ipl-logo

Military PTSD

1199 Words5 Pages

A Silent War; The Reality of Military PTSD Louisa Rodriguez awoke to her partner Simon crying out: this awful, blood-curdling scream. “Suddenly he was back in the war zone with a gun in his hand and a woman in front of him, covered in blood. He squeezed her hand tightly and wouldn’t let go until morning. She recalled thinking, ‘By day he’s my brave ex-soldier; but by night, who is this man?’” (Howard). Soldiers fight for this country and sacrifice their lives for the rest of the nation, but when they come home, there is no relief from the pain of war. There is not enough help from the VA and they are left to manage their horrible nightmares and terrible struggles alone. Families are heavily impacted and can experience guilt or avoidance of …show more content…

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. The diagnosis of PTSD is relatively recent and has only begun to gain more recognition following the most recent war and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Veterans are usually very hesitant to admit their symptoms of PTSD because they are soldiers who have been taught to tough it out and work through discomfort in order to reach challenging goals and continue on with their lives. However, PTSD is not very forgiving and instead of being obvious soon after their return from combat, it tends to creep up on veterans slowly as time continues on. Not only is the veteran plagued daily by memories and flashbacks of the traumatic events of war, but so is his or her family and even though their loved one has returned, it is obvious that the individual’s ability to function in everyday life has been …show more content…

It begins with an event in which the individual is threatened with his or her own death or the destruction of a body part, to such humiliation that their personal identity may be lost. Vietnam veterans who experience PTSD have a feeling of helplessness, worthlessness, dejection, anger, depression, insomnia, and a tendency to react to tense situations by using survival tactics. Combat experience remains the variable most often linked to PTSD among Vietnam veterans.” These thoughts and flashbacks continue to push veterans farther from finding their place in society

Show More
Related
599 Words | 3 Pages

More than 5,000 families in the United States, have sedulous relative fighting for our country’s freedom. Many of those families have not the slightest idea of what war is like, and all of its physical and mental effects. The author uses descriptive words to take the reader on a mental voyage. The soldier keeps a conversationalist tone and uses rhetorical strategies such as imagery and rhetorical questions to show how miserable he is living. The e-mail begins with the solider mentally describing your living area; he describes it like a million dust particles that are glued to you.

Read More
799 Words | 4 Pages

While this is a good thing that we don’t have conflicts where we need men to serve, the young men and women of this generation won’t ever understand the effects of combat related PTSD where the world of those affected with it “became a cacophony of nightmares, flashbacks, depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide” and the number of Vietnam Veterans left are slowly dwindling (Price). This photograph shows the remorse

Read More
147 Words | 1 Pages

In this scholarly article researcher Tai Hawk evaluates PTSD as a whole analyzing the causes, effects, and possible outcomes of the self-described “epidemic”. Hawk analysis over 40 different forms of literature to bring forth his own conclusions and feasible theories. Hawk begins by giving a brief overview of why the cases of PTSD are increasing now then in earlier more violent wars, the answer is with advancing technology, and better healthcare soldiers outlive the trauma that they would have killed them 20 years earlier. Hawk later does an in depth review of the three forms of PTSD and their distinguishing features. The final criteria Hawk addressed was rehabilitation of veterans with PTSD and the difficulties that they must overcome, including

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

The Dark side of War What is it felt like to be a veteran who has suffered from the trauma of war that leaves multiple scars? As a Vietnam War veteran, Yusef Komunyaka in his short poem “Facing It” narrates his experience along with his emotional struggle as he visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Phil Klay, who is also a veteran served in Iraq, in his short story “Redeployment”, attempted to show how it feels like in a war zone and what happened to the soldiers who returned. These stories gives a peek into one of the most difficult phases a person can face in a life time. The sequencing of the collection reflects the disorder of a soldier’s life.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Those involved in war must pay a physical, emotional, and psychological tax. In the Vietnam War, this tax was greater than ever and weighed more once the war was over. The impact is not easily forgotten and though attempts are made to heal, war haunts the psyche of those who survive it. In the case of Tim O’Brien and Yusuf Komunyakaa, it took nearly two decades to put pen to paper and write about the experience. Luckily, their time in Vietnam eventually lead to powerful work such as O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and Komunyakaa’s “Facing It”.

Read More
1293 Words | 6 Pages

Interpreting the emotional effects and impacts of war on soldiers can be quite difficult. What most people do not understand is that post-traumatic stress disorder or commonly referred to as PTSD, is something that is lifelong and troublesome to treat. It was due to the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War, that this disorder was discovered. The National Vietnam Veterans’ Readjustment Study (NVVRS) approximates that 236,000 veterans currently have PTSD from the Vietnam War, an enormous long-term emotional and human cost of war (Vermetten). Tim O’Brien captures an astonishing painful and powerful realism through the emotions that the soldiers experience in “The Things They Carried”.

Read More
1768 Words | 8 Pages

Dangerous and intense situations typically lead to certain devastating consequences to a persons both emotional and physical health. As result of these experiences, there is often not only exterior injuries, but also the non visual psychological damage that is just as hard, if not harder, to resolve. One commonality throughout all wars is this unseen casualty known as PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. Tim O’Brien, veteran of the Vietnam war, demonstrates how PTSD affects soldiers in countless ways in his novel The Things They Carried. He uses fictional but lovable characters that readers can easily relate to, intensifying their emotional engagement in the book.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

PTSD is an illness that cannot be easily healed. The symptoms include: Nightmares, flashbacks, triggers, hard time sleeping, difficulty concentrating, you could also be easily startled. There are many situations that you would make you angry, or upset. If you were close to death in a Vietcong dug hole, you may hate being in small places, avoiding them at all costs becoming claustrophobic. This disorder often times does not end up being healed and is something you have to deal with for the rest of your

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

Read More
833 Words | 4 Pages

income set by the Veterans Affairs. Veterans who are no longer serving and meet other additional qualifications will be placed within priority group six, seven, or eight (Military.com, 2015). Veterans can also receive medical care if they were mentally affected or damaged as a result of their service. Enrolled veterans receive a Medical Benefits Package from the Veterans Affairs. The package provides numerous types of health/medical care for veterans.

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

Modern studies are revealing that soldiers returning home from war are experiencing psychological damage far more painful and damaging than the physical injuries that they endured overseas. PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is the term now given to soldiers that have trouble readjusting to normal life once they return home from war. In the days of World War I and World War II, this term was referred to as “shell shocked.” Ernest Hemingway masterfully depicts a clear image of what life was like for a shell shocked soldier through the eyes of Herald Kreb’s in his story Soldier’s Home. Kreb’s experiences over seas causes him to be emotionless towards girls and dating, afraid of complications, and this attitude reveals the truth that he has become heartless.

Read More
1645 Words | 7 Pages

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that follows the experience of a traumatic event. Of the 2.7 million American veterans that served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, at least 20% were diagnosed with PTSD (Veterans Statistics). PTSD affects everyone differently but the most common symptoms of PTSD include: reliving the event, increased anxiety, and avoiding any reminders of the trauma (Robinson,Segal, Smith). These symptoms negatively affect their life

Read More
539 Words | 3 Pages

A constant watch over mental health issues of all military servicemen and women has gone under the radar in the past few years due to a lack of knowing how unrecognizable the problem just might be. The magnitude of this problem is enormous. A recent report finds that the estimates of PTSD range from 4 to 45 percent for those soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cesur, Sabia & Tekin, 2012). Research suggested that other serious medical issues are likely to accompany the PTSD diagnosis, such as cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain (Frayne, et al, 2010). Compiling mental health issues, physical ailments along with family reintegration can prove overwhelming for a returning veteran.

Read More
547 Words | 3 Pages

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental disorder that most often develops after a veteran experiences a traumatic event. While having this illness, the veteran believes their lives are in danger. They also may feel afraid or feel they have no control over what is happening. If their feeling does not go away, the symptoms may disrupt the person 's life, making it hard to continue daily activities.

Read More
1881 Words | 8 Pages

Soldiers train rigorously, preparing for the departure of war. They sacrifice all that they have to fight for their country. As they return after the war, they are left with painful experiences and traumatizing memories, suffering from their inevitable conditions. However, the spouse, families and children back at home are suffering even more than soldiers.

Read More

More about Military PTSD

Related Topics

Open Document