How PTSD, Sleep, and Depression relate to General Well-Being in Veterans

What is it about?

We looked at how sleep problems, symptoms of PTSD, and symptoms of depression relate to overall sense of well-being in student veterans. Our goals were (a) to see whether any of these problems (sleep, PTSD, or depression) seemed to matter more than others, and (b) whether self-regulation might help protect against any negative effects.

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Why is it important?

We found a couple of interesting things. First, we found that, all things being equal, depression was actually more related to lower well-being than PTSD was. So we need to make sure we don't *over* focus on PTSD when trying to understand veterans who are suffering. Second, we found that self-regulation was generally good, but in some cases, too much self-regulation might actually make PTSD have MORE of a negative impact on well-being. It's possible that some veterans try so hard to control their symptoms that it actually has a negative effect - but this was only one study, so we need more research to see if this pattern holds up in other samples.