Post Traumatic Stress Disorders In Vietnam Veterans

It is common knowledge that with every war, there always comes casualties. Soldiers can lose an arm or a leg, or even their life when they go to war. Unfortunately soldiers can even lose their minds because of war. Specifically, this research paper will focus on PTSD, or in other words: post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD has shown up as a factor from many wars, but for some reason, one war in particular stands out from all others regarding the the PTSD numbers. It is called the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War (1956-1975) was part of the cold war. The US wanted to prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist country, so after Vietnam split into a north and south, they began to support South Vietnam. The US thought that if Vietnam were to

PTSD has had a major impact on veterans and their families who have fought in war. Studies show that over the past 13 years, about 500,000 US soldiers have been diagnosed with the disorder (Thomas). This does not only cause problems for the veteran with PTSD, but the families are affected in many ways also. This disorder has done as much as destroyed relationships and families.

Introduction: In  order  to  stop  the  spread  of  communism,  America  joined  the  vietnam  war. Many  young  men  were  drafted  into  this  war,  with  no  other  options  but  to  go  or  to  be  arrested.  Many  were  terrified  to  go  into  the  war,  and  tried  to  flee  the  United  States.  The  main  problem  was  not  even  just  during  the  vietnam  war,  it  was  after  the  war  was  over  and  troops  were  sent  home.  This  problem was  known  as  shell  shock,  or  what  we  now  call  Post  Traumatic  Stress  Disorder  (PTSD).  Throughout  the  turmoil  and  pain  of  the  Vietnam  war,  many young  soldiers  were  emotionally  distraught  and  treated  poorly  in  their  return home,  each  with  their  own  load  to  bear.

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.

Brian Albrecht, in his article "Families share the pain of veterans' PTSD" (2013), informs the reader of the effects of ptsd war veterans on their family, children and spouses that may cause higher levels in stress and anxiety. Brian supports his assertion by providing the reader with factual evidence of PTSD war veterans from credible resources, such as "This ‘secondary PTSD’ can include distress, depression and anxiety, said the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD" ( Albrecht). The purpose of this article is to inform the reader of the negative effects that ptsd war veterans may inflict in their family and children, in order to treat and prevent higher levels of stress and anxiety throughout the family. The authors creates

imagine being enclosed in a dark and cold box; the walls are closing in on you, and you’re unable to speak, breath, or move. You feel the spine-chilling cracks of your bones, and just before you think you’ll never make it out alive – you wake up, relieved, that it was only a bad dream. Some people experience this feeling every day of their lives, “Approximately 28 percent of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq are diagnosed with clinical distress” (Lewis, 2014). They suffer from a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder, which manifests from psychological shock, and causes persistent mental disturbances that trigger a vivid recall of the experience. With the recent advancements in technology, a possible treatment has been discovered

That announcement came too late for many Vietnam War veterans and survivors. In addition to the ethical implications of intentionally eliminating the jungle as a resource, the use of Agent Orange created other side effects for both civilians and American military members. Exposure to Agent Orange has been linked to over fourteen serious health issues, including diabetes and many types of cancer, as well as thousands of birth defects. (Ha) Over the next five years, U.S. veterans began experiencing symptoms, such as asthma, chronic rashes, and various cancers, as well as an increase in the number of children born with Down syndrome or spina bifida due to Agent Orange exposure.

According to Bender, about 470,000 of the approximately three million men who served in Vietnam are current cases of PTSD. Women who served as nurses, about 7,000 of them have also been found to suffer from this disorder (Bender 147). It is beyond imaginable the magnitude of how many men, women, children, and Vietnamese that have been affected by this one war. In recent research findings conducted by the National Center of PTSD, four out of five veterans struggle with PTSD twenty to twenty-five years later (Price).

Even soldiers of war has spoken out about their symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how the media id the truth from them about the effects of war. They describe how if they knew what they know about a soldier's life that they would've thought twice about joining the armed forces. They also described how hard it is to live with PTSD after a war. The everyday things that use to be so simple are now difficult. How memories can pop into their heads at any given minute and bring them back to that time. That time that many soldiers try their hardest to forget. Statistics show that out of a hundred soldiers, forty of them suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Legarreta, 1).

New York City is home to over between 200,000 veterans whom fought wars since Vietnam. The numbers have been increasing since the drawback of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Programs that service our veterans have been granted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans. Since the Wars began, issues arose in the veteran community like unemployment, mental health such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disease), and veteran without a home. Throughout the five boroughs of New York City the issues can be seen and the problems found here are not because of the instability of the economy. It is because of the high cost of living and politics the City of New York.

The Vietnam war was one of the most alarming and dangerous wars to fight. Every step in the Vietnam jungle was taken cautiously. The guerrilla warfare used by the Vietcong was frightening to anticipate. The majority of the United States army was only that of young men who had been chosen through the draft. Young men going to school and living a life at home in safety all the sudden having to make an overwhelming transition into a deadly, violent and nearly hopeless battlefield. This was only the beginning of problems for the future vietnam survivors. The violence of the Vietnam War brought upon the recognition of Post Traumatic Stress

The findings showed that Vietnam Veterans with PTSD: Got divorced twice as much, were three times more likely to divorce two or more times, and tended to have shorter relationships. (VA Partners). Family Violence also increased in spouses with PTSD

To effectively treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD in combat Veterans and service members, therapists use different techniques, which are preceded by addressing any underlying pain associated with the disorder. In their research, Chard et al. (2011) reported significant modifications to the CPT protocol for use with patients in a TBI-PTSD residential treatment facility, including increasing the number of sessions per week, combining group and individual therapy, and augmenting the treatment with cognitive rehabilitation. However, their research was marred with the use of few participants which provides doubts regarding the outcome of the proposed treatment procedures. Moreover, the researchers do not state with certainty as to the

As the Vietnam War began preventative measures were being taken to decrease the psychological impact of war on soldiers. Unfortunately as the war ended soldiers were often met with hostile demonstrations by anti-war activists and society offered little acceptance of Vietnam veterans even years after the war. This is when early studies on PTSD and the effects on military families began being documented. Early research showed that PTSD can have devastating, far-reaching consequences on the patients functioning, relationships,

The chemical weaponry that were used on the Vietnam vegetation had an adverse effect on the people in a way that even after three generations, the effects are still evident on the children. Many of them are born with malformations and severe defects in the nervous structure and immune system. The chemical also affected the American soldiers and veterans as many of them have health issues related to these weapons. Although the American government thought that they were only punishing the North Vietnamese, American veterans ended up victims of chronic and unhealthy conditions.