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Ptsd in war veterans essay
Ptsd in war veterans essay
Impact of ptsd on veterans of the iraq & afghanistan wars
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PTSD in Military Have you ever had something bad happen and feel it’s gonna happen again? This feeling can overwhelm most and it is very hard to overcome. That issue is called PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is a very interesting yet troublesome disease, especially in military service members. PTSD has many branches and issues that arise due to the unknown of mental illnesses. Mental health stigma/ military ethos, intervention strategies/ treatments, and the impact it has on the lives of the victims all go into the endless cycle of the matter. It is crucial to just dive right in and get to the bottom of it. First on the list is the impact of the disease. PTSD is a very serious disease and has many different impacts. In Ellen DeVoe’s article “PTSD Intervention with Military Service Member Parents” she states that continuous military service has an effect on people causing PTSD. It is a major public health concern along with the fact that the treatment has been slow to form. Trauma is an experience every service member comes to know …show more content…
Meaning these people who are struggling with PTSD don’t want others to know about it. People who might do well in treatment often never choose to engage in treatment. An actual study says that less than 30% of the affected don’t pursue treatment. Military ethos value physical and mental toughness and treatment counters that belief. Many are afraid that their careers will be affected if they seek help. These service members don't want to appear weak and fear other members will have less confidence in them getting the job done. Going back to their careers, the main reason for refusing treatment is that it would go down on their military reports, stigma from leadership, embarrassment, and potential career harm. With all these effects occurring next is how we can treat these problems.
...t and seeing signs of improvement in their mental health (Edge, 2010). Ultimately, the current structure of the United States’ society under capitalism does not allow for an adequate solution to the social problem of the rise of PTSD among military members. Society is structured around individual and corporate interests, which does not leave room for the unique treatments required for PTSD. Unless capitalism is dismantled and a socialist society is created, which would dramatically change the current military structure and potentially reinstate the draft, soldiers will be forced to seek treatment from the neoconservative and liberal systems that offer inadequate treatment, if at all. As social workers, we must operate from the radical humanist perspective of structural social work and seek to help our military members from within the current system, for now.
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.
One of the more common reasons includes, being viewed as weak. Some soldiers believe that if they show any signs of weakness, they will be considered a failure to their country or to the military. Andrew Pomerantz, chief of mental health services for the VA, sheds some light on this issue, “Many people simply either fear being exposed as a weakling, which certainly impacts on the military culture of strength, or actually fear retribution and punishment if they express psychological distress” (Aronson, 2014). Along with being viewed as incapable, soldiers who reveal that they have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and seek treatment for it, are at a greater chance of being forced to end their
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
James was a Marine right out of his second tour of Iraq, during which he faced a bloody
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
Imagine living in despair after coming back home, dismayed from a war that got no appreciation. Robert Kroger once said in his quote, “The brave men and women, who serve their country and as a result, live constantly with the war inside them, exist in a world of chaos. But the turmoil they experience isn’t who they are, the PTSD invades their minds and bodies.” Eleven percent of Vietnam Veterans still suffer with symptoms of the terrifying disorder of PTSD (Handwerk). Vietnam Veterans struggle with the physiological effects of PTSD after war, which leads to despair and many deaths.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a devastating anxiety disorder that affects many active military personnel and veterans. In many cases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) goes untreated often due to the individual not realizing that they are being affected by the disorder, or by the individual having previous failed attempts at treatment. Even though PTSD is now being recognized as a disorder that affects many soldiers, the disorder's effect on family is not as widely recognized. The spouses and children of individuals with PTSD often experience similar negative symptoms of the disorder; this is referred to as secondary traumatization or compassion fatigue. Many families of active military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD appear to have secondary traumatization, as they experience similar symptoms and feelings of loneliness, which leads to them feeling as though they are also suffering from the disorder.
According to a study by Wade et al. (2015), the present culture of the United States military is one that highly frowns upon individuals seeking treatment for mental health issues. The rationality behind this thought process is that individuals who are deemed as mentally
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 wink because every time you close your eyes you are forced to relive memories from the past that you are trying to bury deep. This is what happens to the unfortunate men and women who are struggling with PTSD. Veterans that are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder deserve the help they need.
There are many different causes of PTSD such as sexual abuse, sudden death of a loved one, and war. Trauma affects people in different ways, some can develop it from watching a fellow soldier being killed, and some can develop it from losing their jobs or a divorce. Being diagnosed with PTSD is a difficult process because there are many other psychological disorders whose symptoms can overlap and are very similar. An important fact to remember is that PTSD doesn’t just affect the person suffering; it can also have secondhand effects on their spouses, children, parents, friends, co-workers, and other loved ones. Although there is no direct cure, there are many treatment and alternative treatment options to assist them in moving forward after a trauma.
Our soldiers not only risked life and limb for our country while serving in the Vietnam War, but they continue to suffer immensely. Americans as well as Vietnamese troops and civilians suffered great losses when it comes to casualties. Witnessing first-hand the pain and death of strangers and allies, isn’t something one is likely to forget. Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been one of the many repercussions of witnessing these gruesome events (Mental Health America). Veterans, their families, and the government have come together in combat in attempts to address the detrimental effects of PTSD.
Post traumatic stress disorder to most people is a soldier that has just come back from
Jessica Schoch Psychology 140 Professor Crothers 15 Nov. 2017 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Military Post traumatic stress disorder is most common in soldiers, but particularly in Vietnam veterans. Soldiers get it from combat in wars. Post traumatic stress disorder can also occur when someone witnesses a car accident, natural disaster or any other traumatic event. Post traumatic stress disorder is a serious health issue and mostly everyone who has it commits suicide.