The Effects Of Hope And Happiness Among The Children Of Veterans And Non Veterans

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.

The New England Journal of Medicine States: “The defining characteristic of a traumatic event is its capacity to provoke fear, helplessness, or death. People who are exposed to such events are at increased risk for PTSD as well as for major depression, panic disorder, including generalized anxiety disorder.”

Furthermore, the lack of proper rehabilitation or care programs post-war will also reflect the state of the nations. After the catastrophes of war have subsided, the affected areas are left in not only physical ruin, but also mental and emotional ruin. Child soldiers, who have been separated from their families, are stuck between not knowing if their other family members were

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options.

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

However, not all the change created by the war was negative. In Regret to Inform many of the wives, although they still missed their significant other, managed to take something positive from their husband’s death. The wives that refused to be stuck in the negative, were able to take a moral from their unfortunate situation, and

Alhough individuals respond differently to traumatic incidents, going through a traumatic event where a death or mutiple deaths occur, can result in guilt and symptoms that are detrimental to the individual. Though many individuals experiences to traumatic incidents

The soldiers face loneliness, isolation, the heavy burden of fear, and the weight of their reputations. The soldiers carry such a heavy weight from the past, in the present, and for the future. Even after the war, the psychological burdens the men carried during the war continues to define them. Those who survive the war carry guilt, grief, and confusion.

There are people who believe that Post-traumatic Stress disorder is not a real disease, and the victims are feigning their symptoms. These ignorant people have never talked to someone plagued by the disorder. Jonathan Norrell was a medic who was sent to Iraq. Throughout his tour there he witnessed many people die. In an interview with PBS new affiliate Maria Hinojosa, Norrell was asked if “[He] could still do a good job, if [he] could still be a good solider?”(Pertaining to his first brush with death) Norrell’s immediate response was “Yes.” Although he had witnessed a lot of suffering as a medic, the trauma had yet to affect him. However it did. In that same interview Norrell said “It wasn’t till later on that it really started to get to me.” The trauma had taken a life of its own. On the way back to his grandmother’s house in Texas, he had a breakdown where he was crying, couldn’t see, and had no idea where he was . In one conversation with Norrell it would be easy to see how real PTSD really is. Norrell has experience great traumas, and had an intense reaction to them; the recipe for Post-traumatic Stress disorder.

Through the symbols and characters, the story clearly shows the mental influence of the war on veterans. The veterans face a lot of hardship not only in the war time but also after the war when they try to get on well with the society. The problem is not a coincident because it happens to the majority of veterans in various ways. It costs a great number of lives and leaves unspeakable long-term troubles on economy, society, family, civilians, and especially veterans. Nowadays, the wars still occur around the world in different forms, such as terrorism. It raises the fright on people and veterans. As a result, the meaningless wars, which only lead to death, must be prohibited. There is always another option to solve a conflict without violence.

There is often an expectation that someone who has survived a traumatic event would be happy for being alive. But there are those who have gone through a traumatic event and have developed a condition known as survivor’s guilt and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and are actually unhappy or depressed that they survived. This condition not only affects the survivors, but those around them as well.

Surveys are sent out to over a thousand recipients, but a total of 108 returned the survey completed. Not all family members participated of those 108 participants. Of the participants soldiers completed the PTSD checklist, soldier and spouse completed the secondary trauma scale (STS), and both spouses completed the other sections that included the STS, hurt-insult-threaten-scream (HITS), relax-alone-friends-family-trouble (RAFFT) (Herzog, Everson & Whitworth, 2011). The results of this survey did reveal that spouses and children are at an increased risk of underlining stress. It also revealed that the symptoms are similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder, with depression and anxiety also being a contributing factor with military spouses and children.

In the aftermath of traumatic events, many survivors experience a sense of responsibility and blame, questioning why they lived while others didn’t. This pervasive phenomenon is known as “survivor’s guilt.” Survivor’s guilt, (as well as PTSD), is associated with the recollection of certain traumatic or life-changing events (Lynch and Johnson 45). Survivor’s guilt and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have impacted our society’s individuals greatly.

The wartime lives of the soldiers who fought in the war were in a state of mind of mixed feelings. Happiness and devastating are two adjectives that can describe the soldier’s feelings in the war because at one second they can be happy that they succeeded on a mission, but on the other hand, it can be very devastating because one of their own soldiers could have been killed during the war. Aside from physical danger losing one of your own soldiers or having your family worry about you every day and night are some negatives and unpleasant parts about fighting in a war. For example, soldiers loved ones worried each day, and hoped that they would not get a knock on their door by someone who was going to tell them that their fathers, husbands, sons, or brothers have died in the war.

When a man or a women returns from a combat deployment overseas they come and everyone is happy to see them, and this has been happening since the war in Iraq and Afghanistan wars started. But what they don’t realize is that that man or woman may not be so happy to be home but they don’t quite understand why. After past wars such as World War I this type of thing was called war fatigue and they were told they were fine. But this isn’t the cause in many men and women returning home from today’s wars. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can result from a number of different traumatic events, but the intensity and duration of some people’s reactions can be quite different but that also has many factors. The negative effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is affecting families and the effects it has on families of patients.