The Role Of PTSD In Vietnam Soldiers

“My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life.

Henry Fosdick once said, “The tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst.” In “The Red Convertible” by Louis Erdrich, there is a conflict amongst two brothers, Henry and Lyman as ones awareness towards reality is shifted upon the return of the Vietnam War. Henry’s experience fighting in the Vietnam War is the responsibility for the unexpected aftermath that affects their brotherhood. The event of Henry fighting in the war through fears, emotions and horrors that he encounters is the source of his “Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome [PTSD].” It has shaped his own perception of reality and his relationship with his brother Lyman and the strong bond that they had shared.

Dr. Jacob Mendez Da Costa, a physician during the Civil War, ran studies on many wounded Union soldiers. He discovered that they had rapid heart rates and high blood pressure combined with severe exhaustion and the ability to be easily startled. Though PTSD was yet a known disorder, it was clear that the men’s symptoms were caused because of the disturbing things they had seen and experienced in battle.(Thomas 10)

with macabre memories of war that can cause them to lash out at people and do things they would not normally do. This is a disease known by medical examiners as “Post Traumatic Stress Drama” or PTSD for short. PTSD was first researched after the Vietnam War and the first diagnosis was in 1980. (Glover, Lacie). Roughly 31% of Vietnam veterans have suffered from this disease at some point. (Glover, Lacie). As if the previously listed statistic was not sad and shocking enough, the next statistic will make your heart sink. The number of PTSD-diagnosed Vietnam veterans that are still suffering at least moderate impairments even after more than three decades of combat is a heart cramping 85%. (Glover, Lacie). While Vietnam is one of America’s most heavily studied and remembered wars, Vietnam veterans are not the only veterans suffering from PTSD.

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

Veterans suffer from PTSD in multiple ways with sleeplessness, nightmares, and flashbacks (Bender). Veterans use different coping mechanisms to prevent themselves from triggering memories of the traumatic event. It has been found that veterans may become emotionally detached. Mintze reports, the Veterans Administration estimates that 830,000 Vietnam vets suffered symptoms of PTSD; of that number, 480,000 were so deeply affected that they were considered disabled. The effect of such cruel attacks has made it difficult for soldiers to adjust to life post combat (Price). This sickness can happen within three months to years after the unpleasant event. Frequently, veterans and victims of war suffer relentlessly from PTSD. Many poets, authors, and directors write to portray the lasting memories that cause one to suffer from this disorder.

This is very difficult for people to get jobs and have a social life. PTSD can make somebody hard to be with. Living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and often avoids social situations can take a toll on the most resilient family. Research shows that Vietnam Veterans have more marital problems and family violence. Their children have more behavior problems than do those of Veterans without PTSD. Veterans with the most severe symptoms had families with the worst communication. This is because people who have PTSD have a hard time feeling emotions or expressing them. They may feel detached from others. This can cause problems in personal relationships with the spouse. The numbing and avoidance that occurs with PTSD is linked

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

The majority of Vietnam veterans experienced delayed or chronic PTSD which we know now, can remain dormant for years until symptoms are triggered. According to the Vietnam Veterans’ Readjustment Study, approximately 30.9% of men and 26.9% of women soldiers in Vietnam had PTSD at some point in their lives. (P8) Lifting these requirements from the DSM-III allowed many more veterans to step forward; and with this new massive population of test subjects- scientists were able to research the dynamics, variables, and patterns of PTSD, through the advancements of neuroimaging and neuroscience. (P9) “There were many more cases of PTSD among Vietnam veterans than any other war.” (P5) A number estimated to be near 500,000. (P11)

Post-traumatic stress disorder is when someone has gone through or witnessed a traumatic event and was effected by it. For veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder normally have had a traumatic event happen while in combat or serving our country. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder caused from being a veteran are as followed: panic attacks, nightmares, disturbing thoughts, angry outburst, depression, reexperiencing the traumatic event(s), flash-backs, insomnia, exaggerated startle response, hypervigilance, poor concentration, avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s), avoidance of feelings or thoughts connected with the traumatic event(s), being extremely aware of surroundings, and sometimes

They were treated horrible in the war and out the war. Some soldiers had post traumatic stress disorder. The conditions in the war were bad 58,000 Americans killed and 365,000 were wounded. This caused PTSD for a lot of them. 11 percent still have PTSD so, not only in the war did they have to suffer some suffer up until this day (What we know about PTSD and Vietnam veterans today). During the war they weren’t treated good. They couldn’t even choose to go into the war they just had to if they were put into the drafting cards. During the war the president was assassinated and that caused stress on them. Another thing that was difficult after the war is getting another job(The Vietnam WAR). They weren’t liked once the war was over or even when

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is "an anxiety disorder, characterized by distressing memories, emotional numbness, and hyper vigilance, that develops after exposure to a traumatic event" (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 490). Traumatic events include physical abuse, rape, military combat, death of a close friend or family member, natural disasters, or witnessing events such as terrorist attacks, a violent crime, or a horrible accident (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 490). All these different events lead men and women to have nightmares, flashbacks, and tormenting memories, especially the men who fought in the Vietnam War. Around "19% of Vietnam veterans developed PTSD at some point after the war" (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 491) from the events they witnessed out in the Vietnamese jungles during combat that it would have been highly unlikely for them not to develop PTSD.

For decades, psychologists have studied the ways in which returning soldiers have struggled to cope with the horrors of war, diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in thousands of individuals. While some experience only mild nightmares, others completely lose the ability to communicate, control their emotions, or form rational thoughts and ideas. Sometimes, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder can diminish or even disappear completely, but more often they worsen with age. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, mental illness in late adulthood can be linked to past involvement in the military. Having worked with electricity and radar signals during the Second World War, Chief Bromden suffers from paranoia and hallucinations

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,

“When I was in serious danger I was almost completely paralysed by fear, I remember sitting with a coffin (a fellow soldier) on the fire-step of a trench during an intense bombardment, when it seemed certain that we must be killed”(The Psychological Effects Of The Vietnam War). Our soldiers that we send to war to protect us against the countries trying to harm us are put into dangerous situations that affect them physically and mentally and leave them with permanent damage to their minds and bodies. The server damage that our military soldiers faced when returning from war is PTSD which stands for post traumatic stress disorder and is the most common disorder that returning soldiers are diagnosed with , but a more tragic diagnosis from war