PTSD Effects On Veterans

About 30% of the men and women who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. (Military.) The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that PTSD afflicts almost 31% of Vietnam veterans, as any as 10% of Gulf War veterans, 11% of veterans of the war in Afghanistan, and 20% of Iraqi war veterans. An additional 20 to 25 percent of all military men and women have had partial PTSD at some point in their lives (Military.)

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

Among those who served in the Vietnam War, 84.8% of those diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder still show moderate impairment of symptoms, even 30 plus years after the war (Glover 2014). As of today, the Unites States has 2.8 million veterans who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, of those it is estimated that 11 to 20% currently suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As of 2013, a total of 12,632 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are currently diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Glover 2014). Of course it is to be taken into account that these numbers are based on those who admit to experiencing symptoms and seek treatment.

PTSD is a mental health problem that some individuals can develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. It is normal for an individual to have upsetting memories, feel on edge, or have trouble sleeping after a traumatic event. It may be hard to do normal activities, such as going to work, school, or spending time with people you care about. For some individuals, PTSD symptoms may not start right away they may come and go over time. With PTSD, veterans may find it had to keep their support groups such as family, friends and possible significant others close due to the symptoms of PTSD. Individuals can have a difficult time trying to get back into a routine that has now changed whether they themselves are suffering from PTSD or individuals closest to those who are

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.

PTSD is a disorder that is developed after witnessing life threatening events. These events can range from natural disasters to any type of assault in any point in your life. With this mental health condition comes to a series or nightmares, jumping at small noises, reoccurring memories, depression, and anger. Symptoms usually don't often show up for a few months or years after the terrifying event. But once they start, it's a difficult mindset to retreat from. This specific disorder can it harder for one to be engaged in liked activities such as going to work, walking your dog, exercising, or even leaving the house. Many veterans may feel the need to constantly be on guard (What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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 members of military who are exposed to war or combat are high risk groups developing PTSD. PTSD truly became a factor of public attention because of war veterans. Up to 18% of war veterans are affected by PTSD [27].

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as a “disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous events”. This being one of the titles strapped on to most returning veterans from war is an issue that is heavily debated and relevant to future war veterans. There is no known cure for this disorder and can be destructive to one who has it. This report will be going over 1) A brief history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 2) Why does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder pertain to Vietnam veterans specifically how the veterans helped PTSD be what it is today 3) Some evidence from other sources that

Many veterans who have been through war and experienced the gruesome nature of it come back to civilian life as a whole different person. Once they have returned, it is extremely difficult for them to function normally and go back to the way they used to be. One adjustment issue that individuals with PTSD struggle with is having this unrestrained feeling of being on edge that occurs spontaneously. As a soldier, these people were trained to always be on guard, fully alert, and be ready to pull the trigger during combat. As a result, some of these individuals develop a violent and agitated behavior, which is very hard for them to control. Furthermore, many veterans with PTSD have flashbacks of the horrors of warfare and have constant nightmares

PTSD can affect people in different ways due to the circumstance they went through, for example, “a young woman gets mugged and hit over the head with a pipe. Years later, she is still afraid to go out at night by herself. She has trouble making friends and she is slow to trust people. She has gotten several warnings at work for missing days; sometimes she just can’t seem to get out of bed. A former soldier, when he finally sleeps, finds himself back on the dusty roads of Afghanistan. He awakes in a panic and struggles futilely to return to sleep. Days are hardly better. The rumble of garbage trucks shatters his nerves. Flashbacks come unexpectedly, at the whiff of certain cleaning chemicals. He is imprisoned in his own mind” (Brainline,

Compared to the average citizen, combat Veterans are diagnosed with PTSD at an elevated rate. Combat Veterans are four times more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD compared to the general population. With most Veterans being subjected to multiple deployments and increased traumatic events the number of combat Veterans has increased compared to past historical eras of war. More Veterans are returning from deployments and are trying to re-acclimate themselves within society but are drastically overwhelmed with the process and ill prepared to identify PTSD symptoms for what they are.

What is interesting about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among soldiers is that many of the soldiers tend to not let people know they suffer from it. This is bad because then they can not get treatment to help take care of the disorder. They go about their life as everything is okay. However you can still tell that they suffer from PTSD. Some signs that were recorded are that they tend to shy away from talking about their time spent in the services (Legarreta, 3). Another sign that was recorded was the fact that the veterans tend to be "cold hearted" and have very little emotion.

On average there is about 1,174,600 active duty servicemen but a little over 1/6 of those are homeless which means there is about 200,000 homeless vets which is unacceptable (“homeless veterans”). 247,250 of the 834,463 veterans that served during the war on terror have ptsd (Reno, jamie). Here is a story from someone with ptsd, “PTSD is like having a wound that is always open and that certain situation can possibly make worse. You don’t want to get back into the game because you feel so vulnerable. you feel your psyche being drained by social situations, you feel your soul being dimmed and your spirit being lost. Emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually if you're lucky can just have intense feelings. Other results they may feel like they are dead. You usually feel weak and like a coward because you can’t function and when you do, you feel like a hurt animal waiting to be picked off for good” (Michele Rosenthal). As you can see it is a very widespread and is not without cause.

Having PTSD can disrupt relationships, health, job, and any day-to-day activities (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2017). For someone who has PTSD little things can be triggering for them. An example of this could be seeing something on the news about sexual assault and feeling overcome from the memories of your own assault (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2017). Things that people who don’t have PTSD find normal can be hard for people with PTSD to see, hear and live through.