My parent's generation viewed PTSD as something that was mainly relevant for troops coming back from the front. Many studies are now putting PTSD into a new light, not one that is only relevant to the military. As our society becomes more and more focused on performance in the workplace, on the field or simply in comparison with others, PTSD has started to appear in the general population. Again PTSD as an anxiety disorder, is not necessarily dependent on true objective danger, but danger that is interpreted by the victim of the disorder. We have been seeing PTSD appear at younger ages as our youth specialize early in an academic field of study or a particular sport. The specialization brings an increased concentration on one discipline and often times less protective factors come into play. Children are no longer put into many different sports to actively discover which one they want to latch onto and with what commitment. Because of many financial limitations of today's middle class, parent's will want their children to perform in the after school activity they choose or their wallet permit's by avoiding exploration.
Many athletes have been recently talking about increased needs of athletes to train in groups at certain locations far from home which often brings them out of the environment for longs period of time. Their home environement often maintained a level of sanity in the quest to be the best.
Some interesting articles relating performance to PTSD and mental health challenges:
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