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Emotional and psychological effects of war
Essays about veterans mental health issues
Veterans post traumatic stress syndrome and mental illness
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Recommended: Emotional and psychological effects of war
In “The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell”, John Crawford shows how war can drastically change soldiers by having psychological effects on them and when soldiers come back from war they can feel like they are alone. Some psychological effects are post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, depression,
Bruce Dohrenwend, and his colleagues have done research on the percentage of people affected by PTSD, “The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) of a representative sample of 1200 veterans estimated that 30.9% had developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetimes and that 15.2% were currently suffering from PTSD”(Dohrenwend et al). Monaco, Perry, and Walowick all experienced these symptoms at one point in Fallen
According to the National Center for PTSD about 11-20% of veterans who served in Iraq have experienced PTSD. This number is thought to be much higher. For multiple reasons PTSD may go unreported. In this book, Ender goes through many different traumatic experiences.
In Soldier from the War Returning, Thomas Childers writes that “a curious silence lingers over what for many was the last great battle of the war.” This final battle was the soldier’s return home. After World War II, veterans came back to the United States and struggled with stigmatized mental illnesses as well as financial and social issues. During the war, many soldiers struggled with mental health issues that persisted after they came home.
Serving in the military can be a very traumatic experience. War entails a lot of conflict, shootings, and bombings. About twelve percent of all veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also, twenty-three percent of women reported sexual assault while serving in the military, and fifty-five percent reported having experienced sexual harassment when in the military. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not the only mental illness that these conditions have caused.
(Alexander, 15). No matter their fate of fighting in war, a soldier will be permanently changed by it. However if they are able to reach for help from others, then they could get their life back on track. Veterans need the support of others in order to cope with their mental
Society and the legal system need to be more vigilant in our understanding of what triggers PTSD. Veterans that are unable to be restored back into society should be placed where they can live their lives comfortably with limited interaction within regular society. Veterans scarified and often paid with their lives to serve for their country and their country should display more appreciation. If U.S. legal system feels it’s too expensive to properly care for our veterans than we should stop instigating fights that lead to war. Secondly, we claim not to have money for veterans and veterans’ healthcare but billions of dollars are spent on funding wars, and the Republicans support millionaires instead of supporting the military veterans.
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.
The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that among men aged 25-34, Gulf-War era II veterans (veterans who served after September 2001; OIF/OEF veterans) had a higher unemployment rate (6.8%) than did nonveterans (5.4%). This is significant because almost half of all Gulf-War era II veterans are between the ages of 25 and 34. Additionally, OIF/OEF Veterans have high rates of TBI and mental health disorders such as PTSD and depression. Of 289,328 OIF/OEF Veterans enrolled in Veterans Health Administration services from 2002 to 2008, 37 percent received mental health diagnoses, including 22 percent with PTSD, 17 percent with depression, and 10 percent with substance use disorders (Twamley et al. 2013) . TBI is the hallmark injury among OIF/OEF Veterans, with approximately 20% experiencing a mild TBI and 7% of returning Veterans experiencing persistent post-concussive symptoms (Hoge et al. 2008).
PTSD is the main mental illness veterans have, PTSD is a horrible illness that is caused by experiencing a traumatic event. People with PTSD will experience flashbacks of the event that are terrifying and commonly causes the person to become angry(Barrera, How PTSD Affects the Veteran, theveteransvoice). If a person with PTSD does not receive necessary treatment than it can cause them to start abusing alcohol or becoming addicted to drugs. This can destroy a veterans whole life and it lowers their chance of getting a job and increases their chance of depression. All of these things severely hurt a veterans chance of ever getting a stable job and staying healthy.
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
Another issue that veterans struggle with when they come back from war is mental illnesses like PTSD. According to “bringing the war back home”, “Of 103 788 OEF/OIF veterans seen at VA health care facilities, 25 658 (25%) received mental health diagnosis(es)”. This disabilities can make getting into the workforce much more difficult and even leave veterans to live on the streets from lack of employment. The solution discovered from this research is that if these mental diseases are caught early enough, the veterans will receive the help they need and be able to continue their normal civilian lives. “Targeted early detection and intervention beginning in primary care settings are needed to prevent chronic mental illness and
“According to the National Center for PTSD, about 7 or 8 out of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives” (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (n.d.). The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder can alter the person’s life, which can alter the continuance of daily activities. Suicidal behavior is a prominent issue in war veterans. It seems that veterans are less likely to seek help in medical care than other individuals.
More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced clinically serious stress reaction symptoms.” PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other wars. ("PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Many soldiers have “recovered from their traumatic experience with the right care” and can
