PTSD: The Pandemic Affecting Soldiers

1051 Words3 Pages

I believe Steven E Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers, said it best when he wrote “We know how to win wars. We must learn now to win peace...” It’s the same with the soldiers all over the world that are returning from war. Due to the issues they return with, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, they aren’t able to re-assimilate with society and become social outcasts. We train these soldiers as if we are building robots in a factory and once they get the stamp of approval they’re sent overseas to fight. But with the tragic things they witness while over there fighting, it causes them to return home defective and once that happens we give up on them rather than helping them as if we are just tossing them away in the scrap bin like robots. They fought for us so why shouldn’t we fight for them? My approach for this paper is going to be a bit unorthodox. I figured rather than just focusing on PTSD in the modern era, I would make it an important part to also include the historical aspects of PTSD such as Shell Shock.
What exactly is shell shock? Is it the same as PTSD? Yes and no. The origins of the term Shell shock are disputed but the two different theories are that it was a term created in 1915 by Charles Myers to describe soldiers who were suffering from involuntary shivering, crying, fearfulness, and also constant intrusions of memory. The other theory is that the soldiers themselves fighting during World War I came up with the term and when Doctor Myers was appointed to oversee the growing problem he took on the term. As it stands, the term is no longer used by psychiatrists today but still remains in use by the general public. It’s like the old saying that “all bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon.” Shell shock ...

... middle of paper ...

...court some states offer for veterans it gave me hope because these are people that don’t need prison, they need help. Help that we are able to provide, it seems like just unwilling to.

Works Cited
Epstein, Jack, and Johnny Miller. "U.S. Wars and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder." SFGate. San Francisco Gate, 22 June 2005. Web. 08 May 2014.
Friedman, Matthew, Dr. "Frontline "Soldier's Heart" and "Shell Shock:" Past Names for PTSD." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.
Jones, Edgar, Dr. "Shell Shocked." Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Association, June 2012. Web. 07 May 2014.
Joseph, Stephen, Ph. D. "Is Shell Shock the Same as PTSD?" Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. What Doesn't Kill Us, 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.

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