The Returning American Soldier And PTSD
As some of you know, my cousin served in Operation Desert Storm, something I am extremely proud of, despite the fact that I am a self-proclaimed pacifist. He committed suicide several years later and though I’ve written that mental illness runs in my family, I do think that he was never quite right after returning from the Middle East. I don’t think he ever got the care he needed after coming home and maybe if he had, he’d still be at family “reunions” annoying the heck out of me.
It is a very brave thing our soldiers do for those of us who don’t or can’t go to war. Certainly it would destroy some of us. Certainly it destroys some of those who do go. Certainly no one who faces that kind of violence and danger and destruction cannot return unchanged or untouched in some way.
According to VA statistics, 505,366 troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have left the military as of February. Of that number, 144,424, 29 percent, have sought VA health care, and 20,638, more than 14 percent of those, have been diagnosed with PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD include hyper-vigilance, irritability, outbursts of anger, sleeplessness and fatigue, and can be accompanied by alcoholism, depression, anxiety and drug abuse.
Meagher said an alarming rate of violent incidents, suicide, homelessness and unemployment among recent veterans has been documented, but the issue has not garnered much national attention.
“We simply have not been the beneficiaries of that type of substantial coverage by the media these past three years,” she said. “So, how exactly would the public be expected to be prepared for what’s to come — in fact, what is already here?”[“Vet’s Mental Health Needs Intensify”(FOXNews.com)]
By the way, I had to follow that “documented” link out of curiousity. It’s really very interesting; it’s a database of (so far 87) cases of of American soldiers committing suicides, murders, robberies or other crimes due to PTSD due to their time in Iraq or Afghanistan. These men need our help. They deserve our help. They sacrificed for us and they deserve the best medical care we can provide.
tags: Operation Desert Storm, American soldiers, PTSD, Iraq, Afghanistan, VA, Fox News
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