Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Bismarck, North Dakota


July 27, 2007

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can affect anyone, from soldiers to families. And the North Dakota National Guard is offering training to anyone interested in reducing the chances of experiencing PTSD.

Today, Chaplain Colonel William Ziegler of Fargo instructed military members, family members, and volunteers on coping with traumatic incidents. Ziegler says having PTSD is a normal psychological response to an abnormal situation. This applies to combat veterans but also to many others...

(William Ziegler, Instructor) "If we had a mass casualty event at an airport if a plane crashed...if we had a natural disaster such as the Grand Forks flood. These are crisis events and there are certain skill sets for people who do crisis intervention work and that's what we're training them."

Ziegler says there is one major problem when trying to deal with Post Traumatic Stress...

(William Ziegler, Instructor) "People associate some of the signs and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress with weakness. And it really isn't weakness. These are normal human reactions to abnormal situations. The more quickly one seeks and gets the help, the less entrenched...the less likely it is to become Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Ziegler urges anyone dealing with PTSD to seek help from social workers, chaplains, or from VA Services. He recommends war veterans to talk with a battle buddy or call Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647.

Source: KXMB TV CBS12, Bismarck, North Dakota