Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 5. Source pages: 7.
Representative Hoffman offered a House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 16) to recognize June 2017 as Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Month.
His resolution urged the Louisiana Department of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase efforts to educate survivors of abuse, crime, and natural disaster; service members; veterans and their families; and the general public about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of post-traumatic stress injury.
He noted that “the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who proudly serve this great nation risk their lives to protect our freedom and that combat stress has historically been viewed incorrectly as a mental illness caused by a pre-existing flaw of character or ability, and the word "disorder" carries a stigma that perpetuates this misconception.
In the resolution, Hoffman also wrote that post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) can occur as a result of severely traumatic events including, without limitation, sexual assault, child abuse, high-impact collisions and crashes, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and military combat; and PTSI is a common injury to the brain that is treatable and repairable.
He noted that referring to the complications from post-traumatic stress as a disorder perpetuates the stigma of and bias against mental illness, and this stigma can discourage the injured from seeking proper and timely medical treatment.
Destigmatizing PTSI and honoring the bravery of persons recovering from this injury can favorably influence those affected and encourage them to seek help without fear of retribution or shame; and proper and timely treatment can improve health outcomes and diminish rates of suicide among people with PTSI, he wrote.
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