Mental Illness In Soldiers

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.

Soldiers train rigorously, preparing for the departure of war. They sacrifice all that they have to fight for their country. As they return after the war, they are left with painful experiences and traumatizing memories, suffering from their inevitable conditions. However, the spouse, families and children back at home are suffering even more than soldiers.

In the recent years, the number of mental health professionals providing for the military has dwindled, there is almost no combat-specific psychologists left, and the wait time to be treated for a mental health issue by the Department of Veterans Affairs has drastically increased. Examining MilitaryOneSource and the Department of Veterans Affairs, two of the most highly regarded military health providers, the lack of mental health services for veterans and active duty members has diminished and has resulted in a multitude of veterans going untreated or even ending their own life instead of receiving the help they

A constant watch over mental health issues of all military servicemen and women has gone under the radar in the past few years due to a lack of knowing how unrecognizable the problem just might be. The magnitude of this problem is enormous. A recent report finds that the estimates of PTSD range from 4 to 45 percent for those soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cesur, Sabia & Tekin, 2012). Research suggested that other serious medical issues are likely to accompany the PTSD diagnosis, such as cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain (Frayne, et al, 2010). Compiling mental health issues, physical ailments along with family reintegration can prove overwhelming for a returning veteran.

In Soldier from the War Returning, Thomas Childers writes that “a curious silence lingers over what for many was the last great battle of the war.” This final battle was the soldier’s return home. After World War II, veterans came back to the United States and struggled with stigmatized mental illnesses as well as financial and social issues. During the war, many soldiers struggled with mental health issues that persisted after they came home.

The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

Fear cripples the soldiers and breaks the much needed focus they require to simply stay alive. O’Brien describes the soldiers fears in many ways but lists it in the inventory that they carry like any other item. O’Brien writes, “more than 20 pounds of ammunition, plus the flak jacket and helmet and rations and water and toilet paper and tranquilizers and all the rest, plus the unweighted fear.” (O’Brien 993). The guilt of surviving the war while so many perished often consumes surviving soldiers.

During the time between 2000 and 2011 almost a million veterans were diagnosed with a minimum of one psychosocial disorder nearly half as many had multiple cases. The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs has annually spent millions of dollars on researching cures for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) without finding any new way for treatment to commence. The current method for treating this disorder is merely getting them to interact with other people; loved ones, or fellow soldiers are the most common. Many veterans are coming away from war with mental scars that require just as much attention as any physical wound and the United States needs to help stem the tide of this growing

Accompanying these weapons was the first emphasis on war trauma-related mental illness, with soldiers returning from battle with PTSD, misnomered and misunderstood as ‘shell-shock’. Rates of PTSD climbed steadily after World War II and the Vietnam War as weaponry became more and more advanced, reaching 12% of soldiers who saw direct combat in the Gulf War being diagnosed with PTSD afterwards (cite). Clearly, there is a strong connection between advanced weaponry and mental illness in soldiers, proving that violent weaponry negatively affects those who are forced to encounter

Another issue that veterans struggle with when they come back from war is mental illnesses like PTSD. According to “bringing the war back home”, “Of 103 788 OEF/OIF veterans seen at VA health care facilities, 25 658 (25%) received mental health diagnosis(es)”. This disabilities can make getting into the workforce much more difficult and even leave veterans to live on the streets from lack of employment. The solution discovered from this research is that if these mental diseases are caught early enough, the veterans will receive the help they need and be able to continue their normal civilian lives. “Targeted early detection and intervention beginning in primary care settings are needed to prevent chronic mental illness and

According to Document C, “There comes a soldier, his bare feet are seen thro’ his worn out shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings.” This shows that the soldiers barely have clothes. How can someone in the army continue to get stronger and fight more if they barely have clothes in the freezing temperatures of winter? Also, according to Document C, “I can’t endure it-Why are we went here to starve and freeze.”

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental disorder that most often develops after a veteran experiences a traumatic event. While having this illness, the veteran believes their lives are in danger. They also may feel afraid or feel they have no control over what is happening. If their feeling does not go away, the symptoms may disrupt the person 's life, making it hard to continue daily activities.

A study in 1993 found that more than 830,000 Vietnam veterans suffered from symptoms related to PTSD to one degree or another upon returning home,” (Moran). Soldiers who return home from war typically suffer from related symptoms. Most soldiers who are affected are not acted on quick enough. “From 2005 to 2011, military spending on

In the New York Times article Death of a Marine, Bob Herbert discloses a story regarding a young man who participated in the Marines. Jeffrey Lucey of Massachusetts enlisted in the army instead of going to college. Despite his parents’ disapproval, he still joined. When Jeffery turned 22, his unit was one of the first to mobilize in the Iraq War. The damage that impacted Jeffery in Iraq included, explosions “just short of blowing out your eardrums”, damaged nerves, nightmare hallucinations and above all else, PTSD.

Psychological Warfare in ​The Things They Carried Unless you have been in war or have read ​The Things They Carried​, you can't fully understand the psychological toll on a person's mind and body, you can't understand the psychological hardship soldiers go through in war. However, ​The Things They Carried​, by Tim O'Brien, is written to where it shows the overall psychological effects of war on soldiers in and out of Vietnam; as shown throughout the story, the recurring themes of trauma, love, and guilt give the clear psychological implications of war.