Sameer Ahsan
Writing 2100
Professor Crowe
Research Essay
Post-traumatic stress disorder better known as PTSD is a huge problem in today’s society, many deals with this, and it’s most common in the United States or any veterans, people outside of the military can also suffer from this such as people who have had near-death experiences or other traumatic events such as abuse from a family member or spouse, or a death to someone close to them. “About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. About 12 million adults in the U.S. have PTSD during a given year.” I found this shocking because as a society we don’t normalize PTSD as much as we do depression and anxiety. PTSD has the symptoms of both depression and anxiety but on a way larger scale.
A big part of PTSD is “Intrusive thoughts are perhaps the best-known symptom of PTSD. What do intrusive thoughts look like? A person going about their day is suddenly confronted by unwelcome, distressing memories of what happened to them. This may happen in a related setting – for example, a person who has gone through a car accident may begin to panic in a vehicle – or out of the blue.” Having Intrusive thoughts can completely ruin not only your whole day but your livelihood. Imagine fighting for your country, protecting everyone’s freedom and making friends in the army only to see them being killed in action, not only then but even when you come back from the army. I can’t imagine how hard that would be able to bear.
“According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 11-20 out of every 100 veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder — a number that is both overwhelming and, unfortunately, not always acknowledged to the degree that it should be.” As we know Veterans don’t normally get the treatment that they need and end up suffering the rest of their lives with that trauma from going to war. They don’t get the acknowledgement that they deserve for fighting for our country’s freedom.
“Not only are veterans with PTSD at risk of suffering emotionally, but the condition puts them at an increased risk for several life-threatening conditions. Veterans with untreated PTSD are also at a higher risk of committing suicide and having lower life expectancy.” Many veterans go without treating their PTSD and these are the effects of it. Nobody should have a lower life expectancy because they have no one to speak to about their trauma. A lot of these veterans are lonely and they shouldn’t have to suffer in silence after doing something as courageous as fighting for our country.
“While only 8% of Americans can claim veteran status, 17% of our homeless population is made up of veterans. In 2010, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) estimated that on any given night there were 76,000 homeless veterans sleeping on American streets.” This was a research done in 2010. Can you imagine how much that number has gone up by now? These people fought for our country, not only are they dealing with the trauma/PTSD from their time served but also having to deal with the problem of not knowing when their next meal is going to be? Where are they going to sleep later in the night? This is a big reason for the fact that earlier on they have a lower life expectancy.
Speaking of sleeping, a severe symptom of PTSD is also Nightmares, “Trauma survivors regularly deal with nightmares. Research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) has indicated that 71% to 96% of those with PTSD may have nightmares. Those with co-occurring mental illnesses are also at higher risk for vivid, disturbing dreams.” Whilst in the military, these men and women don’t really get much sleep, which is something that we seem to take for granted, it’s unfortunate that despite them finally being able to rest for a proper amount of time, it’s still a struggle for them with all the trauma and tragedy many of them see whilst in the military.
PTSD famously leads to anger issues and impatiences, “PTSD creates a state of hyperarousal. This means that the brain is kicked into a state of “fight or flight” at the slightest urging. Hyperarousal results in strong emotions like anger, as well as general irritability on a day-to-day basis. Those who have been traumatized may lash out at others, even if they don’t fully understand why.” We’ve seen these types of behaviors from veterans in countless movies, to name an example is the movie “Brothers” starring Tobey Mcguire, there’s countless scenes in that movie where it shows examples of all the things War Veterans suffer through but one moment I’d like to bring up is when he finally snaps at his daughter and his daughter tells him “I wished you stayed dead” I recommend watching this movie because it gives a full understand of the hardship some of these veterans have to deal with, not everyone comes home to a whole happy family full of enjoyment. In the movie another scene Tobey Mcguire in-character attempts to kill himself in front of his wife (who had been sleeping with his brother) and his brother because of all the trauma, he dealt with overseas, plus realizing his daughter doesn’t really want him alive, and figuring out his brother had been sleeping with his own wife all the years that he was gone.
“Self-blame is especially common after a traumatic event. People with PTSD may blame themselves for what happened, especially if it resulted in the injury or death of a loved one. However, they may also assign blame to others who were associated with what happened. For example, after a boating accident, the traumatized person may point the finger at the driver of the boat. They might also blame themselves for not calling out or warning the driver in time.” This is another condition people with PTSD suffer from, they normally blame anything that bad or unfortunate that happens on themselves and it makes them pity themselves even more than they do. There’s a show called the Punisher. Frank Castle, a veteran war hero, comes back to NYC and he shows a huge example of self blame. He blames himself for the death of his kids and his wife and the whole show goes more in-depth with what he suffers with.
Another condition people suffer with PTSD is flashbacks. Flashbacks are different from intrusive thoughts. Those who have flashbacks may feel as though the traumatic event is happening all over again. Memories can become so vivid that they seem to be happening in the current moment. This can cause people to panic, resulting in a sudden, aggressive response. They may be triggered by something as subtle as someone’s cologne or a certain tone of voice. Those who have flashbacks are encouraged to ground themselves through the five senses – naming five things they can see can be a calming distraction. In the show Frank has flashbacks to his time in the army with his brothers in arms, as he watches them die in war. He also has a ton of flashbacks to seeing his family dying in front of him.
To say the least, PTSD has not only had a major effect on the veterans that fight for our freedom but the lack of awareness we show not only will affect the ones currently in the military for the United States, but also the future generation of people who have thoughts of entering the military/air force.
Despite all these conditions that come with PTSD, there are ways to seek out help and feel better with treatments. Such as talk therapy and medications. It’s better to voice your struggles instead of suffering with them alone. Other ways to help PTSD is Cognitive behavioural therapy which “is of therapy that aims to help you manage problems by changing how you think and act.”For example, your therapist may ask you to face your traumatic memories by describing aspects of your experience in detail. During this process, your therapist helps you cope with any distress you feel while identifying any beliefs you have about the experience that may be unhelpful.”
Fortunately these are ways to help anyone who you know or think has PTSD, normally they won’t reach out and seek help by themselves so it’s important that as a society we not only fund these talk therapy sessions but also encourage our family, friends, or even strangers we meet who seem to be struggling with PTSD to seek help. I can once again make a connection to the Punisher in this case. In the show Frank Castle does go to talk therapy to hear about the other veterans and their perspective and problems, it seems to help Frank out alot and it even encourages him to help the others in the group out with some of the problems they have going on. It’s time to spread awareness to PTSD more because in the end not only does it affect us as a society but also the future.
Sources:
NHS Choices, NHS, https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/treatment/
Rtblogadmin. “How Many Veterans Have PTSD, Veterans Mental Health.” Retreat Behavioral Health Content Hub, 6 Jan. 2021, https://www.retreatbehavioralhealth.com/blog/how-many-veterans-have-ptsd/.
“Va.gov: Veterans Affairs.” How Common Is PTSD in Adults?, 13 Sept. 2018, https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_adults.asp#:~:text=About%206%20out%20of%20every,have%20gone%20through%20a%20trauma.
“Veteran Homelessness Facts.” Veteran Homelessness Facts | Green Doors, https://greendoors.org/facts/veteran-homelessness.php.
“What Are the 17 Symptoms of PTSD?: PTSD Awareness Month.” Cumberland Heights, 22 Sept. 2022, https://www.cumberlandheights.org/blogs/17-symptoms-of-ptsd/.
“What Happens If PTSD Goes Untreated?” Disabled Vets, 10 May 2022, https://www.disabledvets.com/faqs/what-happens-if-ptsd-goes-untreated/.
Movie: Brothers 2009 FLIM
TV Show: The Punisher (2017)