Lone Survivor By Marcus Luttrell

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Recommended: Effects of ptsd on military families

One in five veterans from Afghanistan and Iraqi wars have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event and mostly effects military veterans. The book Lone Survivor, written by Marcus Luttrell, is an eye witness account of the 2005 operation Red Wing that tells the harrowing story of SEAL Team 10. Throughout the book, Marcus hears voices in his head of his fallen teammates. Even today, Marcus wakes up in the middle of the night because of the terrible nightmares, which are symptoms of PTSD. There are a lot of ways to combat PTSD so our troops do not have to endure this hardship. Some of the ways to combat the disorder is to understand PTSD, detect it early, having family support and preventing it. PTSD is a battle for everyone who is diagnosed and for the people close to them. The only way to fight and win a battle is to understand what one is fighting. One must understand PTSD if he or she hopes to be cured of it. According to the help guide, “A positive way to cope with PTSD is to learn about trauma and PTSD”(Smith and Segal). When a person knows what is going on in his or her body, it could give them better control over their condition. One the many symptoms of PTSD is the feeling of helplessness, yet, knowing the symptoms might give someone a better sense of understanding. Being in the driver’s seat of the disorder, can help recognize and avoid triggers. Triggers could be a smell, an image, a sound, or anything that could cause an individual to have a flashback of the intimidating event. Furthermore, knowing symptoms of PTSD could, as well, help one in recovering from the syndrome. For instance, a person could be getting wor... ... middle of paper ... ...called resilience factors; the ability to reduce the risk of PTSD by having a coping strategy or seeking support from family and friends. PTSD has been intensely studied to benefit those who have been diagnosed, to get better treatments. There have been many successful cases, where the individual has conquered it. Marcus Luttrell’s symptoms have dramatically gotten better because he is a strong individual with a healthy family to support him. However, there are many people that have been dealing with this burden for years and may never get better. These men and women, who cannot find relief from PTSD, turn to self-harming; military suicides have been on the rise in the recent years and are continuing to increase. This cannot be ignored. The Veteran Administration needs to step up the treatment and recovery programs before this number begins to get out of control.

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