Trauma In Veterans

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

“The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is home to the United States’ largest integrated health care system” (Mason e.t. al 2016). Because of technological and medical advancement, surviving injuries from war has lead to a greater need for post deployment and discharge care. I often hear the phrase “Freedom is not free”; the mental health of our active duty soldiers and veterans is one area that ends up costing America. Some lose time with their families, some are injured physically and mentally, and some lose their lives.

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.

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

Historical facts reveal that veterans struggled with re-integration of life and communities they left behind and understood after the Civil War and other wars that followed. During pre-eras veterans were exposed to traumas that resemble those of the twentieth century e.g. trapped in post-war nightmares, injuries, shell shock, effects of depression, and long-term ramifications of psychological and physical health because of war experience (Martin, 2012, p. 12-15).

There are now many programs available to facilitate veterans who have been injured or are suffering from post traumatic stress. In the past, men would return home from wars as shells of their former selves. Loud sounds could trigger painful memories of combat and send the sufferer into a spiral of panic. Some were extremely sensitive to such things as loud noises, bright lights, certain phrases, or some daily activities. Others still were just empty husks, only living in a numb depression due to the things they have witnessed or done. There was nothing to be done with these people except force them to continue living as they had been or putting them in asylums. Now, though many men and women are still returning home injured, either mentally

I. Introduction Although veterans go to war to fight for our freedom, they are not always treated with the respect and honor they deserve or given the help they need after returning home. When veterans come home after war, they bring a lot of baggage with them. The way we treat them as a society and the kind of medical or mental treatment they receive will help them to deal with that baggage and learn how to become assimilated into society.

This group of veterans, especially, found reintegrating challenging. With many turning to substance use, finding themselves homeless, or involved with the criminal justice system, they were unable to handle the challenges of reintegration (Hawkins, 2010). By the 1980’s between thirty and seventy percent of Vietnam veterans showed signs of PTSD resulting from the combat trauma (Burgess, Stockey, & Coen, 2010). PTSD was recognized as a psychological disorder in DSM-III. Looming too large to ignore, veterans groups began to exert tremendous pressure to recognize the plight of Vietnam veterans.

In the past, veterans who disclosed suffering from signs of PTSD encountered a great deal of ignorance and bias. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.), veterans who had the illness were often considered weak, were rejected by comrades, and even faced discharge from military service. In fact, even physicians and mental health specialists often questioned the existence of the disease, which of course led to society’s misconception of PTSD in general. Sadly because of this existing prejudice it appears even today soldiers are still worried to admit having PTSD symptoms, and therefore they do not receive the proper support they need. While individuals are assured that their careers will not be affected, and seeking help is encouraged, most soldiers see it as a failure to admit having a mental health illness (Zoroya, 2013). Educating military personal of this illness, and making sure no blame is put on the veterans who encounter this disease is therefore vital.

I retain an increased value and compassion toward the military community since this experience. Our society praises and dedicates media to the individuals fighting for our freedom, yet fails to discuss the harsh reality that many veterans face when returning home from war – homelessness, mental illness, relationship failures, and inability to acquire a job. In an essence, our society takes military veterans for granted. We can support and cheer them on while they fight for our freedom, yet we neglect their freedom when they return to the United States. It stands truly heartbreaking how many veterans survive the war, yet find themselves struggling to live in their own nation. At the VA, I noticed that many Veterans, while appearing tough and strong, do not mind discussing their mental health and the components of life they struggle with. I noticed that while the veterans will state where they served and their purpose in the war, they tend to shift the topic away from their service. I am not sure whether this behavior relates to their humble personalities, an inability to discuss military information, or emotional pain. No matter the reason, the “brotherhood” of military veterans remains evident. Veterans connect on a level society will never understand. They are a family that does not discriminate one another based on race, mental health, age, or gender. After

Although Vietnam veterans lobby attempts to obtain research that investigated the psychological impact of their services, it was a long and trying process (McFarlane, 2015). Finally, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) was completed in 1988 (Dohrenwend, 2006). The NVVRS recruited 1,200 Vietnam veterans and found that about 30% of Vietnam veterans developed combat-related PTSD at some point during their lives, and about 15% suffered from PTSD at the time of this study (Dohrenwend, 2006). Overall, the NVVRS clearly illustrated the the struggle of Veterans to obtain recognition for the psychological complications from the war, as well as a better understanding about what those complications were and how many individuals they

T. Stecker, J. Fortney, F. Hamilton, and I. Ajzen, 2007, address that mental health symptoms have the likelihood to increase within post deployment for military veterans, especially for the ones who have seen combat. An estimated quarter of recent war veterans who are currently receiving care in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System have reported mental health problems. Soldiers who have served in Iraq come home suffering from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Statistics of Iraq soldiers meeting the criteria for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is greater than the soldiers who served in Afghanistan. The mental health symptom rates for soldiers who served in Iraq were as high as 20% for PTSD, 18% for anxiety, and 15% for depression.

Educator and activist, Tony Porter describes what he calls the “man box;” a certain set of rules and characteristics that define what a man is. Some of the qualities and rules that Porter lists are “emotionless, tough, don’t cry, be independent, be aggressive” and so many more. Boys and men that do anything that falls outside of this box is mocked, ridiculed, and shunned by other men. Porter goes on to describe that “Act like a man,” is said to boys at incredibly young ages and is then policed relentlessly. Boys are taught that emotions are not alright to have, that they have to be strong at all times, that they have to like aggression and violence, and they learn that any deviation from these makes them unmanly – “one of the most devastating

My motivation to write this paper is based on my own experience. As senior year approached, I began to focus more upon community service specifically the local VA hospital. There almost every veteran I encountered suffered from some sort of psychological epidemic, the most common being Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. It was upsetting to see these brave men and women suffer through mood swings of anger to depression or be triggered into a panic attack by the simplest of noises. It was these symptoms and traumas that compelled me to dissect and decipher the disease itself in an attempt to understand it and how it has impacted ones return to society. Recently I’ve also begun investing more and more research time into military careers and