Most veterans will find adjusting to civilian life after combat duty is really challenging. Sometimes, they might feel they are still on their duty in a war even when they are already at home. In order to help them to feel better and keep them in a positive mood, family members can play an essential role. Family members of those veterans should be patient, have more conversations with them and show more understanding and appreciation. It’s very important that family members should be patient with those veterans, because render those veterans to fit into daily life will be a really long process. Many of them might be suffering depression, PTSD as well as alcohol and drug issue, which will drive them to commit suicide much more easily. According to Veterans adjust to life back home wrote by Brenda Payton, a corporal called Dave Smith described that two of his best friends killed themselves even when Dave thought they are doing good. Family members usually can have the most supportive, reliable and trusting relationships with those …show more content…
Eli Saslow (2011) in chapter 3 from Ten Letters describes Doug as a second lieutenant who just came back from his combat duty in Afghanistan was having a hard time to adjust to the civilian life. He felt that some of the relatives think his combat duty was like having a tour. Also, he was really anxious about not familiar with his own house and cannot fit into the daily life. "he started to stomp around their apartment, clambering in the kitchen and cursing loud enough to wake her up."(p.81) In order to help him, Doug' wife Krissy talked to him, shared each other’s thoughts and they understood each other even better than before. It’s really important to make those veterans to feel they are understood by the people they cared and that will help them to have courage to overcome the
But all family members need time to readjust their live style in order to reintegrate that one lost family member back. But issues begin to fly once that member falls into a mental illness, he/she begins to become different then before the war and the family begins not be able to recognize who this new fellow is, either the family or the individual will separate from the other. The separation is due to fear and because there wasn’t any idea of how to reproach each other after the length of war. Some cases are different, like a wounded soldier that no longer has a limb might cause insecurity by the veteran and might make him/her feel as if his/her family might not receive the back because they feel incomplete. Most family issues occur because families don’t know how to confront the situation at hand and tend to hope that in the long run everything will be just okay. According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), family members commonly react with avoidance, may enter a stage of depression, and create a sense of anger and guilt. Family members feel the same grind as of the afflicted veteran, and so they respond by devoting themselves entirely to care for that love one but during this process of helping their love ones, they forget about their own needs.
Within the Vet Center as mentioned we don’t attempt to fix just the veteran we also attempt to help his family. The military family has problems that are unique. The problems the veteran encountered while in the military they are very inclined to sometime unknown to them demonstrate and bring this problem home. Also if they have children the children are more adapt to be more depended on one and lose some connections with the other. I believe it is hard for one to step in and try to make amends because of this lose.
There are so many history stories in history books and on the internet, but the source from people who were actually there is so much better than reading the nonsense. It’s better to hear stories from people who have actually lived and witnessed it rather than just read stories about it. Most students listen better than they read. When you listen to stuff, it sticks in our mind way longer than looking at a book trying to figure out what’s going on. Veterans are an example of this. They tell us stories about the times they were in the training and when they battled, if they did or have already. They have always been an important part of our nation’s history, present, and future. Everyone who went into the military or is currently planning to join has or will have a story to tell. It will be a part of them that they will always remember, the good times and the bad times. So many veterans love telling all the experiences they have witnessed. Thinking of it, it’s not a bad thing; it’s a great thing to be able to say they were actually there. Many students ask what the training is like when they first join the military, although it’s really tough, many still consider going, some even make the commitment to join right after they graduate. Those who do make it, the commitment, are the reason our nation’s history and future is how it is and how
Social workers in all branches of the military are helping families and military personnel prepare for, and cope with, the hardships of war. They do so through a range of preventive and clinical services provided by the Veteran Administration with many different types of programs, including family-support and mental-health counseling. The mission statement of the VA Social Workers is to eliminate significant barriers to clients in need and offer interventions for veterans and families. It is accomplished by developing and maintaining integrated, in-depth programs in patient care, research, and education.
The soldiers of the United States military are extremely skilled at their jobs. Because of their training they understand that if they hesitate in combat that they or someone they care about will be killed. So from day one service men and woman are taught to be proficient in a war zone. The problem is that “becoming good at war often involves becoming bad at peace” (Aikins par. 6). Many of soldiers that have returned or are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan readjust to civilian life or the home front fairly easily. But ofttimes service men and woman returning from combat with PTSD have a wide range of troubles readjusting to the life they were once very accustomed to (Aikins par. 6). This
It is impossible to estimate the severe effects that war can cause on military families due to the impact that war can have a veterans. When a member of a family is deployed to war everyone in the family are affected (James & Gilliland, 2013). Goff, Crow, Reisbig & Hamilton, (2007) reports since 2001, military personnel and their families have experienced extraordinary separations. Toward the end of 2005, more than 160,000 soldiers were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait for Operation and Iraqi Freedom and 20,000 soldiers to Afghanistan. When one consider this number, it does suggests serious separations among families inclusive of spouses, children, parents and other relatives.
The three most effective intervention tools I would suggest to effectively intervene with the veteran population are cognitive behavioral therapy and narrative therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that seeks to change the way a person behaves or thinks in order to promote positive feelings or actions using a goal-oriented approach. Cognitive behavioral therapy draws on theories of learning and memory as well as the cognitive model. The cognitive model “proposes that distorted or dysfunctional thinking underlies all psychological disturbances. Furthermore, dysfunctional thinking has an important effect on our mood and behavior,” (Ledley, 2010). In order to adapt CBT techniques to the veteran population, seek a deeper understanding of the client’s background and how their time in the military may have caused distorted thinking that may lead to maladaptive behaviors. I would also ask the client for their own input in regards to their needs and issues they face. I would then create a framework by which I could create a treatment plan to
Many people think that the absolute best way to relate to a relative or the best way to resolve internal conflict, is through talking it out. In some cases this may have validity, but not in the case of veterans. Family members inserting their assumptions and probing their returning loved ones is not only prevalent today, but goes all the way back to World War I, and likely occurred before then as well. While of course there is value in communication, many veterans do not want to talk about their experiences, and shouldn’t be forced to do so. They also should not have to explain themselves to those who think they understand what is going on.
Of these men and women, many of them served multiple deployments of 12-18 months, often back to back, without adequate time to recoup and recover. Veterans of combat have seen things that we in the civilian world cannot comprehend: friends killed, injuries sustained, bombs exploding, persistent stress and danger, the taking of another’s life. And yet, many veterans will tell you that coming home can be harder. The sense of purpose, of pride, even excitement that the battlefield offers disappears upon return, and is met with an often-indifferent or even hostile public. This often produces a sense of extreme isolation and alienation in this transition period. It can be very hard to reconcile the experience of combat and service with the day-to-day life at home. This is also a time when the horrors of war can catch up to a solider, and the combination of these factors make them vulnerable to PTSD, depression and economic
Many veterans have trouble adjusting to regular life; even serving on just a military base feels unreal at times after dealing with major combat operations. Combat soldiers may be brutally injured, or witness the death of their closest friend or maybe an entire group of friends. Soldiers may be responsible for trying to save the life of a wounded soldier and are likely to experience a fellow soldier die in their arms. After putting their life at risk to protect their country, and their freedom as well as the freedom of others, returning home after a war is difficult. “About six out of every ten (or 60 percent) of men military veterans and five out of every ten (or 50 percent) of women military veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after encountering a traumatic event or multiple events while in military services”, United States Department of Affairs, How Common is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.va.gov,. It is very hard to believe that the brave men and women who are fighting for our freedom and safety are actually fighting an emotionally crippling mental battle as well, but this mind boggling statistic is true. “About 53 percent of the veterans whose primary diagnosis is/was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) do not
From a young age I knew I had family in the military-grandparents, uncles, great grandparents, cousins-I just never realised how dangerous and hard it was for the people overseas and for family at home. With only being able to communicate a few minutes every once in awhile is hard; and to never know when the next time will be is very scary. Fortunately i've never experienced losing someone while on duty. Unlike the families of the unknown soldiers.
There are a few options out there for someone who might be going through the stressors of having a military family member. Seeking out a counselor or family counselor could be beneficial to the individual or the family for a few different reasons. One of the reasons this might be a good idea is just having someone who isn’t family to go and talk to and get everything off their chest and also have another input to put into perspective on the situation. Another option these families have is a military life and family counselor. Military life and family counseling started a little over ten years ago when the rate of suicides within the military increased. Social workers sought out a way to help members of the military and their families deal with the stressors of military life. A lot of times these families struggle with deployments and moving from different states and even
Even today, most American’s are unaware about the problems that military families face. Right now the United States military has a record-breaking number of active-duty parents deployed in various military conflicts all across the world. The long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has majorly affected many families. New research is showing the affects the deployments are having on military families, especially how the children are being affected. Many of the children are having problems with their education and also may have sociological problems. This is not a new problem, but only in the last couple of decades has the
War has caused many veterans to suffer from a condition known as PTSD. PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition where a veteran or soldier suffers from stress and anxiety on a regular basis that affects their everyday decisions. According to (Gabriela Acosta), “depression, post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), anxiety, traumatic brain injury and other conditions as a result of their service, and these issues affect not only the service member, but also their spouses, children, extended families and friends.” There are many veterans whose mental health has changed the way they live and the way their peers around them live. This creates a more difficult environment for many of the closer peers and can affect their lives as much as it has affected the veteran’s life. This has long term effects that can lead to depression in the veterans and feelings of loneliness caused from a veterans experiences serving and being in the field of
Members of the veteran’s family may also have a difficult time understanding the mindset of the returning service member. Former civilian friends may also