New research sheds light on the lingering effects that post-traumatic stress (PTS) can have on veterans long after they have returned home from deployment. A study of 1,007 Dutch soldiers has found that PTS symptoms among Afghanistan veterans spiked in the six months immediately after their return and resurfaced with greater severity five years later.<\/p>\n
While PTS symptoms increased the most during the first six months after the service members returned home, they tended to subside after a year. However, researchers were most surprised by the prominence of PTS and severity of symptoms five years after the veterans\u2019 return.<\/p>\n
One possible explanation they offered for\u00a0PTS\u00a0re-emerging\u00a0after a long time was that many service members rely on the support of a military group in the early stages to cope with traumatic events. However, such bonding with former peers tends to decrease with time, leading to a delayed stress reaction.<\/p>\n
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New research sheds light on the lingering effects that post-traumatic stress (PTS) can have on veterans long after they have returned home from deployment. A study of 1,007 Dutch soldiers has found that PTS symptoms among Afghanistan veterans spiked in…<\/span><\/p>\n