How Does Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Affects Our Nation 's Military?

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

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

Anger, aggression and confusion are a few symptoms of the fabled myth of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An over whelming feeling that devours men and women of the armed forces, but hasn’t been talked about openly until, now. A subject no one likes to openly speak of, due to fear of being cast out as an outsider among the normal people who never witnessed something so traumatic can function in normal society today.

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

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a deeper mental problem than being anxious and jumpy. Veterans who have PTSD lose themselves as people. PTSD is one of the most common health issues among military personnel who served in a combat zone. When families have a loved one serving in combat zones, they fear that their soldier may not return home or will have a serious physical injury. But unlike the feared physical injuries, PTSD is not a visible wound, it is an injury of the mind. The PTSD will take a part of their loved one away, the veteran will not be at emotional or social. This disorder is an incurable mental condition caused by a traumatic event or events in person’s life. The soldiers who have PTSD have no way to get rid of

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that causes anxiety and distress due to an extremely terrifying event. PTSD occurs in people who have experienced an event that is life-threatening, terrifying to include seeing someone they personally know or don’t know endure death (Kalat, 2013, p. 383). Recently the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) has seen significant rises in diagnosing and treating PTSD sufferers in returning combat soldier from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the National Center for PTSD out of 100 veterans 20 are likely to return with PTSD symptoms (Veterans Affairs Administration, 2010). This is out of the roughly two million soldiers that have fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan war. It is noteworthy that

The military serves as a major component in our nation 's security. Everyone around the country continues to rely on them each day to defend our freedom. Undeniably, the responsibilities of military members comes along with large amounts of anxiety, self-less service, and occasionally terrifying events that can have a negative influence on the individuals life. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious illness among the men in our military. Gates et al. (2012) defines PTSD as, "a psychiatric condition that is experienced by a subset of individuals after exposure to an event that involved life threat and elicited feelings of fear, helplessness, and/or horror in the individual" (p.361). In some environments, this is a

Being a soldier requires a lot of physical and mental prowess that not everybody possesses. Even the most skilled soldiers can have psychological problems when returning from deployment. They go through extremely stressful situations that affect their mental health in many ways. This causes many of them to have post traumatic stress disorder which can lead to things like suicide. Experiences they encountered while being deployed determines the severity of the disorder. These experiences can range from getting shot at to not having trust in the system.

The direct psychological impact of war can be seen especially in veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Around 20 percent of veterans come home with Post traumatic stress disorder, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance abuse disorder which is usually co morbid with the illness. Many veterans, while they are in the

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with war veterans. These days, assuming symptoms of PTSD in soldiers returning from combat tours is almost stereotypical. In fact, in the 2012 American Psychological Association (APA) annual meeting, some argue to change PTSD to post-traumatic stress “injury” to be more accommodating to soldiers, and to resolve the issue of unreported PTSD-related symptoms within military ranks (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Military officials explained that many soldiers do not report their symptoms because of the fear of being viewed as weak (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, the incidence of PTSD can be as common among civilians as it is for those in the military.

For over 240 years the United States Military has made it their job to serve and protect this Country. In 1775 the Revolutionary War begun, Since then the United States has had over 40 million Troops and has also fought in 134 Wars including Two World Wars and more then a Dozen Revolutionary Battles. Despite the bravery the 48million troops who served more then 38% come back with and Injury or Mental Disorder. The highest diagnosed mental disorder in Soldiers when returning home is PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) a Symptom usually cause by a traumatic event, Such as Death, Explosion and Terrorism. The symptoms are very stressful and can causes serious issues for the Soldier and his/her family.

War has shown a lot regarding the keen of combat stress. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines combat as a fight or contest between individuals or groups. The anxiety of combat can thrust combatants to their peripheral boundaries. The stress and engagement in combat can be very menacing. This anxiety may cause a variety of maladjusted practices from transgression to psychiatric responses. Negative response to this type of stress can result into transgression practices. The U.S. military is increasingly recognizing the multitude of the psychological consequences of serving in the military. For some people, exposure to trauma results in the development of psychological maladjustment in the form of posttraumatic stress disorder. Veterans returning from combat zones tent to meet the criteria for PTSD at rates significantly higher than what is observed in the general population.

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.

For survivors of traumatic events, the trauma itself is often only the beginning. While some are relatively unaffected, many others will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, an affliction that haunts its victims with terrifying memories, nightmares, and panic attacks. (For a comprehensive list of symptoms and diagnostic criteria, the reader may refer to the DSM-IV, relevant portions of which may be found online (7).) The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 3.6 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 54 suffer from PTSD; 30 percent of those who have spent time in war zones - one million veterans of Vietnam alone - are