PTSD of War

VIETNAM - Untold story from NAM vets

What is learned in combat is never, ever forgotten.

PTSD was once called Shell Shock, something soldiers got from battle, or from "being shelled." It wasn’t until the eighties, when the name changed to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, that others who had not been in battle, but had been the victims of car accidents, domestic abuse, rape, incest, or other traumas that these people finally got the help they needed and the disorder was clearly defined and studied. What is learned in trauma is never forgotten.

Per capita, more Vietnam Veterans suffer from chronic PTSD than from any other war. There are lots of theories as to why this is, including the simple fact that we fought an unpopular war and were never given the welcome home other soldiers received, at least not until recently. It was the first war America had lost, and many Vietnam era veterans received initial scorn from veterans of previous wars. However, there were fewer cases of acute PTSD in Vietnam, attributed to the fact that every soldier knew the day he was coming home, thus the countdown ("Short" meant the soldier had a short time left in country) to the day he’d return, and the subsequent "stuffing" of their trauma while counting down. Following a battle in WWII, 17% were afflicted with acute PTSD, while in Vietnam only one percent were afflicted, debilitated.

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IRAQ - 1 of 8 return suffered PTSD

The Army’s first study of the mental health of troops who fought in Iraq found that about one in eight reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The survey also showed that less than half of those with problems sought help, mostly out of fear of being stigmatized or hurting their careers.

The survey of Army and Marine combat units was conducted a few months after their return from Iraq or Afghanistan last year. Most studies of past wars’ effects on mental health were done years later, making it difficult to compare the latest results with those from the Vietnam or Persian Gulf wars, said Dr. Charles W. Hoge, one of the researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Of particular concern, he said, is that troops with problems are not seeking care.

“The most important thing we can do for service members who have been in combat is to help them understand that the earlier that they get help when they need it, the better off they’ll be,” Hoge said.

The study is published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Once called shell shock or combat fatigue, post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of detachment, irritability, trouble concentrating and sleeplessness.

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