Psychological Impacts of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars Have you ever watched the movie American Sniper, Lone Survivor, or any other movies based on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and replayed the action scenes because “that was so cool”? If you have, your definition of “cool” severely varies from the definition of soldiers fighting in those wars. Those scenes, which may excite the average United States citizen to watch, may happen to be the memories that haunt and mentally tear apart the veterans who were there for that event. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were psychologically impacted by the war, making changes in their civilian lives, ultimately creating more mental health issues. As soldiers return home from war, they
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This process often includes finding a job. However, as of February of 2015, 132,500 veterans were without jobs (Frazier, Chantell). Although veterans receive benefits everyday citizens of the United States do not, they still need a steady income to remain financially stable, but it may be hard to find a job that hires employees with post traumatic stress disorder or other mental health conditions to protect its customers. Living without a job can cause a person’s life expectancy to decrease and increase risks of depression and anxiety (Belle, Deborah, and Bullock Heather). In the United States money runs the country. With little to no money, it becomes difficult for the veteran to support himself or herself, and a family if they have one. Being unemployed can lead to other factors, such as homelessness, which ultimately lead back to more mental health …show more content…
In the span of 10 years, from the beginning of the Iraq War to 2013, over 50,000 veterans returned to the United States without a home, triple the number of reported homeless veterans in 2011 (Zoroya, Gregg). Think about how great it feels to lay in bed after a long hard day; these veterans return back to the United States after months or years of long hard days without experiencing that relief. The sudden loss of the veteran’s home, along with the conditions they are now living in, put additional stress on them (Goodman, Lisa, Mary Harvey, and Leonard Saxe). Gregory Scott, President of New Directions for Veterans, a non-profit assistance group in Los Angeles, summarized in just four sentences the painful reality Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are coming home to. He stated, “they’re coming home to a bad economy. The country is different. They are different. Plus they are dealing with PTSD and other issues around mental health.” Scott explains in vague detail about how veterans have to handle economic issues with psychological issues, but he fails to allow his audience to realize that the two issues go hand in hand. Because of the psychological impacts of war, veterans struggle financially, causing even further psychological problems they have to
This process often includes finding a job. However, as of February of 2015, 132,500 veterans were without jobs (Frazier, Chantell). Although veterans receive benefits everyday citizens of the United States do not, they still need a steady income to remain financially stable, but it may be hard to find a job that hires employees with post traumatic stress disorder or other mental health conditions to protect its customers. Living without a job can cause a person’s life expectancy to decrease and increase risks of depression and anxiety (Belle, Deborah, and Bullock Heather). In the United States money runs the country. With little to no money, it becomes difficult for the veteran to support himself or herself, and a family if they have one. Being unemployed can lead to other factors, such as homelessness, which ultimately lead back to more mental health …show more content…
In the span of 10 years, from the beginning of the Iraq War to 2013, over 50,000 veterans returned to the United States without a home, triple the number of reported homeless veterans in 2011 (Zoroya, Gregg). Think about how great it feels to lay in bed after a long hard day; these veterans return back to the United States after months or years of long hard days without experiencing that relief. The sudden loss of the veteran’s home, along with the conditions they are now living in, put additional stress on them (Goodman, Lisa, Mary Harvey, and Leonard Saxe). Gregory Scott, President of New Directions for Veterans, a non-profit assistance group in Los Angeles, summarized in just four sentences the painful reality Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are coming home to. He stated, “they’re coming home to a bad economy. The country is different. They are different. Plus they are dealing with PTSD and other issues around mental health.” Scott explains in vague detail about how veterans have to handle economic issues with psychological issues, but he fails to allow his audience to realize that the two issues go hand in hand. Because of the psychological impacts of war, veterans struggle financially, causing even further psychological problems they have to