QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
Could biological unhappiness be a throw back from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars era ?? Also, could a veteran of these wars apply for compensation with the Veterans Administration ?? (Post Traumatic Syndrome)
ANSWER:
By definition post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires a life threatening
situation (or similar experience) including combat. The stresses and pain involved can
cause PTSD. Interestingly studies in the 1980's showed that every Vietnam veteran who had
PTSD had the BPD also, likely before going to Vietnam. In other words those with the BPD
prior to military action had the condition so badly worsened by combat that their lives
became a nightmare subsequently.
I'm not sure what the current VA rules are on the topic. I had a patient in Lake
Worth who was successful at getting disability from this exact situation, but it was a
very, very difficult fight.