The Complications of War Veterans in Readjusting - Research Paper Example

Ron Morgan Dr Carolin Walz ENG 102 03 December The Complications of War Veterans in Readjusting Every nation loves its war veterans. They are hailed as heroes; the children lookup to them as if they are the angel guardians of their country. They save them from the enemy. Glorifying war heroes is the epitome of every civilization. Soldiers go through hell in wars. The battles take so much from them that the society cannot repay them. The money, jobs, or pension funds are not the ‘price’ for their sacrifices for the country. The society cannot repay them but taking care of the veterans with honor and as a privilege can be a fraction of the compensation for their services. Their American comfort of feeling safe and sheltered from the reality of what the world and war is something that can’t be explained unless you have seen your rack mate die or kids killed over family members not doing what there told. The kind of stress and hostile environment he encounters in wars leave deep psychological impacts. They get exposed to the worst that human nature harbors. When they return home, they are not the same people. The society needs to dig deeper to understand the emotional problems of the war veterans because these problems drive them to seek drugs or make them suicidal.   War vets have a hard time fitting in their past personality. They cannot function the way they used to even though they want to return to their normal life and be done with the war. They suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders PTSDs. PTSD is the most common phenomena found in the soldiers returning from wars (Gulgowski 30). The Centre for Policy Research in New York discovered that over a third of the men who participated in heavy combat in the Vietnam War showed signs of acute post-traumatic stress (Gulgowski 30). In the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, about 1 in 10 soldiers returning from duty showed drug or alcohol abuse problems (“PTSD”). It is observed that war veterans try to ‘avoid’ the PTSD symptoms through drugs and alcohol, to sleep better (“PTSD”). It is a very common phenomenon that war veterans develop mental disorders like post-traumatic stress, which gets deeply rooted in their psyche. Getting rid of the symptoms is extremely hard and sometimes impossible. Governments in every country pay considerable sums of money to institutions to look after war veterans. They want to make them feel that they are an essential part of the society even after fighting bloody wars. The damage done to their psyche is horrible and sometimes it is deeply inflicting that it becomes impossible to grow out of it. The tragedy is that these war veterans have to deal with these disorders or imbalance in their lives. They face challenges every day in their lives because they do not fit in, in the community anymore. They have to go through psychotherapy and individual training programs to readjust and realign with the society. Despite such efforts, there are many cases where war vets continue to live an imbalanced life. A study was performed on the war veterans by Charles R. Figley to try to figure out whether the posttraumatic stress disorders and other illnesses that start building up in war veterans is truly because of the war exposure. The test group was asked questions about the three time periods; before during and after the war. Figley writes that "results strongly support the notion that both combat experience and the three time periods were significantly associated with psychiatric symptoms" (Figley 67). Two study groups were used for this study. "Although both groups were very similar prior to military service, combat veterans reported significantly more problems than non-combat veterans with regard to, for example, disturbed sleep, feeling blue, something wrong with ones mind, belief that one is more nervous than others, life is a strain, am a hothead, unable to relax, and find it hard to get close to others." (Figley 66). The data analysis of individual items ensured that noncombatants exhibited fewer physical fights, arguments, and problems with the law (Figley 67). This comparison distinguishes the issues caused among war veterans due to exposure to war.   Soldiers that return from active duty from combat, arms fighting, or infantry are more likely to face difficulty regulating back into ordinary life. When these men and women leave the military and enter the civilian lifestyle, they need to adjust to this routine. Gayle Hall, Ph.D. lists three psychological and social dilemmas that veterans face when returning to civil society: 1) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: “PTSD affects many of the war veterans returning from war” (Hall). There are several ways for assessing and diagnosing PTSD symptoms in combat veterans. The treatment varies according to individual needs. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution for curing PTSD. Cognitive behavioral intervention is considered an effective treatment over a long period. Psychotherapy is another option. 2) Panic attacks: These attacks can be set off by any reminder of the trauma that the soldier witnessed during the war. Harmless things such as fireworks can sometimes trigger these deep-rooted feelings in the mind of a soldier. 3) Flashbacks: If there is one trademark symptom of PTSD it is flashbacks. They can return after decades from the time of exposure. They are so sudden and unexpected that a drop of a dime can sometimes be sufficient for triggering them. Stressful experiences can also bring back the flashbacks. Hall also lists three major aspects that the war veterans face while readjusting to the civilian lifestyle including; 1) Isolation: This is a complicated phenomenon because “veterans cannot talk with the normal civilians when they are troubled” (Hall). The majority of people have never observed the atrocities and the hostile environment of the war. Imagination and movies cannot live up to that experience, therefore, when a war veteran talks about the war experiences the civilians cannot relate or comprehend the intensity of those feelings. Other military personnel that served in the same line of duty or faced similar circumstances can empathize with this person. 2) Hypervigilance: It is generally recognized as a pattern under PTSD and is considered a social problem for warriors when they return home. The victim is almost constantly hyperventilating to the point where this person is noticing smells and scoping out the crowd for the one that dressed up differently. A person at a party could be wearing a nice jacket and could be looking quite handsome, but a soldier would see this person as a threat wondering what is underneath that heavy jacket. So they would constantly be reliving the warlike environment even when they are at a friend’s party. They might also be “searching for the nearest door and exit route in every room” (Hall). They are trained for combat and letting their guard down is hard for them. 3) Accepting and integrating: Political turmoil can play an enormous part in helping or destroying the process of readjustment for the war veterans. The Vietnam War was hated by the general public, and when the veterans returned home, they were not welcomed as war heroes. These days the public welcomes the soldiers when they return home from Iraq and Afghanistan. This attitude is helpful, but the “soldier needs to train himself or herself to go from warrior mode to civilian mode” (Hall). What the civilians consider an everyday routine would be a struggle for a veteran. Even though the civilians cannot completely empathize with the war veterans. However, the society needs to comprehend and strive to understand their feelings. Military service is difficult and demands a lot from an individual. Returning to civilian life poses a lot of challenges for the men and women that serve in the Armed Forces. Pew Research Center issued a survey of 1853 veterans that showed that more than seven in ten veterans (which is about 72%) stated that they had an easy time regulating to civilian life while 27% stated that the reentry was difficult (Morrin). This number is significant and needs a lot of attention. The question is interesting because the difference as to why some veterans have an easy time readjusting to the civilian lifestyles while others face tough challenges. Pew researchers studied the experiences, attitudes and demographic characteristics of veterans to find out the aspects that could help "predict whether a service member will have an easy or difficult reentry experience" (Morrin). This study suggested that the veterans who were commissioned officers, and that had graduated from college were more prone to have an easy time readjusting to the civilian lifestyle. The enlisted personnel and those who were high school graduates usually had difficult times in readjusting. On the contrary, some studies show results that tone down the negative impacts of the PTSD. The study conducted by McFall et al. showed that breaking law among war veterans does not significantly depend on having a pre-condition of PTSD. The results of this study gave more weight to “adjunctive psychiatric disabilities and unemployment” (McFall et al.) as having a direct correlation with PTSD in war veterans (McFall et al.). The PTSD veterans are less self-disclosing and experience greater difficulties adjusting to domestic relationships (Druckman and Swets 34). Despite these low levels of PTSD impact, the disorder is still damaging to the individual and to the society. The soldiers are trained to numb their emotions so they can effectively engage in the combat (Kanel 177). Some soldiers do face acute stress disorder despite the tough training of soldiers. But when these soldiers return from war it is then PTSD starts showing its signs (Kanel 177). Drug abuse is just one part of veterans’ problems. According to a report by CNN “every day, 22 veterans take their own lives” (Bassu). These unfortunate people do not find a purpose in life, or they feel guilty for taking part in the war. Plenty of evidence exists that war is a dirty business and regardless of who wins the war, the healthy personality of the soldiers almost always loses. Many soldiers develop mental problems due to stress and to cope with it they seek drug abuse or even commit suicide. The society needs to empathize and accept them the way they should. Simply putting a medal on their uniform is not good enough. The society needs to understand that they are readjusting. This attitude might not solve all their problems, but it is surely the first measure in the right direction. Comes down to once someone sees the way the real harsh world and how it works, coming home to a sheltered community never feels right again.   References Basu, Moni. "Why Suicide Rate among Veterans May Be More than 22 a Day." CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. Druckman, Daniel, and John A. Swets. Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 1988. Print. Figley, Charles R. Stress Disorders among Vietnam Veterans: Theory, Research, and Treatment. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print. Gulgowski, P. W. Stress and Adjustment. LULU. 2014. Print. Hall, Gayle J. "Reasons Why Soldiers Have Difficulty Adjusting to Civilian Lifestyle after Serving Their Country." Lifestyle Health Success Coach. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. Kanel, Kristi. A Guide to Crisis Intervention. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole, 1999. Print. Mcfall, Miles E., Priscilla W. Mackay, and Dennis M. Donovan. "Combat-Related PTSD and Psychosocial Adjustment Problems among Substance Abusing Veterans." The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 179.1 (1991): 33-38. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. Morrin, Rich. "The Difficult Transition from Military to Civilian Life." Pew Research: Social and Demographic Trends. N.p., 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. "PTSD: National Center for PTSD." PTSD and Substance Abuse in Veterans -. N.p., 3 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. Read More