The Psychological Effects of War

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On May 31, 2011, there were over 1,400,000 men and women enlisted in the United States Armed Services (U.S. Department of Defense). Over a million brave soldiers who left their homes behind in order to secure the American way of life. Every day, this number rises. Although some of these soldiers will return home and appear to be unscathed, “in war, there are no unwounded soldiers” (Narosky). Dehumanization, depression, terror, alienation, exhaustion, loss of faith, and feelings of betrayal (among a horde of other problems) plague veterans every day of their service and every day after they come home. The trauma of war creates such a deep psychological scar that no service member can truly be called “unwounded”- a fact that civilization can neither deny nor avoid.
According to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a combination of decreasing inner strength, physical exhaustion, horror, hate, aggression, fear, and the burden of having to kill other men results in the creation of a “psychiatric casualty”. Having to go through a warzone, where everyday occurrences like crossing the street can become a life or death situation, places soldiers under abundant stress until they crack and veterans have frequently admitted to feeling “disheartened”, “demoralized”, “worn down/out”, “dispirited”, and “anxious” after war. Before PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) came to be recognized as a disease, soldiers were labeled as insane when the shock of war became too much. If the trauma was bad enough, the soldier was discharged. In extreme cases, they were sent to institutions. There are even several cases of soldiers who, having been removed from combat but not re-accustomed to civilian life, resorted to self-mutilation because it was the only way they kn...

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...009. Print.
“How Deployment Stress Affects Families”. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
“Mental Health Effects of Serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013
“Military Sexual Trauma.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Narosky, J. Quote.
Sherman, Michelle D., and Marshall A. Glenn. “Opportunities for School Psychologists Working With Children of Military Families.” Communiqué 39.5 (2011): n. pag. National Association of School Psychologists. National Association of School Psychologists. Web. 15 Nov. 2013
Thompson, Kathleen. “Mental Stress in the Union Army.” Emerging Civil War. Emerging Civil War, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

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