress disorder" (PTSD).  Veterans currently returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq are experiencing a high rate of PTSD.  A study published last year in the American Journal of Public Health revealed that more than one-third of returning soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq received a diagnosis of having a mental health disorder, of which nearly 22 percent were diagnosed with PTSD. 

Caused by the horrors experienced during war, PTSD has an insidious effect on the health of individuals.  PTSD causes emotional, social, physical, spiritual, and communication challenges for both the veterans suffering from the disorder and their loved ones.  Persons with PTSD have difficulty sleeping and experience all the tangential mental and physical effects of sleep deprivation, feel more irritable and are prone to unexpected or inexplicable outbursts of anger, have difficulty concentrating, expect the worst, feel that danger is lurking and are easily startled.  Families of persons who have PTSD experience more unhappiness, marital strife, anxiety and childhood and adolescent behavioral problems than families who do not cope with this disorder. 

The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs aims to advance the clinical care and social welfare of United States veterans through research, education and training on PTSD and stress-related disorders and provides educational resources for veterans and also for health care providers, researchers and the general public through its Internet website. 

"PTSD is very serious condition, affecting the quality of life for our men and women returning from duty," said Senator Greenleaf.  "We are thankful for their service and I hope that this resolution will help to raise awareness of the struggles they endure long after returning home."