Implications of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for War Veterans

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

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

Today, hundreds of thousands of service men and women and recent military veterans have seen combat. Many have been shot at, seen their buddies killed, or witnessed death up close. These are types of events that can lead to Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder ("Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD: A Growing Epidemic. “) Anyone that has gone through a traumatic event can be diagnosed with PTSD but research shows, military men and women are more susceptible to having PTSD (PTSD: A Growing Epidemic.) And, with little help from the US, many Veterans do not get the help they need or get treated for PTSD. Military men and women begin to

Perhaps attesting to the enhanced understanding of PTSD and alarm at the troubling suicide rates of veterans, the media seems to be raising the public’s attention about the condition, for example, through the use of documentaries. In 2005, during the second push of the Iraqi and Afghanistan war PBS FRONTLINE released a documentary entitled, “The Soldier’s Heart,” This documentary gives an overview of the history of PTSD, but focuses specifically on the psychological toll of the Iraq war. It illuminates the fact that despite advances in our understanding of PTSD, there continues to be a stigma against psychological problems in the

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.

To the millions of veterans that have served this country by leaving behind their world as they once knew it, thank you. Entering the world of a soldier comes with a culture of warriors who are taught and trained to be ready to kill, but also ready to save, heal, and comfort (Hansen). Sergeant Hansen served in the United States Marine Corps for nine years and was deployed three times, once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in April of 2014, however like many other veterans, his military experience has impacted his new civilian life due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. It is paramount that a proper system concerning military veterans of the United States is established for the process of re-acclimating soldiers back to a civilian lifestyle. Within the current system and process that is being used, veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are discharged without the support and guidance they need to efficiently return to the civilian world.

Military service members who are and have been deployed to the middle east show high levels of emotional distress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both active duty and reserve component soldiers who have experienced combat have been exposed to high levels of traumatic stress. As a consequence, many have gone on to develop a wide range of mental health problems such as PTSD. “According to researchers, PTSD is a long-term reaction to war-zone exposure that can last up to a few minutes, hours, several weeks, and for some a lifetime.” Common symptoms include: emotional numbing, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and depression. If the disorder turns chronic veterans may experience functional impairment (Friedman, M. J. et al., 1994, p.

Memories of war are like poison in the minds of the broken soldiers calling for help, only to find out that their voices have become a distant echo. Their words lost in the society of the land they've slaved to protect, robbed of the aid, and crippled by their illness. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), became a documented mental disorder in 1980, when the American Psychiatric Association (APA) added PTSD to the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. For about 30+ years, since the Vietnam war began, veterans have experienced the pain of this ailment. Human beings experience PTSD in varying degree, but often we associate it with war. Since the recognition of PTSD as an illness, the government has failed

As we learn more about the cause and effect of PTSD we can better equip ourselves to help those in need. It is a process that has a clear beginning but an unclear ending. A person who can function normally for many years after seeing combat may find it increasingly difficult to sit in a classroom day after day. With raising awareness on not only the severity but the scope of impact of mental health disorders it can eliminate the stigma of weakness and get these men and women who have put themselves second much of their lives the help they

Veterans are the people who have given part of themselves to protect our country. We have denied them, laughed at them, and forgotten them when they gave so much to defend us. There are veterans who are living on the streets, dying from starvation, sickness, and weather, when they thought they would be welcomed with open arms. Going to war changed their personalities and gave them a want to forget the things they saw. Veterans should be welcomed and cared for, not disrespected and forgotten. PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can affect the daily lives of veterans and their families who have to help deal with it. Things such as fireworks or gunshots can trigger it, causing them to remember the horrific things they have seen and heard.

So many people we know go to war in their lifetime. Men, women, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even our friends. No matter what their title may to you, those soldiers risk their lives fighting in order to keep each and every one of our families safe at night. However, once their home from the war, who takes the time to evaluate and treat the soldiers on the horrifying things they witnessed, the tragedy of losing their brothers in combat, and the acts they had to endure just to keep themselves alive. Too many soldiers come home from war wounded in more than a physical way, yet it goes untreated in far too many cases. Issues such as substance abuse, psychological impairments (PTSD, anxiety, depression etc.), and

Some factors of, PTSD in war veterans are psychological trauma, illnesses, and a feeling they are still at war after coming home. Most war veterans’ will have PTSD after coming home from war, they also will have psychological trauma. In fact, in one article they said (witnessing death, destruction, and torture, and at time, continuous threats to one’s life; or participating in hostilities and killing can potentially lead to mental health problems). Because of, fighting in the war, many things they see or experience can traumatize them for life and may never go away. Some might go for help but might not get anything out of it because of their experience in the war, was too traumatic. Next, war veterans’ can feel as if the war is still going

The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) findings indicate that of the 1.7 million veterans who ever experienced significant symptoms of PTSD after the Vietnam war, approximately 830,000 still experience clinically significant distress and disability from symptoms of PTSD. (Weiss, et al. par.1) Soldiers deployed into war zones are exposed to a broad spectrum of traumatic events that they are forced to cope with on the

According to (Rosenheck and Fontana) "Recent trends in VA treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders” Claim that treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The number of Persian Gulf–era veterans diagnosed with PTSD grew by 8,000 veterans per year from 2003 to 2005. Since 1997, however, the median annual increment in all users of VA specialty mental health services has averaged 37,000 veterans per year, including 22,000 per year with PTSD (14). This expansion was associated with a 37 percent reduction in mental health visits per year. The VA has substantially increased financial support for PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder is not a new concept to the military. Identified in 1945 as “war neuroses” (Grinker & Spielgel, 1945) PTSD, as most psychologists refer to this disorder as, is a common occurs to military personnel stationed within the battle lines. This condition can include having nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings and much more. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015) The problem that most returning Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi freedom veterans are facing is