What are some of the causes and effects of PTSD in American Vietnam War Veterans?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as an anxiety (emotional) disorder, which stems from a particular incident evoking significant stress.[i] The men who have fought and served the United States Army as a soldier have faced many hardships and battles physically and mentally. Many American Veterans, who returned after war, stated that the war in their head raged on, reminding them of traumatic experiences and scenes. The Vietnam War was from December 1956 to April 1975, and during this time the United States Government decided to start enlisting young soldiers, and send them of to the cruel world of war in Vietnam to fight for their country. A Vietnam War Veteran named Roy R. stated “You can’t take a 19-year-old brain and subject it to the constant threat of death or injury by rocket fire and expect it not to be affected.”[ii] During the time of the Vietnam War, PTSD was not a well understood psychological disorder, until recent years, where studies were done to show how PTSD has affected many veterans and their families. This essay will discuss the causes and effects of PTSD in the American veterans after the Vietnam War.
In addition, there are many causes of PTSD in the Vietnam War veterans and in combat veterans in general. One major cause of PTSD is when one experiences a traumatic event in which death or serious injury or near death experience is observed. In the Vietnam War, soldiers were ex posed to a cruel, brutal, violent, and gory world. The young men that fought in the Vietnam War experienced many traumatic events such as shooting people, gory injuries, deaths, diseases, bombings, and other scarring scenes. After experiencing these life changing events, those troubling scenes would replay over and over in their minds, and it was hard for the veterans to forget what they had to go through or what they saw, driving most of them mad. As described in the Harvard Gazette archives, “It's a condition that left them with invasive memories, nightmares, loss of concentration, feelings of guilt, irritability and, in some cases, major depression.”[iii] Also since PTSD was not discovered at this time most of the veterans who had gone through these disturbing events never sought medical attention when they returned home, resulting in long term and almost permanent PTSD which destroyed many lives and families. The American soldiers also faced being prisoners of war where the Vietnamese army would hold American soldier hostages, which also added to the traumatic and unnerving experiences. “In 1990, a national survey concluded that almost one in three (30.9 percent) of those who served in Vietnam came home with PTSD, and 15 percent of them still suffered with it.”[iv]
Moreover, there were also many effects of PTSD in American Vietnam War veterans. PTSD not only affects them internally but externally as well, this disorder drove many to do maddening and scary things, which destroyed some families and reputations. Most of the veterans, who were affected by PTSD, could not be treated at that time, and so they thought they were going crazy, because they could see flashbacks and scenes from their traumatic experiences over and over again[v]. Veterans started to think that the trauma and madness was all their fault and would rashly act against their loved ones and resort to negative habits like alcohol and drugs to try to erase and ease their pain. “PTSD symptoms fall into four categories: 1) avoidance (amnesia, dissociation, numbing, hyper-vigilance, controlling behavior, and isolation; 2) reliving or re-experiencing (flashbacks, sleep disorders, overwhelming feelings, and overreacting); 3) victimization (distrust of others, abandonment, helplessness, and fear of change); and 4) shame (feeling guilty, feeling as if you’re mentally ill, and feeling unworthy).”[vi] So even though the veterans were safe and back “home” they were still plagued with the disturbing and traumatic experiences. In 1978, “to help these veterans, the 700,000-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV) funded the Forgotten warrior project research on Vietnam veterans by John P. Wilson, Ph.D. at Cleveland State University. That research resulted in formation of the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program to provide counseling to these veterans.” [vii] This program helped many veterans and their families, because it helped create a safe and healthy environment for both groups.
In conclusion, PTSD has many causes and effects, which negatively impacted the veterans of the Vietnam War, because they were plagued- with mind chilling recollections of gory, violent scenes that took place in combat
Word Count: 894
By: Megan Kumar
[i] Bentley, Steve . "The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD." The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD. The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. , 10 Apr. 2005. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2005_03/feature_HistoryPTSD.htm>.
[ii] "Vietnam War Veteran, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Veteran | Veterans Organizations." Veterans Organizations Success Story Roy Comments. Veterans Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.veteransinc.org/services/case-management/roy/>.
[iii] Cromie, William. "Mental casualties of Vietnam War persist." Mental casualties of Vietnam War persist. Harvard News Office, 17 Aug. 2006. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/08.24/99-ptsd.html>.
[iv] ibid #3
[v] Carlson, Eve, and Josef Ruzek. "Effects of Traumatic Experiences." http://www.stanford.edu. Stanford, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://www.stanford.edu/group/usvh/stanford/misc/PTSD%20-%20Effects%20of%20Traumatic%20Experiences.pdf>.
[vi] "Veterans Health Council." Veterans Health Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.veteranshealth.org/Vietnam/ptsd.html>.
[vii] Goodwin, Jim. "Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Problems." SuicideWallcom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.suicidewall.com/ptsd-etiology/>.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as an anxiety (emotional) disorder, which stems from a particular incident evoking significant stress.[i] The men who have fought and served the United States Army as a soldier have faced many hardships and battles physically and mentally. Many American Veterans, who returned after war, stated that the war in their head raged on, reminding them of traumatic experiences and scenes. The Vietnam War was from December 1956 to April 1975, and during this time the United States Government decided to start enlisting young soldiers, and send them of to the cruel world of war in Vietnam to fight for their country. A Vietnam War Veteran named Roy R. stated “You can’t take a 19-year-old brain and subject it to the constant threat of death or injury by rocket fire and expect it not to be affected.”[ii] During the time of the Vietnam War, PTSD was not a well understood psychological disorder, until recent years, where studies were done to show how PTSD has affected many veterans and their families. This essay will discuss the causes and effects of PTSD in the American veterans after the Vietnam War.
In addition, there are many causes of PTSD in the Vietnam War veterans and in combat veterans in general. One major cause of PTSD is when one experiences a traumatic event in which death or serious injury or near death experience is observed. In the Vietnam War, soldiers were ex posed to a cruel, brutal, violent, and gory world. The young men that fought in the Vietnam War experienced many traumatic events such as shooting people, gory injuries, deaths, diseases, bombings, and other scarring scenes. After experiencing these life changing events, those troubling scenes would replay over and over in their minds, and it was hard for the veterans to forget what they had to go through or what they saw, driving most of them mad. As described in the Harvard Gazette archives, “It's a condition that left them with invasive memories, nightmares, loss of concentration, feelings of guilt, irritability and, in some cases, major depression.”[iii] Also since PTSD was not discovered at this time most of the veterans who had gone through these disturbing events never sought medical attention when they returned home, resulting in long term and almost permanent PTSD which destroyed many lives and families. The American soldiers also faced being prisoners of war where the Vietnamese army would hold American soldier hostages, which also added to the traumatic and unnerving experiences. “In 1990, a national survey concluded that almost one in three (30.9 percent) of those who served in Vietnam came home with PTSD, and 15 percent of them still suffered with it.”[iv]
Moreover, there were also many effects of PTSD in American Vietnam War veterans. PTSD not only affects them internally but externally as well, this disorder drove many to do maddening and scary things, which destroyed some families and reputations. Most of the veterans, who were affected by PTSD, could not be treated at that time, and so they thought they were going crazy, because they could see flashbacks and scenes from their traumatic experiences over and over again[v]. Veterans started to think that the trauma and madness was all their fault and would rashly act against their loved ones and resort to negative habits like alcohol and drugs to try to erase and ease their pain. “PTSD symptoms fall into four categories: 1) avoidance (amnesia, dissociation, numbing, hyper-vigilance, controlling behavior, and isolation; 2) reliving or re-experiencing (flashbacks, sleep disorders, overwhelming feelings, and overreacting); 3) victimization (distrust of others, abandonment, helplessness, and fear of change); and 4) shame (feeling guilty, feeling as if you’re mentally ill, and feeling unworthy).”[vi] So even though the veterans were safe and back “home” they were still plagued with the disturbing and traumatic experiences. In 1978, “to help these veterans, the 700,000-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV) funded the Forgotten warrior project research on Vietnam veterans by John P. Wilson, Ph.D. at Cleveland State University. That research resulted in formation of the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program to provide counseling to these veterans.” [vii] This program helped many veterans and their families, because it helped create a safe and healthy environment for both groups.
In conclusion, PTSD has many causes and effects, which negatively impacted the veterans of the Vietnam War, because they were plagued- with mind chilling recollections of gory, violent scenes that took place in combat
Word Count: 894
By: Megan Kumar
[i] Bentley, Steve . "The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD." The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD. The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. , 10 Apr. 2005. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2005_03/feature_HistoryPTSD.htm>.
[ii] "Vietnam War Veteran, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Veteran | Veterans Organizations." Veterans Organizations Success Story Roy Comments. Veterans Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.veteransinc.org/services/case-management/roy/>.
[iii] Cromie, William. "Mental casualties of Vietnam War persist." Mental casualties of Vietnam War persist. Harvard News Office, 17 Aug. 2006. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/08.24/99-ptsd.html>.
[iv] ibid #3
[v] Carlson, Eve, and Josef Ruzek. "Effects of Traumatic Experiences." http://www.stanford.edu. Stanford, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://www.stanford.edu/group/usvh/stanford/misc/PTSD%20-%20Effects%20of%20Traumatic%20Experiences.pdf>.
[vi] "Veterans Health Council." Veterans Health Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.veteranshealth.org/Vietnam/ptsd.html>.
[vii] Goodwin, Jim. "Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Problems." SuicideWallcom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.suicidewall.com/ptsd-etiology/>.