Summary Of Haunted By Combat

“How could you tell your girlfriend what it was like for you to shoot another human being? How could you tell her how vulnerable and scared you felt, never knowing if you would live another hour…”1. These are the types of questions and horrors that keep veterans with PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from returning to their normal lives before the war. PTSD is not only a disease that keeps people awake at night with nightmares; it is a disease that creeps into every aspect of their lives and keeps them from functioning in society as they once did. It is complex and complicated, involving both neuroscience and cultural influences. PTSD is unique in the fact that it is not only a changing of the chemical makeup of one’s brain but, also a direct result of social norms and pressures and can be accentuated or muted by one’s society. The book Haunted by Combat by Paulson and Krippner explores the symptoms, treatments, and challenges of those living with PTSD while raising key questions about humanity in general.

The book is broken down into twelve chapters, each addressing a different part of the PTSD picture. With a disease so complex and still not fully understood the book attempts to break the problems down one by one and address them individually. A unique …show more content…
The division of topics into twelve chapters presents the reader with a logical train of thought. There is no excessive language or scientific jargon to confuse the audience. It is short, 150 pages, and to the point. It explains PTSD in layman’s terms so that a reader with no experience on the subject is able to walk away with a general understanding of the disease and the problems it creates. The evidence is overwhelming for the stances taken and come from a vast variety of sources. These sources include medical associations, private doctors, patients, military statistics, and other experts. The book contains twelve pages of references of all