Nation of victims gets PTS from their TVs
Our buddy, Blanka, sends us a link to an LA Times article which reports that researchers think that we can catch the PTSD from our televisions. They surveyed 4,675 residents of New York City and Boston right after the Boston Marathon Bombing and found that nearly 5% of them had “high acute stress”;
After the researchers adjusted for the effects of direct exposure to a trauma and for exposure to past community trauma, they found that respondents with a prior history of mental health problems and those who had watched six or more hours of daily media coverage of the events surrounding the bombings were most likely to report high acute-stress symptoms.
Direct exposure to the bombings — having been there or being in a close relationship with someone who was affected — was a strong predictor of ongoing stress reactions. Another strong predictor was direct exposure to the events of Sept. 11 or the Dec. 14, 201,2 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (but not to Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the New Jersey coast in October 2012).
But the single factor that most strongly predicted high stress reactions was having watched six or more hours a day of media coverage of the bombings and their aftermath.
Yeah, well, they can turn the TV off, ya know and that would substantially reduce their exposure to the whole thing. We’ve heard it all here at TAH when members of the Iraq Veterans Against the war have claimed that they caught the PTS from
- NOT
deploying, another claimed that he caught the PTS on 9-11-2001 because he could see the smoke from the Pentagon that was ten miles from him at the time, and yet another who caught the PTS from hearing war stories. It sounds to me like mental health professionals are just drumming up business, either that or we’re all born with PTS, because it sounds to me as if everything causes it.
The most plausible interpretation of the study’s findings, say the authors, is that media coverage can be an unhelpful factor for those predisposed to PTSD in the first place.
“People who are most distressed in the aftermath of such an event are probably more likely to engage media coverage as a way of coping with the experience,” they wrote. “Although this may be beneficial initially, over time the repeated media-based reexposures may contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle of distress.”
Like I said, turn off the TV and the bad images can’t get you.
Category: Dumbass Bullshit
Previous mental health problems and attention whoring. And meanwhile, the people who have REALLY been exposed to trauma and have legit PTSD suffer in silence because they don’t want to be stigmatized.
Would you like Gravy with that train
I wonder if the guys in the front could turn off a firefight….
Too many people drinking the Kool-Aid again.
Gee, I wish they’d talk to the actual victims of natural disasters, like the Fukushima earthquake, tidal wave and reactor explosion; the survivors of the Chernobyl meltdown; the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tidal wave that went to India and rebounded; the survivors of the most recent typhone in the Phillippines; and the survivors of the F-4 tornado that wiped out most of Washington, IL and Diamond City, IL.
But since they are only interested in talking to people who are already afflicted with mental health problems, it doesn’t fit their agenda. Pity.
I don’t get the PTSD from watching stuff on TV, but then – I’m nearly normal.
We have become a nation of ‘victims,’ sadly.
Anything is considered fair game for PSD.
Little wonder you have military personnel claiming PSD and getting benefits even if they have never deployed.
What a mockery to those who have experienced true horrors of combat in war.
The pussification of this nation continues.
Oh Damn, here come the UAV pilots again
If you have PTS already, watching shit like 9/11 or the Marathon Bombings live on TV could have an adverse effect on you, so yes turn it the hell off.
Of course it is upsetting to watch live even for those without PTS, but I am not so sure it can cause someone to get it, unless as noted they already have some issues to begin with.
I think we need to be careful on saying what can or cannot cause someone to get PTS though…. It is such an individual thing, where two people can both experience the same event and have completely different reactions to it. I personally do not think you can get it via television, but again I am no expert.
Oh, for the love of all that is holy.
The school systems have been using this approach for many years – find excuses to NOT teach children, and give them meds to keep them quiet. Evidently, all those kids have grown up and, surprise, surprise, are incapable of dealing with real life.
Somebody show me in the contract where it says living isn’t supposed to hurt. My contract says it does hurt, and I can be sure of not getting out alive. If somebody else got a better deal, I want to see it in writing.
Well, come on, NYC and Boston? Let’s be honest for a minute, there may have been a time when mentioning those cities would invoke images of toughness, but not anymore. They invoke images of people surrendering their rights and applauding the police for taking those rights in order to get one bad guy and then people running around claiming “Boston Strong”. In my opinion, if they wanted to claim “Boston Strong”, they should have told the police “I got this” and taken care of business, themselves? Oh, that’s right, you’re not allowed to do that, anymore, in those areas. Maybe they should have interviewed people from Texas and Chicago, instead?
Is there something wrong with me that I don’t catch the PTSD when I go to the movies? ‘Cause I’ve gone to the Hunger Games, Saving Private Ryan, and Act of Valor, and never displayed symptoms. I must be a sociopath; off to check myself into the nearest mental health clinic 😉
Don’t talk smack about NYC and Boston. I betcha a bag of donuts that for every 1 traumatized citizen who watched events unfold on TV, there are 1000’s of citizens who responded to, assisted in the recovery, and or have direct contact with real victims … And those 1000’s are just fine. Fu@k LA!
WTF is next, are we gonna hear that peanut butter sandwiches cause PTSD? What are these assclown “experts” trying to do other than turn our Country into the US of WUSS?
Now Master Chief, we will not tolerate dick measuring here.
When you continually elected a mayor that keeps trying to protect you from yourself, have a civilian law enforcement board that won’t allow less than a 12 lb. trigger pull on LEO duty sidearms, because they don’t want them to go off accidentally, but in reality causes the LEO to shoot everyone but the suspect, and then charge the un-armed suspect for the innocent bystanders getting shot by police; you have the makings of a fine city. And in Boston, where everyone was told to stay in their houses and they searched house to house without warrants and actually arrested people that were actually outside. Great city, especially when the “Boston Strong” people were applauding as the cops drove away afterwards. I want to move there!! Where I live is bad enough, but at least I can have more than 7 rounds in my sidearm.
@12 I actually agree with you, both of those cities are primarily composed of latte drinking sheeple who cower at any site of danger.. I have seen it first hand, most of them probably do have PTSD
@14 people from LA are much tougher than New Yorkers, the average New Yorker wouldn’t last a week in L.A. with the crime and traffic and the people of LA manage that and keep a pleasant disposition which New Yorkers can’t do on the best of days.
“yet another who caught the PTS from hearing war stories”
I heard from somebody that a clerk of some kind in their unit did get PTSD from hearing war stories, in a way. The clerk was reviewing and processing AAR’s or something, so they got to read about their friends getting hurt and killed every time something happened to anybody in the whole unit. Eventually started having problems due to it.
@18…”pleasant disposition” you say?
This from the town where the three most important words are, “Me, me, me?”
PTSD is a term for ANYTHING or event that causes trauma to ones mental state. Be it combat, rape, being abused as a child or witnessing a horrific accident. People have completely different tolerances and triggers. There are guys that fought major battles in the Pacific, pulled countless bodies out of auto accidents or operated on mangled children that don’t have issues with PTSD. Then there are people that witnessed a street fight who are afraid to go outside.
If you have issues just get treated, don’t wear it on your sleeve.
Minor correction, NHSparky. Those 3 important words are “I Me Mine”.
They love the late George Harrison in LA. (smile)
I am getting PDTS just reading this thread!
@ Old Tropper. I am Irish … there is no way in hell I will be measuring my dick in public here at TAH!
Back to city bashing. I am not a big of beating up cities that have been through alot. Yet there are some cities that do get under my skin.
However, I find it absolutely friggin’ hillarious that someone in LA would ever contemplate hailing from a tougher city than say NYC … particularly since September 11, 2001.
One other thing Mr. # 18 You Bleeping Bleep Bleep Who Gets Bleeped while Bleeping,
Who says we are not bleeping polite, you bleeping bleep bleep? Go bleep yourself, you bleeping bleep bleep and get bleeped too. Oh and bleep your bleeping bleep bleep while your bleeping at it!
Have a nice bleeping day!
How is that?
(sarc)
This happened to me just last week. I was watching tv and got up to get a snack. My daughter turned the channel while I was away. When I got back Lady Gaga and the Muppets were on. I screamed for the remote. She had lost it. I tried in vain to find it, finally locating it in the couch cushion. The horror.
@23: The dick measuring was me channeling Master Bateman from his fb war of words.
Tough is a relative term, because it covers so many different things i.e. people where I live are considered tough because when it’s -20 F we go outside to play boot hockey and football, maybe go watch a Polar bear plunge (that’s where they cut a big section out of the ice on a lake and people jump in the water) or do some last minute Christmas shopping. This past Saturday morning it was -15 F, with a -35 F wind chill, when I got up and took the dog out for his morning constitutional. Somewhere else, tough could be having to put up with scorpions, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, etc. on a daily basis with the temp hovering around 120 F. Or, tough could be standing around waiting for the government to take care of you after a natural disaster in which you had several days warning that it was coming and you did nothing to be prepared for it, so now, you’re dumpster diving on day 3 and selling yourself for a couple gallons of gas.
To be fair, there were many people that stepped up that fateful day in Boston, but nothing that wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the country.
I’m just saying.
As for LA……….yeah, it’s pretty rough with hand to hand combat just to get the latest picture of Justin Bieber trying to act all tough.
@15, It is a new trending term for this decade.
Do not turn off reruns of The Wire. Do not turn off reruns of The Waltons. Do not turn off reruns of Kung Fu.
Watching “six or more hours a day of media coverage” of anything would give me nightmares. Can you imagine watching those TV baboons for hours each day. Actually, I wouldn’t suffer nightmares. If ever I get to the point where I watch newsies for half that length of time, I have a pact with someone to ensure that it happens only once. He knows what to do.
My wife is in the process of chaptering a soldier from her unit for misconduct (including a couple of AWOLs). And the soldier is claiming PTSD from the chapter process, and the way the soldier was treated during the misconduct which led up to the chapter. Sheesh . . .