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Mary Catherine Perryman Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 September 24, 2013 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Effects on Survivors What comes to find when you hear the word Holocaust, concentration camps, abuse, starvation and World War II? The Holocaust can be described as a brutal catastrophe, mass murder, and genocide put together by the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler to eliminate Jews throughout Germany and Germany-occupied territories. When thinking about the Holocaust, most of the time, people try to imagine what the concentration camps were like and the effects they had on the individuals while they were in the camps. For the survivors, how did Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affect each individual and what were they forced to live with for the rest of their lives? PTSD, other psychological effects and a comparison of PTSD during the Holocaust and during different wars help to give a better understanding of what the Holocaust survivors are going through. Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is a common psychological disorder that can be developed after a terrifying ordeal that may involve physical harm or the threat of physical harm ("NIMH-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)"). PTSD was first brought to the public attention when soldiers returned home from war. The amygdala is a part of the brain that has a role of affecting emotion, learning, and memory. The symptoms of PTSD are grouped into 3 categories known as re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyper-arousal. Flashbacks, bad dreams and frightening thoughts are a part of re-experiencing symptoms. Staying away from
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certain areas, feeling emotionally numb, guilt, depression, worry, and having trouble remembering the traumatic event are all examples of some of the symptoms that the Holocaust survivors witnessed. The hyper-arousal symptoms are known as being easily startled, feeling on edge or tense, difficulty sleeping, and having sudden outbursts ("NIMH-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)"). Approximately 500,000 survivors remain from the Holocaust and in 2011 the estimate of 127,000 survivors were alive in the United States. Most survivors of the different concentration camps had common symptoms such as numbness, death imprint, survivors guilt and the search for the meaning (Douillard). Death imprint is the idea of death itself, all forms of torture, and gruesome images of death. Survivors guilt is known to be a mental condition that occurs when people perceive themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not. The search for meaning refers to the survivors trying to comprehend the meaning behind the traumatic events. Sonia Reich was a Jewish Survivor of the UkrainianRussian area after spending over 5 years fleeing from the Nazis. Sonias parents were killed so she was force to survive alone as a child. Sonia Reich is a Holocaust survivor that resides in Arizona. In 2001 Ms. Reich fled from her home in Arizona claiming that someone was trying to kill her which shortly after led to the diagnoses of late-onset PTSD. Late-onset PTSD, which means the symptoms are experienced 6 months or later after a traumatic event and in Ms. Reichs case it was years. Ms. Reichs symptoms were so severe that her son Howard Reich struggles to find his mother help because she is in constant fear. She doesnt trust any doctors and believes she is in immediate danger. She even sees a yellow Star of David on her clothes, like the ones the Nazis forced Jews to wear (Brown). Judith Hassan was a doctor that specialized in Holocaust survivors with PTSD. Hassan stated that survivors that were traumatized in the camps or in hiding were least likely to seek help due to their fears of weakness
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and vulnerability to which asking for help applies (Hassan 108). A study conducted by Shalom Robinson M.D. researched Holocaust survivors who were orphaned in comparison with survivors that that were with their parents. 26 percent of the survivors whose parents survived were members of an academic profession while the Holocaust orphans dropped to 14 percent. Robinson provided a graph that states the number of survivors in each group who have experienced PTSD or survivors guilt (Hassan 108). Maya Lazarus works with people involved in the Holocaust survivor group through the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. She stated that They are reliving it for the second time, and For them, it is happening all over again. The individuals that survived the Holocaust and even World Was II are vulnerable to the effects of PTSD in later years especially because people did not comprehend the extent of how devastating and traumatic the experiences could be in the long term. Eric Gentry works with Compassion Unlimited of Sarasota and is an expert of late-onset PTSD and stated, The nightmares, the flashbacks and the physical and psychological reactions are the systems attempt to reintegrate and heal itself but in PTSD, the person put tremendous energy into avoiding that (Koehn). Gentry also stated that most of the survivors were affected with depression and sometimes agoraphobia. With the late-onset PTSD, the symptoms have
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started breaking through the depression and they lose the ability to control it and the thoughts are unbidden and unwelcome, (Koehn). A lot of the survivors tried to keep their lives busy by moving to the United States, quickly marrying, starting a family, and finding work. PTSD caused the parents to be overly protective over their children causing the children to grow with guilt and a need to shield their parents from more anguish. Many of the clients that Maya Lazarus sees are often suffering from poor health that is related to the past years of severe starvation and deprivation while in the concentration camps or hiding. Lazaruss clients often rely on one another for support and care by expressing emotion, sharing stories and weeping together through Holocaust movies (Koehn). PTSD has drastic effects on survivors that went through the concentration camps and hiding during the Holocaust. While some are coping and dealing with the effects of PTSD, most individuals are struggling to find the willpower to get the help and care they truly need. Nightmares, sleepless nights, death imprints and many more are all effect of PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that offers some forms of treatment in order to help the survivors cope and deal with the effects the Holocaust has had on each one of them. Late onset PTSD can be successfully treated. In order to treat this disorder the survivor must be in a supportive relationship that is willing to care, support, and listen to the individuals stories. This relationship can be with a therapist, a spouse, or even a friend. In order to cancel out the physical tension that is throughout the body, relaxation is an important task. Also, creating narratives or stories describing the traumatic experiences helps to allow the individuals to reflect and acknowledge the events in the past. Support groups are often a common form of treatment that is offered in different languages such as in English, Russian, and Polish. Cognitive behavioral therapy is available and is described by a therapist helping you comprehend and
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change the way you think about the trauma and its aftermath. The goal of this therapy is to understand certain thoughts about the event that leads to stress and worsen the symptoms ("United States Department of Veteran Affairs "). Another form of therapy is known as exposure therapy where the goal is to have less fear about the memories and is based on the idea that people learn to fear thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind them of the trauma they experienced in the past. The doctors help to create programs for the patient by steadily taking small steps towards eliminating the fear of the traumatic event. EMDR, or also known as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is also used to treat PTSD. Like most forms of treatment involved with counseling, it helps to change how you react to memories of the traumatic event. This process reduces the lingering effects by allowing the patient to recall the events while they receive a type of bilateral sensory input. Studies have been conducted and stated that it helps to lessen PTSD symptoms. Finally, medication is another option that is available as treatment. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are known as a type of antidepressant medication that helps with sadness and worry. Some of the common prescriptions are known as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), and paroxetine (Paxil) ("United States Department of Veteran Affairs "). The duration of treatment ranges throughout each individual; some last 3 to 6 months and some can last longer than 2 years. While PTSD is a devastating disorder that should not be brought upon anyone, but 1 positive characteristic is that it offers a variety of treatments that can help any individual that is going through a tough time. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often found in soldiers that are returning from war. In order to connect the PTSD that the Holocaust survivors have and soldiers returning from wars such as Vietnam and Iraq, Im going to discuss the symptoms that survivors. During wars many of the veterans have certain sounds like bombs, gunshots, or even visions of seeing someone
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getting shot that make them uneasy or nervous. The survivors of the Holocaust also witnessed some of the same events, which could lead to the same effects and symptoms. Some of the symptoms that the veterans have are difficulty concentrating, lack of interest or apathy, feelings of detachment, and loss of appetite ("Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America"). Natasha Young was a Marine that was diagnosed with PTSD and was medically discharged from the Corps. She stated being ashamed of herself and not being able to function and because of this she lost multiple friends within her group. Many of the soldiers that are returning from war are having effects of combat trauma far beyond traditional and narrow clinical diagnoses of PTSD ("Huffington Post World "). The downward spiral, which is known as depression can include substance abuse, and sometimes can end with suicide. It is shocking to know that 11-20 percent of people that are involved in Iraq or Afghanistan are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. RAND CORP., a fund within the pentagon, conducted a study stating that 14 percent or about 337,820 of the post 9/11 veterans have signs of headaches, sleeplessness, irritability, depression and many more symptoms of PTSD, while another 14 percent suffer from major depression ("Huffington Post World "). Another study was conducted which focused specifically on Vietnam veterans and Holocaust survivors with PTSD. When comparing the two different survivors, 20 percent of the veterans appeared to be more symptomatic. Experts say that 30 percent of Vietnam veterans experience PTSD, while 40 to 65 percent of Holocaust survivors are diagnosed. In conclusion, after doing research about the effects of PTSD on Holocaust survivors, it saddens me knowing that people actually have to experience those symptoms. Not only is it affecting the survivors, but also the survivors family and friends. Holocaust survivors with PTSD can be drastically affected by the symptoms, but there are various treatments available for

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those who are diagnosed; many even have identical symptoms as war veterans. Even though PTSD is a disorder that effects many people around the world, each person has an opportunity to find treatments to put an end to the traumatic events of their past.
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Works Cited "Beyond the Battlefield: Natasha Young on Vimeo." Vimeo. N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://vimeo.com/58654704>. Brown, Karen. "Boston Globe." Recognizing PTSD in Holocaust survivors . Boston Globe, 10 Jun 2012. Web. 26 Oct 2013. <http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/2012/06/15/recognizing-delayed-ptsd-holocaustsurvivors/qtG6ik0Ybkgvrz9tugTLYP/story-1.html>. Danny Horesh, Zahava Solomon, Giora Keinan, Tsachi Ein-Dor, The clinical picture of late-onset PTSD: A 20-year longitudinal study of Israeli war veterans, Psychiatry Research, Volume 208, Issue 3, 15 August 2013, Pages 265-273, ISSN 0165-1781, Douillard, Andy. "PTSD and Holocaust Survivors ." PTSD and Holocaust Survivors . N.p., 05 Dec 2005. Web. 24 Sep 2013. <http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/survivors/SurvivorPTSD_An dy05z.htm>. "Huffington Post World ." Iraq, Afghanistan War Veterans Struggle with Combat Trauma. N.p., 04 Jul 2012. Web. 24 Sep 2013. "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America." Post Traumatic Stress Disorder . N.p., n.d. Web. September 24, 2013. <http://iava.org/content/post-traumatic-stress-disorder>. Judith Hassan, "Therapy with survivors of the Nazi Holocaust," in: Petruska Clarkson, Michael Pokorny (eds.), The Handbook of Psychotherapy, New York: Routledge, 1994. RC 408 H2858 1994

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Koehn, Donna. "Jewish Federation of Greater Houston." Many Holocaust Survivors live with PTSD. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sep 2013. <http://www.houstonjewish.org/page.aspx?id=199249>. "MPR." Celexa. N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2013. <http://www.empr.com/celexa/drug/395/ >. "NIMH-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." National Institute of Mental Health. N.p.. Web. 24 Sep 2013. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorderptsd/index.shtml>. "Potts Law." Paxil Birth Defects . N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2013. <http://www.pottslaw.com/paxil-lawsuit/ >. "The Holocaust-Marcos Sanchez." . N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://www.hypertextopia.com/library/read/1288/8294 >. "Schmidt and Clark Law Firm ." Prozac Birth Defects Lawsuit . N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2013. <http://www.schmidtandclark.com/prozac >. Schnur , Paula . "A descriptive analysis of PTSD chronicity in Vietnam veterans." International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies . n. page. Print. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1023/B:JOTS.0000004077.22408.cf/abstract >. "United States Department of Veteran Affairs ." Treatment for PTSD. N.p., 01 Jan 2007. Web. 24 Sep 2013. <http://www.houstonjewish.org/page.aspx?id=199249>. Vasterling, Jennifer. Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Clinical, and Cognitive Perspectives . New York, NY : Guilford Press , 2005. Print.

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