Moral Injuries In 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.

We have all seen or read about the political and social upheavals caused by war. Some may have even experienced it first-hand. Throughout history war has had negative psychological implications on those effected. However, there is no greater negative impact of war than the psychological and emotional turmoil that it causes individual soldiers.

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

The freedoms Americans enjoy come at a price; brave military men and women often foot the bill. Many men and women pay with their lives; others relive the sights, sounds, and terror of combat in the form of PTSD. Several causes and risk factors contribute to the development of PTSD. Combat-related PTSD appears slightly different than traditional PTSD. History tells of times when soldiers diagnosed with PTSD were viewed as “weak.” Resources have not always been available to struggling soldiers. The adverse symptoms of PTSD on soldiers and their families can be crippling.

Rates of trauma and mental illness are reported to be disproportionately higher among American veterans, especially those of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The barriers to care after civilian reentry further disadvantage this already vulnerable population. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained US military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. Veterans are at risk mental health challenges, as well as family instability, elevated rates of homelessness, and joblessness. Veterans have disproportionate rates of mental illness, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse disorders, depression, anxiety, and military sexual trauma.

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.

Many veterans struggle coping with symptoms of PTSD which has a negative effect on one's emotions. A survey conducted suggest that, veterans with a positive diagnosis of PTSD reveals measures of worry, self-punishment, social control, behavioral distractions, and avoidance coping strategies (Pietrzak et al.). From this survey, many veterans who have difficulty dealing with negative emotions are most likely suffering from Post traumatic stress disorder. Unfortunately, more than the majority of veterans have dealt or is dealing with Post traumatic stress disorder because of warfare

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans has been prevalent in the United States ever since the diagnosis of shell shock after World War I. PTSD continues to be prevalent in veterans from the Vietnam War, to the Gulf War, to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among veterans during the Vietnam era was 30.9% for men and 26.9% for women (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). Based on a population study the prevalence of PTSD among previously deployed Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom was 13.8% (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). PTSD in combat veterans can be very difficult to understand. This is widely due to the lack of research

Today's veterans offten return home and find themselves experiencing PTSD symptoms as a result of combat-related stress and signfigant amount of exposure to traumatic events. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States Veterans has risen to great numbers in recent years due United States involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) thus far within the last 10 years 1,400,000 military service members have been engaged in these conflicts. Once Unitied States troops were deployed and participated in Operation New Dawn (OND) numbers began to rise over 2.5 million troops. (Rosenthal, J. Z., Grosswald, S., Ross, R., & Rosenthal, N. 2011) The veteran population will face exclusive types of stressors

The recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been experienced not only on the battlefield but when they return, the war comes home with them. Military service members have to deal with the emotional and physical scars and the multiple civilian

The U.S. military produces some of the bravest most heroic men and women on earth. From the moment the oath of enlistment is made to the time of separation or retirement, these courageous souls endure a number of amazing, historic and sometimes unbelievable events. They are praise for their service and lift even higher for their sacrifice, although most are unaware of the true sacrifices are made by some of these men and women. The most visible sacrifices or “outer sacrifices” are loss of life or loss of limbs while the inner wounds are bouts with depression, sexual assault, divorce, and most common alcohol other drug abuse.

It is a well known fact that war is gruesome and changes those involved. We have all heard the stories of soldiers risking life and limb to protect our beliefs, but until recently we have believed that the scars of war were merely physical. While mental disorders like PTSD were debated shortly after World War II it was not diagnosed until around 1980. Even now, there is a plethora of other factors that contribute to the mental health of war veterans. These same factors are being ignored not only by the public and the medical professionals, but sometimes even the veterans themselves.

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

Levi, Bar‐Haim, Kreiss and Fruchter (2016) provide effective psychotherapy approaches for treating combat veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, which they show their efficacy with a great deal of support. The research is more comprehensive than most studies as it provides an assessment of the psychiatric status at baseline, post-treatment and 8–12 months follow-up using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, the PTSD Questionnaire, the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Psychotherapy Outcome Assessment and Monitoring System-Trauma Version assessment questionnaire. However, the researchers did not conduct randomized controlled trials to determine treatment efficacy. Litz et al., (2009) added to the research on the treatment of PTSD by stimulating a critical examination of moral injury. The study makes use of the available literature and offers a working conceptual framework and a set of intervention strategies designed to repair moral injury, which is a strength also evident in Peterson et al. (2011).