News Changing Ptsd To Ptsi?

[BloomInWinter]

I just found an interesting site about the movement to try to change the terminology from "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" to "Post-Traumatic Stress Injury."

Some reasons given:

• Less stigma
• Less likely to be perceived as 'pre-existing'
• Less fear from the uneducated

Thoughts?

Dead Link Removed

 

[anthony]

I give it the same weight as myself saying such a thing, which means nothing in the scheme of mental health doctrine. To be perfectly honest, I give it little credence and doubt a physician or two is really going to have any change on this, as mental health is mental health, regardless how you try and wrap it, the end explanation is mental illness, PTSD or PTSI, still mental illness and still a mental disorder.

Their arguments comparing this to Nigro > Black > African American is not even close to the same in context. It is not offensive to call a persons skin colour black, the same as it isn't to call it white. That is the colour of the skin. The colour is not African American, it is black / white / tanned / olive, etc.

Nor are the numbers equally diverse with the backing of those not affected either. People are not as ignorant to prejudice as they are to mental illness.

 

[anthony]

Added: I even rate this with less possibility than that of CPTSD, and I couldn't disagree with the APA's stance on that one; and that just got knocked down and covered under a sub-type of PTSD... and I think we can all acknowledge that CPTSD became pretty huge and well known, with real scope for inclusion as its own diagnosis either as CPTSD or DESNOS, neither of which prevailed.

Do you imagine the cost to the mental health and insurance industry in changing one letter to appease a large minority? Every form and piece of paper that contained the acronym would need to be binned and reprinted.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Never underestimate the power of US Bureaucratic red tape! ;P

 

[anthony]

The problem is, is that the website in question is only thinking about the US, when in fact the DSM is published by the US APA, but is a global publication. Just like the ICD is published by the WHO, though is global.

They would need to convince a majority of 50,000+ psychiatrists globally for such a change.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

S.....M.....H.....!!

No matter what you call it, we'll STILL have a "disorder"! Changing a letter isn't going to make stigma go away. Instead of fighting against stigma by spending money on public awareness, we spend money on changing a letter! No matter which way you re-slice it, re-dice it, we'll ALWAYS have a mental illness. There is no getting around that.

 

[Girl3]

I have to say though - these changing of names of things has been going on since medicine was invented. Things I learned in medical school in the 80's are called something entirely different now.

I don't care what letters they use, as long as they eventually fix my brain.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Me too Girl3, me too.

 

[PTSD sufferer]

I kind of like it...it is nice that people acknowledge the potential for stigma around PTSD. Awareness alone is a nice thing. I see what they are getting at. 'Injury' has to do with external factors causing the illness, rather than 'Disorder' which implies internal factors, such as genetics and some such. That is being born with it vs being given it from the environment. It is still a mental illness because it remains in the DSM, just like PTS is short term anxiety and depression, but still needs the care of professional mental health agents.

I am also aware of a movement to include an extension of the PTSD category to include 'prolonged stress and distress disorder' into the DSM to ensure that those with life long and extended trauma experiences are not ignored, simply because of the time limits on a trauma happening vs symptomatology. I like that too.

So, I guess I can see the point these groups are trying to make.

 

[heidi]

Well I like it. But I see Scaredoflonely's point.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Well why don't we change all mental illnesses then? PTSD isn't the only one that is spurned by external forces, although it is the only one that must be caused by something external.

Maybe I'm waay off on this, but I get a feeling of superiority. Oh, WE don't have a mental illness like those schizophrenics and bipolars and what not, as ours was caused by trauma so don't dare roll us into the same category as THEM!

Flip that... If its only an injury, are we going to be expected to heal faster? And when we don't, are we gonna get a hard time for it? Oh it's not a disorder or illness anymore, it's only an injury so you should be healed by now!

This isn't directed at anyone... It's more of my frustrations with society in general wanting to sugar coat everything rather than just plain admit that certain things in life just all around suck.

 

[anthony]

Whilst people mention this external factor, that isn't entirely true in regards to PTSD, hence this push for injury is not entirely accurate by definition for external factors.

A trauma is required to meet the diagnostic criterion for PTSD, however; PTSD symptoms are part of hereditary mental illnesses, such as anxiety, mood disorders, depression and such. Trying to narrow these down to only being external is near impossible.

If you bite your nails, and have done so since a kid, then that is an early sign of hereditary anxiety. That means you have a biological aspect of PTSD within you prior to an external traumatic event taking place.

It would be impossible for the psychiatric community to go that route to "injury" until such time that they had actually empirically ruled out genetics in obtaining PTSD. Right now, that is not the case.

Those framing the argument to change disorder into injury, are only looking at what they want to view in order to back their argument, they aren't writing their argument or letters to include what the psychiatric community already knows, being there is to some degree possible genetics at play in PTSD to answer why some get it, some do not, when faced with the exact same traumatic event.

If genetics, cognitive and behavioural factors where not present in PTSD, then every single person when faced with a traumatic event would have the same signs and symptoms, which is not the case.

The website in question is framing one side of the story to suit their needs, not both sides, which provides the counter to their argument... which means it would stay as is until empirical data is present to outline exactly what PTSD is.

Post Traumatic Stress as a term already adequately frames a normal reaction to an external event, no question about it. The disorder is only added for those who don't recover in a timely fashion from it, thus identifying a deeper, personal, genetic, cognitive, behavioural and individualistic problem is preventing it, regardless of the external event itself.