Clarksville is home to over 156,000 people, many of whom live and work on the Fort Campbell army base. This base straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border and employs over 30,000 military members and over 8,000 civilians. Though military life is certainly a major part of Clarksville’s culture, there is much more to the city and its residents. Clarksville is also known for Austin Peay State University and its charming downtown area. It’s no wonder why so many people flock to the city — military or not.
Statistics suggest that Clarksville residents may not have sufficient access to mental health services, though. Practitioners in the area report that they see an average of 504 people each year, which is a small fraction of the city’s population. This number is especially small when considering the fact that members of the military — and their families — may need additional mental health support. If you’re looking for mental health care in Clarksville, a qualified mental health practitioner can help.
Military Mental Health Issues
The mental health of military members has emerged as a hot topic in recent years. As the link between military service and mental health issues becomes clearer, there has been an increased push to connect veterans and active duty personnel with better access to care. This is a particularly urgent need in an area like Clarksville, where thousands of military members are in need of treatment for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Depression
Research reveals that depression in Clarksville is an incredibly common ailment amongst veterans and active duty members. One study indicates that as many as 23% of active enlistees and 20% of veterans suffer from depression. Depression is associated with symptoms such as the following:
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Weight fluctuations
- Lost interest in activities
- Social isolation
- Fatigue
There are several reasons why depressive symptoms are particularly common in military members. Research shows that social isolation is closely linked to depression, and for many enlistees, service can indeed be an isolating experience. When deployed, you may be away from friends and family for months at a time. Even if you aren’t deployed, the demands of your position will likely put a strain on the relationships in your life, and this can easily lead to depression.
Anxiety
In addition to depression, it’s been noted that symptoms of anxiety are particularly prevalent in military personnel. This anxiety in Clarksville is sometimes linked to traumatic experiences in the field. It can also emerge due to the stress of transitioning from civilian to military life — or vice versa. Perhaps the most alarming aspect of this problem is the pace at which it has worsened. Between 2000 and 2012, there was reportedly a 327% increase in anxiety disorders affecting service members.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the issues most commonly associated with military service. According to the Wounded Warrior Project, it’s very common, and some research suggests that it may affect as many as 83% of all military members. This figure may be even higher for enlistees who see active combat. Given its prevalence amongst military communities — and the high concentration of enlistees in Montgomery county — it stands to reason that there are many people dealing with PTSD in Clarksville. If you are one of these people, there are treatment options that can help you overcome your struggles.
Understanding PTSD and its Consequences
It’s important to understand PTSD if you are considering seeking treatment. Historically, PTSD has gone by many names — combat fatigue or battle fatigue, for example — but some of the earliest examples date back to World War I, when psychologists began observing the so-called “shell shock” that affected many military members returning from combat. Many experts now agree that shell shock is likely a form of PTSD, proving that it has likely affected military members even before experts coined the term “post-traumatic stress disorder”.
Symptoms
PTSD has a litany of symptoms, many of which overlap with depression and anxiety. Feelings of dread, anxiousness, and sadness, for example, can be indicative of PTSD and other mental disorders, too. When symptoms like these are also accompanied by flashbacks, persistent fear, and a tendency to get startled, it’s likely that you are dealing with more than just anxiety or depression. It’s possible that you are suffering from PTSD.
Flashbacks are moments in which a person experiences a sudden, immersive memory of an extremely traumatic event. The memory is often so intense that the person feels as though they are reliving the event itself. They tend to occur without warning, although there are often triggers that can increase the likelihood of a flashback. For military members who have seen combat or experienced other traumatic events, this is a common symptom of PTSD in Clarksville.
Overreaction to stimuli — or easily getting startled — can also accompany a flashback. If you find that you are jumpy, scared by loud sounds, or frightened by unexpected touch, these are signs that you might be in a prolonged state of fight or flight response. This happens when a person no longer feels safe in the world, which is a core component of PTSD. When living with overwhelming fear and anxiety, your sympathetic nervous system is constantly activated, leaving you vulnerable to overreaction.
Common Causes
It’s no secret that PTSD and military service are closely linked, but what exactly leads to this link? In many cases the stress that occurs in combat is the cause of PTSD. Active duty personnel are often exposed to extreme violence and serious injuries, both of which can have a lasting impact on a person. It’s not uncommon for these experiences to remain at the forefront of a soldier’s mind long after they have left the combat zone.
This is because exposure to violence and traumatic events can alter the structure of your brain. Scientists have observed, for example, that patients with PTSD often have an overactive amygdala. The amygdala controls your response to fear, so when it is overactive, you are likely to become easily startled. Similarly, many people with PTSD suffer from an underactive prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain helps you make decisions. When it is underactive, you may struggle to respond appropriately to a perceived threat.
It’s important to note that service members are not the only people who can get PTSD, and combat is not the only event that can cause it either. PTSD affects people across all demographics, and other traumatic experiences such as accidents, injuries, or assaults can also cause symptoms of PTSD to emerge.
Finding Treatment for PTSD in Clarksville
In the U.S. alone, PTSD affects approximately 12 million adults. Many of these people live in Clarksville, and many of them may be struggling to find a treatment option that works. If you’re not sure how to relieve your PTSD symptoms, consider the following treatment options that may be helpful.
Therapy and Coping Mechanisms
Research suggests that therapy may be an effective modality for overcoming the symptoms of PTSD. Cognitive behavioral therapy, for example, may mitigate the severity of symptoms and eventually facilitate recovery. Talk therapy is also an effective option. Simply discussing the events which led to your PTSD can help you start to process and understand them.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
One of the most innovative treatment options for PTSD is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. It emerged in the late 1980s and has since become a standard treatment for people suffering from PTSD in Clarksville. During an EMDR session, a trauma therapist guides the client’s eye movements in a calming pattern while the client discusses traumatic memories. The pattern is similar to that which is naturally produced during slow-wave sleep, thus training your brain to calm the amygdala when triggering a traumatic memory.
Medication Management
In some cases, medication may also be a beneficial part of a PTSD treatment plan. Finding medication for PTSD in Clarksville can be difficult, though, if you don’t know where to start. A mental health professional can be a great resource for navigating your treatment and medication options. If you feel that medication may be necessary, four options are most often prescribed:
- Venlafaxine (Effexor)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Paroxetine (Paxil)
These medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Both of which are also used to treat depression. Serotonergic dysregulation is closely associated with PTSD, so these medications may help to combat this aspect of PTSD in the brain.
Overcome PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety in Clarksville
Getting mental health care in Clarksville shouldn’t feel like a dead end. It can, though, if you’ve repeatedly sought help and struggled to find a provider who is affordable and accessible. Rose Behavioral Health aims to eliminate this problem by providing mental health services to people in Clarksville and throughout Tennessee. When you’re ready to overcome your depression, anxiety, or PTSD in Clarksville, reach out to one of our providers to schedule an appointment. We offer secure telehealth appointments so that you can access care in a way that works for you.
