What is your opinion of the true existence of the "1916 Character of Weakness" military psychology model?

PO3 Aaron Hassay — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 19:19:33 -0400

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 2 at 2016 7:24 PM

PO1 John Miller — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 19:24:19 -0400

Good to see you back around the forums. As to your question, I'm not familiar with that. I did a quick Google search but nothing seemed right. Could you give me a bit more information?

Response by MAJ Rene De La Rosa made Jul 2 at 2016 10:22 PM

MAJ Rene De La Rosa — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 22:22:47 -0400

Thanks for educating me on this one, PO3 Aaron Hassay. I have been in the mental health field and had never seen it described in this way. Certainly an eye-opener for me. Bravo Zulu.

Response by PO1 Sherry Paschal made Jul 4 at 2016 8:20 PM

PO1 Sherry Paschal — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:20:38 -0400

PO Hassay
I am so sorry your IDC did not take the time to look in your eyes to see that there was something bigger going on than what landed you in Sick Bay. It really does hurt my heart when it sounds like one of my fellow IDCs has brushed something off. None of us are perfect though, and neither are doctors. I've seen plenty of doctors miss things that IDCs or PAs have picked up on. Just to be fair, PA's & NPs definitely aren't infallible either.
I went to IDC school from Oct 91-Nov 92. Our Psyc training was definitely limited, but we did have had some. I hope that has improved.
I tried to be asute with my patients, wherever I was stationed. I was taught to observe what they might not be telling me, and to ask questions accordingly. Unless one is very skilled in masking, your eyes, body language, skin, gait, and even your physical symptoms manifest your stress level and mental well being. You don't have to be one that wears their heart on their sleeve for this to show.
Sadly, bad incidents build up on top of each other. The general stress of being a Sailor, plus any illness on top of those traumas, no matter how trivial they may seem when compared to someone else's "horror story," create a volitile trifecta of potential overload which may result in a meltdown a total blow-up, or a shut-down to nothing but basic functions. After all, the brain can only take so much before it's just about protecting the organism.
I can definitely tell you that misdiagnosis of these personality disorders is likely frequent because symptoms overlap with other disorders and conditions, even physical ones like vitamin deficiencies.
If they deemed your PD EPTE, which is standard, appeal it. I highly recommend going though your State/County representatives for Veteran Affairs to do that. They can help you with this process with greater success. If nothing else, the process should be able to get that personality disorder diagnosis off of your records, especially if you have some supporting evidence from civilian providers.
See I know all too well about this because I'm sorry to say, I've been on both sides of this messed up coin, having to save/end patients' careers, and having been on the receiving end of a MedBoard for medical retirement. It took a Civilian doctor two years to correct my primary diagnosis, and the VA thirteen years to correct my secondary diagnosis of Borderline PD to PTSD. Apparently their symptoms can be very, very similar. Even Navy Psychiatrists and Psychologists with "years" of experience and the new residents can't tell the difference between PTSD and a personality disorder when they are trained to default to the latter. (This was back in 1999-2000 though. Hopefully things are better?)
A personality disorder doesn't just "crop up," even when there may have been events in your childhood that could explain the symptoms of one. If all the puzzle pieces don't really and truly fit, then it's something else, not a PD.
In my case it didn't really make sense as to how I could have 14 1/2 years in, be an HM1, have pretty stellar evals, and then suddenly be diagnosed with this stupid "disorder," basically because treatment for "depression" wasn't working, but they managed to justify it anyway. Their meds actually worsened the depression. A two year, untreated, ignored sleep disorder is likely what triggered a lot of this. After dealing with it for six months, I was so frustrated, and demoralized because I had been placed on limited duty away from the job I loved dearly - patient care, that I gave up fighting it and fighting for life. It's a wonder I'm still alive. I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired. To this day I still have no idea what's causing the joint damage that started back right before the "depression" hit.
It is what it is though. Even after 15 1/2 years I still miss my job, because I really loved patient care, and I was good at it. I have had many opportunities to learn things and to help others.
The VA found me to be 90% disabled after the Navy TDRLed me, so they made me unemployable and paid me at the 100% rate. I'm now fully at 100%. I volunteer at the State Park teaching kids about nature, geology, environmental responsibility, fire safety, etc. I am going to start a Veteran's Square Dancing group, because music and movement can help rewire the brain from trauma. Life must move forward. Rocking chairs go no where.
Good luck in your endeavors. God bless.

Response by CPL Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2016 7:31 PM

CPL Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 19:31:14 -0400

Why is this posted in PsyOp?