Is the VA causing some of its issues with PTSD?

It appears that the VA can be it's own worst enemy at times. The bureaucracy, public scrutiny, and the fear of being taken advantage of continue to get in the way of helping veterans.   Christopher is a combat Marine with two tours in Iraq. He developed PTSD while serving in Iraq during the surge. When he returned, he struggled with his PTSD and started using alcohol to deal with his PTSD. Like many young Marines, he drank hard and partied hard. After multiple years of partying, he was unable to reenlist because of his bad decisions brought on by his PTSD. Christopher did not seek help while he was on active duty because of the stigma associated with PTSD and mental illness in the military ranks so he did the best that he could.

When Christopher got out of the military, he sought help from the VA. He continued drinking to deal with his PTSD. After his initial assessment, he was given a 70% disability rating because of his PTSD and other physical issues. Ever since the VA has started addressing the PTSD issue, they have struggled to have enough mental health therapists to deal with the epidemic. From what I have seen from those who have PTSD due to their service connection they continually worry that their disability for PTSD will be taken away if they improve. From what I have seen most veterans with PTSD get reassessed after five years. If they still have PTSD after those five years and have not shown much improvement the PTSD stays on their record, they maintain the disability rating. I have also seen where the disability has decreased for those who appear to have gotten better over those five years. It appears to be no incentive to recover from your PTSD because you lose more financially than you gain from improving.

Some of the veterans I work with struggle to hold a job because of their PTSD. Some of them work jobs at night because they do not have to deal with crowds. Some need to have modified schedules, which may or may not be accommodated by their employer. Another struggle is the lack of trust brought on by their PTSD. Some fight the overstimulation brought on by their PTSD and cannot hold a job that has anything to do with public contact. Since PTSD is all about threat assessment someone with PTSD can struggle to have a job, they are focused on their surroundings and possible threats they may encounter while at work and cannot do their job. Some employers have the capability of accommodating someone with PTSD, but other employers may not want to deal with someone's PTSD issues when they can find someone who does not have PTSD.

So many veterans struggle to maintain jobs and then the VA threatens to take away their disability rating for getting better. My question is why the VA threatens to take away someone’s PTSD rating if they improve.  PTSD is not something that goes away, it is something you learn to manage. Those who learn to manage it can have their PTSD disability taken away, it does not make sense because they still have PTSD. They have done the work learning to control and manage their symptoms and now they could lose some income. It appears to me that the VA is not giving veterans a reason to get better. It seems to be in the veteran's best interest to not improve, creating its own set of issues including drug use, alcohol abuse, and possible suicide. 

If the VA would quit threatening to take away someone’s PTSD rating, they may have an incentive to improve. Maybe VA should consider looking at PTSD disability as reparations for putting that individual through the hell that caused their PTSD. I have worked with multiple veterans to have learned to manage their PTSD and live holy and successful lives. Even though they may not be able to hold down jobs because of their PTSD they do spend time volunteering when they can.

Once someone has been given a PTSD disability rating, I do not feel a rating should be taken away or the VA having the ability to decrease the rating if they see improvement. Those who learn to manage their PTSD are one trigger away from slipping back into old behaviors. PTSD is a life-altering condition. What causes some folk's PTSD to re-surface is stress, threatening to take away their disability rating can cause the stress that pushes the PTSD back to the forefront. I believe the VA needs to reevaluate how they look at PTSD and how they give the rating. Those who have PTSD can be productive members of society if given the chance to learn how to manage their PTSD. The VA threatening to take away their rating can trigger them to subconsciously do things that increase their PTSD symptoms. This can cause the VA to give the rating permanency anyway.

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