Trauma In Soldiers

Intrusive memories, sleep disturbance, hyper arousal, and an emotional shutdown is what fifteen percent of soldiers who have seen combat deal with over the long term. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an extremely disturbing and disabling illness and can be life threatening to some. It is not easy to cure and cannot happen overnight. Talking about there experience through therapy and forms of communication have turned out to be counter-productive. Emotions are exceptionally strong and can disallow their ability to think rationally. Many soldiers are not receiving the adequate support they need. This is not the kind of society that helps soldiers get over trauma quickly when they return home. Modern society takes its toll on people who

are not even doing something to save our country, image what it is like for them. In the haunting and heartbreaking novel, The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, we see chaos and the immediacy of the battle. It conveys the inevitable repercussions felt by the soldiers, their families, and by one sister after a night-long battle in Kandahar, a base in Afghanistan. It takes us through the futility and reality of war and the effects it has on the soldiers. What is happening in society that makes it difficult for those with PTSD to adjust post-war? As the author declares, “ Anyone who volunteers to put his life on the line deserves to be treated better” (Roy-Bhattacharya 164). Society is the problem.
Soldiers who have been to war do not receive enough adequate support or care they need or deserve. According to NBC news, “ the army's first study of the mental health of troops who fought in Iraq found that about one in eight reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.” It is sickening that every one in eight people who fight for our country get this disabling illness. The most important thing Americans can do for service members who have been in combat is to be understanding and accept the fact that we do not know they feel, or understand what they have gone through.The author of The Watch states, “He had no one standing by him when the crunch came. And I guess in the end, he just gave up. Steep slope down-with no traction to catch the fall” (Roy-Bhattacharya 164). This is a true sign of weakness. Unfortunately, like many veterans, he thought life was no longer worth living and wanted to end the intense emotional distress he faced. Every sixty five minutes a veteran is committing suicide, or roughly about 22 per day as the 2013 United States Department of Veterans affairs proclaimed. Soldiers need to receive better support.
Modern Society is brutal on anyone, image what is it like for veterans.

According to Sebastian Junger, “this is not the kind of society you come home to can help you get over trauma quickly.” Everyday people suffer from depression and anxiety without experiencing the traumas of war. Imagine how soldiers feel. They come back to a place where civilians are not welcomed. An estimated 49,933 veterans out of the millions of civilians are homeless and have no way to deal with the mental wear of PTSD. People can make it better for veterans by being understanding and help them assimilate back to everyday life. While they are in the military they experience a sense of a tribe, the taking away of that when they return home leaves them unanchored. In the novel, The Sympathizer, a Vietnamese soldier complained that, “We have all kinds of ways to talk about life and creation. But when guys like me go and kill, everyone's happy we do it and no one wants to talk about it. It would be better if every Sunday before the priest talks a warrior gets up and tells people who he's killed on their behalf. Listening is the least they could do.” As a society we owe them more understanding of the burdens they do to benefit us. Americans treat veterans as they are objects. As a society people need to give our alms of inclusiveness. They are not victims hopelessly damaged by their service. Admit it, if citizens were faced with a veteran we would not know how to start a conversation. They need

to have a more meaningful engagement with them.
Our successes as a society are measured. Why would they want to make sacrifices for us, if we are not willing to do the same for them? “The VA hooked veterans on opioids, then failed them again. The agency over prescribed painkillers to returning soldiers, fueling addition; now rehab facilities are overwhelmed” according to the Wall Street Journal. They do not not how to solve the demons the veterans are fighting off from war. “I was just so sick of being as sick as I was, says Robert Deatherage. He put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, but it didn't fire” said by a 39 year old Army veteran who battled an addiction of pain pills since suffering severe injuries in Afghanistan. CNN reports that at least 19 veterans died at VA hospitals in 2010 and 2011 because of delays in diagnosis and treatment. The VA has failed our soldiers who need proper care and treatment the most. “Federal authorities are stepping up investigations as Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers due to an increase in opioids theft, missing prescriptions or unauthorized drug use by VA employees since 2099” according to government date obtained by The Associated Press. VA employees who are supposed to be serving our nation's wounded should be held at much higher standards.
There are some solutions to PTSD. Get moving by doing exercises that engage both your arms and legs. Second, self regulate your nervous system by doing mindful breathing and sensory input. Connecting with others is also extremely beneficial. Soldiers can do this by volunteering or join a PTSD support system. Also, we can help a loved one with PTSD since it can take a huge toll on your relationship and or family life. There are forms of professional treatment for PTSD by finding a therapist.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an extremely disturbing and disabling illness and can be life threatening to some.

It is a bullet without the gun and soldiers do not receive the adequate support or care they need and deserve. Every sixty five minutes a veteran is committing suicide as the 2013 United States Department of Veterans affairs proclaimed. Soldiers need to receive better support, it is sickening to think how they fought for us and our country and we cannot return the favor. As a society it is our job to give them more of an understanding of they burdens they did to benefit us. A more meaningful engagement would be beneficial. The VA really has failed our veterans and when they are held with high standards, they involve themselves in opioids theft. Taking medics from the people who need it the most. Society is the problem. Soldiers do not feel welcomed when they return home and we need to do something to change

that.