Are Americans Ready For Another War?

There have been many diagnoses of PTSD in American soldiers. As Mark Thomas said in a magazine article, “The National Academy of Sciences have report estimated that up to 20% of 2.6 million US men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq may have it (PTSD)”(Thomas). This quote expresses that nearly 520,000 US families have been affected by this disorder. It also shows that PTSD has become a large enough issue that more and more people and

Due to current operations in the Middle East and the recent combat operations in the past decade, many citizens have met somebody who has experienced their share of combat related stress. When you look at somebody who has been in combat, they may look like your average person on the outside, but on the inside lays memories of the violent scenes of war torn countries. Their mental health may not be noticeably altered, but they could very well suffer from haunting memories, flashbacks, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.

Being in war is definitely one of the most life changing events a person will ever have whether it be for the better or for the worst. Soldiers will witness events that are impossible to forget or see back at home in the states. Some soldiers may have even seen one of their best friends that they’ve known for forever get blown up into pieces right next to them, or they might even get one of their own limbs blown off of their own bodies, becoming handicapped for life. As a result of seeing something so intense like that, most soldiers are usually traumatized. In matter of fact, a great amount of soldiers are traumatized from the very beginning of being in war. It’s without a doubt difficult to deal with this but there are some ways where

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options.

The Iraq war and the Afghanistan war involved several injuries; as well as, four thousand casualties, and the number of suicides from 2012 to present outnumbers the soldiers dead from combat. The high cost of soldiers were dying in an unpopular war by the Bush administration and the cost to Americans at home and abroad in caring for these wounded warriors, as a result, by 2003 to 2010 the deaths in military action suicides, and suicides at home at a rate of thirteen point five per one hundred thousand troops (Lancet). This only includes America’s causalities, not the deaths of Afghanistan, Iraq, allies and Iraq civilians killed during the war, yet on top of that; rebuilding their shattered lives. The tragedy of war did not just affect Americans; the American soldiers were in

War is then revealed as destructive to a soldier’s psychology. Soldier may often do anything to keep sanity amidst a never ending war. Soldiers will block out feelings in order to cope. Dismissal of emotional reaction and the dehumanization of soldiers

PTSD having been on the rise following various deployments necessitated by the various wars against terror, where the soldiers encounter traumatic experiences like harsh training conditions, unfavorable living standards, enemy attacks, extreme working environment, explosions, torture by enemies, loss of colleagues as well as long term separation from family back at home (Melinda S & Jeanne S., 2012). This therefore calls for a concerted effort in handling the pandemic of PTSD since it has been constantly on the increase and as a

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of

When a soldier comes home from their deployment, whether it be their first or fourth, they go through an extreme amount of pressure and stress as they go through a transition back into being a civilian. Many soldiers experience some sort of mental or physical injury while they were deployed, and many last forever if they are not treated properly. According to Issues and Controversies (Facts on File), in 2011, roughly 320,000 veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had experienced a traumatic brain injury while they were deployed. In addition, 300,000 veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have suffered from PTSD and/or depression. To add to the mental ailments veterans suffer from, many also live with physical injuries that impair their

War is catastrophic; it breaks away at your sanity and your physical health. Most veterans are more than often described as “not the same person they left as” by family and friends. Being in the front lines changes you because of the cruelty and harsh conditions your body and mind face. “Over the past decade, about half a million veterans have received diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Thousands have received both,” states the New York Times. PTSD lives and breathes in veterans. Although it is a condition invisible to the naked eye, troops go to combat with it every day. “…At least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD and/or Depression…” from the “…2.3 million troops who served in the Afghanistan war...“(Tanielian 321) fifty percent haven’t been

Ultimately, by psychologically reacting to stress, stress can trigger changes in behavior that can result in physiological and physical effects. According to McDevitt-Murphy, Williams, Bracken, Fields, Monahan, & Murphy (2010), veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are at extremely high risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This may be due to the required longer deployments and quicker redeployment times along with the detrimental impact of combat. The men and women of the U.S. Army are held in high regard as they fight for the very freedom that we should be so honored to have within the United States. However, when their tour of duty is over, they must come home and adjust to civilian life.

Another type of severe stress disorder that soldiers are challenged with is called Post Traumatic Stress Order (PTSD). This disorder basically results in soldiers having horrific nightmares, nervous breakdowns, fears, and many more types of agony both during and after the war. Soldiers will sometimes recall the terrible experience they faced during war. Hallucinations will often occur “when drunk or on drugs and even during normal wakefulness.” (Tian, “The Emotional Effects of War on Soldiers”) They will also avoid anything that is related to war like a

When soldiers get deployed the main goal is for them to complete their duties and make it back to home just like they left. Getting back home in one piece includes what is inside as well, the brain. The complex system that runs everything from your emotions, anxiety, optimism, pain management and impulse control is shaken up by extreme experiences like exposure to death or dreadful experiences. War veterans may experience flashbacks, nightmares, intense anxiety, panic attacks, depression and self-destructive thoughts or actions long after the trauma has occurred. The cause of this is because the neural pathways in the brain have actually been damaged and transformed by that experience, this is called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

“When I was in serious danger I was almost completely paralysed by fear, I remember sitting with a coffin (a fellow soldier) on the fire-step of a trench during an intense bombardment, when it seemed certain that we must be killed”(The Psychological Effects Of The Vietnam War). Our soldiers that we send to war to protect us against the countries trying to harm us are put into dangerous situations that affect them physically and mentally and leave them with permanent damage to their minds and bodies. The server damage that our military soldiers faced when returning from war is PTSD which stands for post traumatic stress disorder and is the most common disorder that returning soldiers are diagnosed with , but a more tragic diagnosis from war

When a soldier enlists into the military forces they know they are going in to fight for their country and freedom for everyone. They spend months training and preparing for the war and what to come. They learn to fight, shoot, and kill enemies, but what they do not learn is how to cope with the after math of the war. Soldiers in war every year come home with many post traumatic effects from what they had witnessed. During world war two this was known as shell shock; however what can be concluded is that world war two impacted the soldiers emotionally and physiologically from the time they entered to post war.