Friday, April 4, 2003 | 9:54 a.m.
For more information on mental health assistance or to join the support group, contact the VA clinic at 636-4060 or the Veterans Center at 388-6368.
With the war in Iraq being broadcast live around the clock, local Department of Veterans Affairs officials are concerned that the constant bombardment of information may trigger a mental health crisis for some veterans.
Veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder -- there are 33,500 in Las Vegas -- are especially susceptible to the front-line coverage that can conjure nightmares of past war horrors, VA officials say. To that end, the VA on Thursday started a weekly support group for veterans who just can't break away from the mesmerizing coverage.
"I had one patient tell me it was driving him crazy that he couldn't stop watching all day," said Pat Duncan, a licensed clinical social worker and acting chief of mental health at the A.D. Guy Veterans Clinic. "He said he knew he shouldn't be watching it so much, but he said he just couldn't stop."
Donnadee Gale, a VA licensed clinical social worker in charge of post-traumatic stress disorder services at the clinic, went one better: "I have one client who told me today that he's had three hours sleep in the last three days because he was watching coverage of the war. Some have told me they are addicted to the coverage."
The support group will meet at 2:30 p.m. Thursdays at the facility at 1700 Vegas Drive.
Seventeen veterans took part in the first group session Thursday. Because of patient confidentiality laws, the participants were not made available to be interviewed. However, veterans interviewed outside the clinic said many veterans could benefit from the local support group program.
"I try not to watch the war because of the explosions and other things that give me flashbacks of Vietnam -- things I don't want to discuss," said Walter DeNault Jr., who served in Southeast Asia from 1969 to 1972 and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.
"I didn't like the way reporters covered the Vietnam War. But the way it is being covered now, mothers can see their sons killed on TV. We don't need to see that."
Philip Imber, an 88-year-old Army infantry veteran of World War II and retired Strip musician, says he watches the war, but does not get upset by the live combat. Still, he is critical of the coverage.
"When I was in battle, I saw hundreds of men die, but now, every time two or three soldiers are killed, the (reporters) make a big deal about it," said Imber, who was wounded in battle on April 25, 1945. "This is war. More Americans are going to die, especially as things intensify."
Native Las Vegan Robert Stumpf, a Gulf War veteran at the clinic with his father, Arden Stumpf, a Korean War-era veteran, says he does not suffer from post-traumatic stress, but he feels a support group can be helpful for some veterans who are reliving past battles through TV coverage.
"It disturbs me that there is just so much coverage of the war," he said. "A little of it can go a long way."
"Never before has a war been covered like this, with embedded journalists and constant reporting," Duncan said. "For some it's like experiencing a past war all over again. For PTSD sufferers, that could cause old war trauma to resurface. It could require additional outpatient treatment and, depending on the severity, inpatient care."
Duncan said the best advice he can give veterans who have found themselves glued to their seats in front of the set is to turn it off and find something else to do.
"When intrusive thoughts start popping into your head and you start feeling isolated, the best thing to do is find other social or leisure activities you like -- away from the TV -- and enjoy them for a while," Duncan said, noting that turning the channel to a ballgame or another show won't necessarily do the trick. "After a while, you'll just start clicking the remote and wind up back at the war coverage."
Duncan says veterans also may want to watch how much attention they give to print media coverage of the war. Big headlines and graphic photos also can trigger bad memories and depression, he said.
Duncan said that in addition to the support group, outreach counseling services are available to veterans weekdays on a walk-in basis.
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