Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options. As far back in history as we can go, humans have been in a fight for survival. There have been battles with gigantic mammoths, soldiers charging the front line with swords drawn or teachers witnessing neighbors being gassed to death. These are all significantly stressful situations that can lead to PTSD and have been around for centuries. For as long as there have been humans fighting there has been PTSD, it just wasn’t a term yet. During the Civil war, problems with PTSD became so severe that the first ever Military Hospital for the insane was established in 1863 (Bentley). Before that, since Military officials didn’t know what to do, or what was wrong with these physically able men they just threw them on the street or sent them home. With so many insane soldiers walking around, it was the public who insisted that something be done to help these soldiers and keep them off the street (Bentley). It wasn’t until 1905 during WWI that there was a link made between the mental collapse and the stresses of war(Bentley). There were so many cases of PTSD at first that officials believed it was caused by the concussion of shells on the brain, so they called it “shell shock”. It was the Russians who f... ... middle of paper ... ...t. Bellevue College Lib., Bellevue, WA. 15 May 2011 Greist, John H., James W. Jefferson, David J. Katzelnick Facts For Heath. 11 May 2011. . Hales, Dianne. Wellness at Bellevue College. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning., 2011 Tarrant, David. "Iraq veteran's PTSD is an unrelenting enemy but he's fighting back." The Dallas Morning News 22 Aug. 2010. 11 May 2011 United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Treatment of PTSD. 05 Oct. 2010. 11 May 2011. . Unknown, Anthony. “Cognitive Behavior Therapy”. Online posting. 31 Mar. 2011. PtsdForum Supporting Trauma. 15 May 2011.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition, similar to an anxiety disorder, that is triggered by trauma and other extremely stressful circumstances. Throughout the book, Junger talks about PTSD in a wide range:from PTSD rates in natural disaster victims to PTSD rates in veterans. The latter is explained on a deeper perspective. While Junger gave many examples of why PTSD rates in America were so high, the most captivating was:
PBS’ Frontline film “The Wounded Platoon” reviews the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers as they return home and transition back into civilian life, focusing particularly on the rise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among American military members from Fort Carson Army base (Edge, 2010). Incidents of PTSD have risen dramatically in the military since the beginning of the Iraq war and military mental health policies and treatment procedures have adapted to manage this increase (Edge, 2010). In “The Wounded Platoon,” many military personnel discuss how PTSD, and other mental health struggles, have been inadequately treated (if at all) by military mental health services. Reasons and Perdue’s definition of a social problem allows us to see inadequate treatment of PTSD among returning United States military members as a social problem because it is a condition affecting a significant number of people in undesirable ways that can be remedied through collective action (Reasons & Perdue, 1981).
Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (2008). Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Parents. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 13(4), 158-162.
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, symptoms and cases are preventable and able to be countered if addressed properly. If the potential PTSD victims take necessary action to recover from their experience early on, suffering can be aided the best. The Vietnam War, filled with the gruesome combat due to technological advancements, fighting that still resulted in northern Vietnam’s victory and leaving many soldiers with feeling that the war was pointless, and the amount of innocents killed in the process, a heavy impact was left upon the veterans; however, it was America’s generally hostile response to the Vietnam War and lack of sympathy that contributed the most to the high numbers of PTSD victims.
Examples of PTSD can be found as early as in ancient Greek and Roman history, for example the Greek historian Herodotus mentions “an Athenian warrior who went permanently blind when the soldier standing next to him was killed, although the blinded soldier was wounded in no part of his body” when he wrote about the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He “also writes of the Spartan commander Leonidas, who, at the battle of Thermopylae Pass in 480 B.C., dismissed his men from joining the combat because he clearly recognized they were psychologically spent from previous battles.-They had no heart for ...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that develops after exposure to an event that is perceived to be life threatening or pose serious bodily injury to self or others (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011). According
Web. The Web. The Web. 30 Nov. 2011. http://www.ptsd.va.gov/>.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one wink because every time you close your eyes you are forced to relive memories from the past that you are trying to bury deep. This is what happens to the unfortunate men and women who are struggling with PTSD. Veterans that are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder deserve the help they need.
PTSD in Service Members and New Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. (2009). PTSD Research Quarterly, 20(10501835), 1-8. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/V20N1.pdf
Trauma is defined as “a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time” (Merriam-Webster). Many veterans experience trauma from the traumatic events they see in war or from the multiple terms they served in. An example of a traumatic event is depicted in an article titled “Caring for Veterans”.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD Home." National Center for PTSD. VA Health Care, 1 Jan.
Westbrook, D., Kennerley, H. and Kirk, J. (2011) An Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – Skills and Application, 2nd edition, London: Sage Publications.
"The History of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." Morefocus on Psychiatric Disorders. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .