{"id":25098,"date":"2018-06-04T20:10:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T20:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/04\/how-veterans-struggles-can-lead-to-post-traumatic-growth\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:30:06","slug":"how-veterans-struggles-can-lead-to-post-traumatic-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2018\/06\/04\/how-veterans-struggles-can-lead-to-post-traumatic-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"How veterans\u2019 struggles can lead to post-traumatic growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: <\/i><\/b> The following is an opinion piece. The writers are not employed by Military Times and the views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Military Times or its editorial staff.<\/i> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired Navy Capt. Charlie Plumb<\/a> spent six years as a prisoner of war<\/a> in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. In the years following his release, through his writings and talks, he shares countless valuable lessons about struggle \u2014 a topic that he knows intimately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our opinion, the most profound lesson Capt. Plumb offers the veteran and civilian communities is that suffering and struggle can lead to opportunities for growth<\/a> and freedom from fear. And while no one would consider being tortured in a prison camp for six years as a \u201cgood thing\u201d, Captain Plumb recounts his time as a captive as \u201cundoubtedly the years of my life when I grew the strongest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of repeated deployments, visible and invisible injuries, and repeated disconnection, our service members and their families are struggling \u2015 struggling to be well, to connect, to feel, to adjust and to stay together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of thousands of veterans are battling post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. Suicide in the veteran community remains at an epidemic level, 20 per day<\/a>. Many spouses feel helpless and aren\u2019t sure how to support their loved one. And children are growing up wondering why their mother or father has changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Retired Navy Capt. Charlie Plumb, here addressing a crowd at Los Angeles Air Force Base in November, spent six years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. (Tech. Sgt. Sarah Corrice\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We wonder whether traditional mental health programs offer the best solutions for our veterans and their loved ones. Trauma-focused psychotherapies and psychotropic medications may offer symptom relief, but do they address the core issues of disconnection, societal withdrawal, and living without a sense of mission and purpose? Does this traditional approach offer a \u201cfix\u201d for what troubles our veterans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January 2017 edition of JAMA Psychiatry<\/a> stated that \u201c… we have probably come about as far as we can with current dominant clinical approaches. Other strategies are urgently needed to effectively address remaining research and clinical gaps concerning the health care needs of combat veterans\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional mental health programs focus primarily on symptom reduction. In doing so, they miss the opportunity to identify and facilitate personal growth as a result of veterans\u2019 past and current struggles. Again, these are not abstract and uniformed ponderings, but rather an approach to trauma that has been studied by psychologists for the past three decades. It\u2019s called Posttraumatic Growth, or PTG for short.<\/p>\n\n\n\t