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The Psychological Effects Of PTSD In 'The Red Convertible'

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The psychological and social effects of the medical condition, PTSD on a person, their family, and the lack of knowledge about PTSD in the 1970’s for treatment options is imperative to the readers understanding of the short story “The Red Convertible”. These effects stem from the inability of a person to properly reintegrate themselves in times of post-deployment, due to their experiences during times of war. The inability of a person to properly reintegrate themselves in times of post-deployment is a common symptom of PTSD. Many soldiers return from war unscathed, which is fortunate because the ones that are effected by war, struggle daily with lifelong repercussions (Committee 47). Studies from the Vietnam war display that approximately one fifth of troops return home with symptoms of PTSD or depression (Committee 48). These studies came out approximately five years after the Vietnam war because PTSD was not recognized as a legitimate mental health condition until 1980 (Committee 49). Lack of knowledge about PTSD left veterans and their families isolated in terms of treatment options. Veterans did not recover from PTSD in the 1980’s, instead their symptoms were ignored. They remained at home unemployed deemed unable to work because of this shortcoming in information about PTSD (Dyer 2). Unemployment rates were at an all-time high of 29.1% for veterans while the national average unemployment rate was only 8.2% (Dyer 4). Veterans with PTSD find it difficult to acclimate
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