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Emotional and psychological effects of war
Emotional and psychological effects of war
Emotional and psychological effects of war
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At first there was not a great understanding about PTSD, such disorder was considered as unusual because it was so new to scientists
The most common psychological issue that soldiers faced is a disorder known as “PTSD” or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is caused by the witness of an extremely traumatic event. Bombing, shelling, and even witnessing a close one die were all things that would have triggered a stress related disorder. Many soldiers, although young, began to feel worn out and old from the long, tiring years of the war. “I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow.
PTSD Affecting Soldiers He stood there, frozen, shocked, not knowing what to do when he saw a gun pointed at him. Thankfully, the trigger didn’t work, but he had to witness a scarring event, in which he had shot his enemy in the head. It is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. For instance, in the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the principle character Perry unmistakably demonstrates how war troopers can be damaged and experience the ill effects of PTSD.
On Tuesday October 27, Dr. Brittany Hall gave a talk on PTSD affecting military veteran and active duty soldiers. During active duty soldiers are exposed to a lot of unforeseen events. Veterans and active duty soldiers are serving to protect the country from allies, and place there lives on the line everyday for citizens to continue to have freedom. The aftermath of returning from combat is the devastating blow for a lot of soldiers. Soldiers returning home from combat are not being able to separate civilian world from warzone usually struggle form PTSD.
Imagine seeing a friend get shot but not being able to do anything to help because if one would help they’d be the next to go. This is what was happening in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. Many soldiers came back and very different, some in good ways but many in bad ways. During the Civil War, soldiers experienced horrific and terrifying things often causing severe psychological trauma; as a result of this trauma, men often suffered mistreatment and went wrongly diagnosed until Jacob DaCosta discovered and researched what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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
In the novel, Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane talks about Henry Fleming, a young man who enlists for the war and has very little experience. During the novel, Henry has witnessed war as a glorified period rather than the true reality of it. Crane suggests that war is harming Henry, since his perception is the true reason why Henry well end up getting killed on the battlefield. Also, Crane emphasizes that war should be seen as brutal and traumatizing as its actual reality rather than glorifying. This tells us Henry may have a disorder called PTSD, since during the war he encounters a potential hallucination that helped him on his survival.
Those who had mental illnesses were placed in institutions that were essentially like jails, and those patients were mistreated heavily, confined in small spaces, and were receiving harsh methods of treatment. The first account of the term PTSD being used is in 1980; one hundred and fifteen years after the Civil War. The Civil War was essentially the reason that mental health- especially in soldiers coming home from war- was finally being researched. Until PTSD was given its name in 1980, it was called shell shock- referring to the reaction to the explosion of artillery shells-, war neuroses, combat stress reaction, and battle fatigue ("History of Mental Health"). Overall, mental health was not thoroughly researched until post Civil War when soldiers that came home showed -what will be known as PTSD-
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.
8 percent of US adults will experience PTSD some point in their lives. “Those who experience the disaster most personally and directly seemed to be the ones most affected” (Barlow). PTSD is most common in veterans, survivors, and first responders. Women experience PTSD more often then men. 10 percent of women and 4 percent of men experience PTSD as a total population.
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
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.
Annually, numerous soldiers serving overseas suffer severe or fatal injuries to their bodies and minds. Many soldiers take their own lives because they have experienced some sort of trauma in combat, or even just because they are lonely, scared, or depressed; however, these soldiers deserve a galore of respect because bountiful soldiers are fighting daily, or they are experiencing great amounts of atrocities and horrors for strangers all over the United States who need their freedom. All the time, I’m seeing videos on YouTube or Facebook, or anywhere on social media showing these soldiers that come home and surprise their loved ones, and every time I watch those, I can’t help but tear up because yes, the soldiers’ loved ones are happy their
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.
Shell shock was defined as a neurosis, and there was little sympathy for shell-shocked soldiers. Due to shell shock, some soldiers, refused to fight and were shot for cowardice, while others suffered the effects of shell shock for many years afterwards. In the First World War, 306 British soldiers were executed for cowardice. There are different diagnoses try to get under control the psychological impact of wars. The most recent war syndromes include Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), used after 1980 to explain the effect of war on soldiers and Gulf War syndrome, experienced mainly by American and British soldiers who fought in the 1991 Gulf War.
