The Effects of War on Veterans in Afghanistan and Iraq
More than half of the 2.6 million Americans dispatched to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq struggle with physical or mental health problems and often begin to feel disconnected from civilian life, deriving from deployment. As stated in the article “After the Wars: A legacy of pain and pride”, written by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and published by The Washington Post. The conditions of being deployed and serving for our country can conclude in widespread consequences within soldiers in which if no help is provided, could become permanently detrimental. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and an increase in suicides are some of …show more content…
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is another way in which a veteran will begin to feel less and less able to fit into a normal civilian life and will instead begin to isolate themselves and start to experience uncontrollable emotional outbursts that can only be treated with professional help. Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is another cause of stress and mental illness within veterans serving in the military and can also cause many emotional distress as well as isolation. “55 out of 100 women (55%) and 38 out of 100 men (38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.” (An Overview of Mental Health Effects) These experiences can not only lead to depression and PTSD and MST but can also cause one to turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to escape from reality and as a way to attempt to forget what they have been through and suppress their memories as some do not seek professional help. “According to the Army, only 40 percent of veterans who screen positive for serious emotional problems seek help from a mental health professional.” (The Critical Need to Treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Because most of the veterans do not seek help, these problems will eventually become worse and evolve to the point where it will become very …show more content…
Because of the physical and emotional trauma that soldiers experience after returning home from deployment, they are unable to perform tasks such as obtaining jobs, as employers often view and determine their injuries as “disabilities”. Nicholas Johnson, a former specialist in the Arkansas Army National Guard, who spent a year in Iraq in 2006, stated “I can’t get a good job now because . . . I have to be upfront and say I have this disability, I have a tore-up back,” he said “So now, the factories here in Topeka, where I live now, they’re like: ‘Oh, wow, he has military experience. Great. He has managerial experience. Oh, that’s good. Some college — all right. Oh, he tore his back up. Can’t do that, you know’ ” (Chandrasekaran). Men like Nicholas can not obtain a stable job because their previous war injuries prevent them from doing so even if they meet any other qualifications because the employer will believe that they are incapable of doing a successful job. Not only could this increase the chance of depression as veterans could feel as if they are seen as weak and be treated differently but it can also be very financially difficult for these veterans as not all of them could
More than half of the 2.6 million Americans dispatched to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq struggle with physical or mental health problems and often begin to feel disconnected from civilian life, deriving from deployment. As stated in the article “After the Wars: A legacy of pain and pride”, written by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and published by The Washington Post. The conditions of being deployed and serving for our country can conclude in widespread consequences within soldiers in which if no help is provided, could become permanently detrimental. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and an increase in suicides are some of …show more content…
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is another way in which a veteran will begin to feel less and less able to fit into a normal civilian life and will instead begin to isolate themselves and start to experience uncontrollable emotional outbursts that can only be treated with professional help. Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is another cause of stress and mental illness within veterans serving in the military and can also cause many emotional distress as well as isolation. “55 out of 100 women (55%) and 38 out of 100 men (38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.” (An Overview of Mental Health Effects) These experiences can not only lead to depression and PTSD and MST but can also cause one to turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to escape from reality and as a way to attempt to forget what they have been through and suppress their memories as some do not seek professional help. “According to the Army, only 40 percent of veterans who screen positive for serious emotional problems seek help from a mental health professional.” (The Critical Need to Treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Because most of the veterans do not seek help, these problems will eventually become worse and evolve to the point where it will become very …show more content…
Because of the physical and emotional trauma that soldiers experience after returning home from deployment, they are unable to perform tasks such as obtaining jobs, as employers often view and determine their injuries as “disabilities”. Nicholas Johnson, a former specialist in the Arkansas Army National Guard, who spent a year in Iraq in 2006, stated “I can’t get a good job now because . . . I have to be upfront and say I have this disability, I have a tore-up back,” he said “So now, the factories here in Topeka, where I live now, they’re like: ‘Oh, wow, he has military experience. Great. He has managerial experience. Oh, that’s good. Some college — all right. Oh, he tore his back up. Can’t do that, you know’ ” (Chandrasekaran). Men like Nicholas can not obtain a stable job because their previous war injuries prevent them from doing so even if they meet any other qualifications because the employer will believe that they are incapable of doing a successful job. Not only could this increase the chance of depression as veterans could feel as if they are seen as weak and be treated differently but it can also be very financially difficult for these veterans as not all of them could