JEFFERSONVILLE — The emotional tolls of war are not so easily accounted for as the physical ones. There’s not always a record that shows where a soldier was when his or her psyche was damaged.

And the psychological effects that servicemen and servicewomen endure are rarely mentioned when embedded reporters file stories about fights or attacks that take place on battlefields abroad.

Sometimes the mental wounds are not even immediately apparent, said Becky Hall, a person who has experienced first-hand the effects of post traumatic stress disorder, commonly called PTSD.

“There’s so many guys who come back and think [they’re] fine,” she said.

Later, they find out that isn’t the case and they can’t piece together exactly where the problems started.

Becky Hall is the mother a Eric Hall, a Marine from Jeffersonville whose struggle put the disorder in a national spotlight a few years ago. Hall, an Iraq war veteran, disappeared from a family home in Florida in 2008 while experiencing a war flashback. He was found dead at the age of 24 only a few weeks after.

Up until recently, a lack of proof about when or where an incident that could have triggered post traumatic stress disorder took place has prevented many veterans from receiving treatment. Now, thanks to a rule change announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs this week, the amount of evidence a veteran has to provide about time and place of a PTSD trigger is significantly reduced, meaning that more will be eligible for treatment.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop from seeing or experiencing an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, according to a press release from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It’s not uncommon among war veterans.

Typically, a person responds with intense fear, helplessness or horror.

The change is “absolutely a positive step,” Hall said.

Very rarely is there one incident that triggers PTSD, she said, noting that many times it’s a tapestry of events that causes the problems. Further, Vietnam veterans may have a hard time documenting where they were at the time of a trigger because of their level of security clearance.

In other instances, the government could simply deny a particular mission. Hall said she knows veterans who were in Iraq prior to the start of the Gulf War, building airstrips and getting set for the invasion.

“The government’s position was, ‘we weren’t there,’” she said.

Under the new rule, the administration will not require corroboration of a PTSD stressor if a VA psychiatrist or psychologist confirms that the stressful experience recalled by a veteran adequately supports a diagnosis of PTSD and the veteran’s symptoms are related to the claimed stressor.

Previously, VA required noncombat veterans to corroborate the fact that they experienced a PTSD stressor related to hostile military activity.  

“VA expects this rule-making to decrease the time it takes VA to decide disability claims and access to health care, falling under the revised criteria and for veterans to access health care,” according to the release.

More than 400,000 veterans are receiving compensation benefits connected to PTSD. The new rule, which took effect Tuesday, was praised by federal officials this week.

“This is welcome and overdue news for Southern Indiana veterans and their families who have experienced PTSD,” U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., said in a press release. “We need to fully live up to our promise to care for our veterans when they return home, whether their injuries are physical or mental.”

“I don’t think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for a claims application,” President Barack Obama said in a July 10 radio address. “This is a long-overdue step that will help veterans not just of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, but generations of their brave predecessors who proudly served and sacrificed in all our wars,” he said.

“I am so grateful,” Hall said of the change. “[Servicemen and servicewomen] give up so much more than anyone ever realizes. They shouldn’t have to be hassled for the care they deserve.”