Post-traumatic stress disorder, abbreviated as PTSD, is a psychiatric condition in which a person feels threatened and unsafe after encountering a trauma. They remain disturbed and feel insecure even when they are safe. They can get flashbacks of the trauma at any time of the day. After the flashbacks, they can get sad, annoyed, or aggressive.
Stress and depression are the parts of their lives. Their sleep cycle is completely disturbed. Often they don’t consume healthy food and in fact, they don’t consume food properly at all. They start avoiding people who have a resemblance to the person from their trauma. If they got trauma from the lightning strike, they will avoid anything that is too loud or too bright.
Though symptoms of the disease can vary from person to person, all of them feel disturbed in one way or another. There are 5 stages of PTSD and every person has a different tolerance to it. Sometimes a person is strong enough to fight with the first stage and bring his senses back after some time, but sometimes a person can enter the long-term reconstruction stage that needs a lot of time for therapies to work and bring the person back to the normal life.
Why Veterans are at Risk of This Medical Condition?
Veterans have to serve while staying away from their homes and their loved ones which causes depression in them gradually resulting in PTSD. Many veterans were harrassed sexually which made them fearful to encounter the world. Many of them witnessed the deaths of their beloved ones and they entered the darkest tunnel of their lives.
Many veterans faced severe injuries and witnessed death from near and developed this condition. Many veterans were tortured mentally and physically by the enemy. Many veterans used drugs and other pills to combat their traumas which resulted in worsening their condition.
Besides these factors, many veterans faced bullying when they were on active duty as soldiers due to racial differences, poverty, less education, and lack of social support. All these factors developed or worsen the condition of veterans.
How Many U.S. Veterans Have PTSD?
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, almost 11 to 20 out of every 100 veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have PTSD. Similarly, 12 out of every 100 veterans who served in the Gulf War were diagnosed with PTSD. Similarly, 30 out of every 100 Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD.
Veterans of both World Wars suffered the same disorder. Roughly, 500,000 population of veterans suffered from this mental disorder. But back then, it was not called PTSD, it was rather known by many other names including Post-Vietnam syndrome, Vietnam stress, Combat fatigue, Shell shock, war neurosis, and many more.
How to Help Veterans Through PTSD?
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