Berania 1

Ellisa Berania

ENC 1102

Professor McGriff

1 August 2018

Research Paper

Our soldiers overseas have dedicated their lives to fight through rigorous and extreme

battles in Iraq and Afghanistan to guard our nation and its people. When our soldiers come home

from battle they are more than ready to spend their well deserved time with family and friends,

but getting back into the rhythm of their previous lifestyle is often not as simple as they may

have hoped. The experiences that our veterans endured during deployment are unforgettable and

sadly more so traumatic. These traumatic events are terribly detrimental to the mental health of

our veterans and because of this a mental illness is often triggered known as Post Traumatic

Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to Colin Freeze, author of ​“Pensions for stress disorder

skyrocket: With 5,00 former soldiers on disability, some say the system is being abused.”​, Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental illness that is induced by being exposed to situations that

are considered highly stressful, like experiencing a traumatic event, and result in having negative

recurring memories that leave you feeling irritable and or depressed (p.2). We assume veterans

diagnosed with PTSD are given the proper means by which to recover and settle back into their

previous lifestyles, but recent awareness shows that veterans diagnosed with PTSD are left
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feeling socially isolated by their community, while also feeling constrained by the label of the

illness, and often improperly diagnosed by their evaluating psychiatrist.

Veterans returning home from combat are eager to get back into their former lifestyles

and enjoy being home with family and friends. But their home life may not be as fulfilling as our

veterans hoped. Author of ​“Pervasive [W]ound of [W]ar.” ​states that “...12 percent to 20 percent

of returning veterans experience PTSD...” (p.1). In other words veterans are at risk at being

diagnosed with PTSD when they return from deployment. This is unfavorable news for vets who

want more than anything to live a life that isn’t tainted by their unpleasant war memories. And

we would hope that the communities of these veterans would be striving to assist and encourage

their recovery, right? Sadly this is often not the case. One major way the community falls short

in supporting their veterans is in their communal fellowship. Our soldiers fight their most intense

battles shoulder to shoulder with fellow men and women. The bonds of these soldiers are created

through multiple scenarios of fighting for survival and they will never forget the moments that

another person showed comradery and loyalty to support their brother in battle. So when

veterans return home they experience a bit of a culture shock because they just left the only

relationships they ever had for the past 2-4 years making them feel socially neglected like they’re

isolated from everyone else. Brian Bethune, author of ​“There’s [N]o [P]lace [L]ike [W]ar: [A]

[N]ew [T]heory of PTSD [L]ocates it is [N]ot in [T]he [T]rauma of [C]ombat, [B]ut in [T]he

[L]oneliness of [C]oming [H]ome.”, c​ laims that it is vital for veterans to have communal unity

and support because within a strong and supportive community veterans can find a bond similar
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to their combat unit. And from a more friendly and outreaching community we can hope that the

mental health of our veterans will heal and improve.

Veterans who feel isolated from their community can also feel unneeded or useless in

their community as well. Part of the essence and identity of a soldier is to be well equipped,

trained, and adequate for whatever is about about to happen. Veterans with PTSD struggle to

maintain their self-worth and we all know that today’s society does exceptionally well at making

people feel useless. The author of ​“Pervasive [W]ounds of [W]ar.”, c​ alls out society to destroy

the stigma of making others feel inadequate or not enough so that veterans with weakened

self-worth can properly heal and not feel suppressed by the standards of society. Bill Nelson,

author of ​“A Job Corps is Needed to Put Veterans Back to Work.”,​ presents another way society

and communities can support veterans who are struggling with their self-worth. Nelson

recognizes that soldiers are highly skilled and hardworking and that they need a job that can

match their skill level. In his article Nelson proposes to Congress a bill that employs veterans

with jobs as first responders, such as firefighters and police officers. As first responders veterans

would not only have a secure and steady job but they would also be of service to their

community. It is in the nature of a soldier to be of service to others, so therefore, with a job that

puts them in the perfect position to help and serve, a veteran would feel like they are needed and

wanted in their community. Lawrence Downes, author of ​“For Many Returning Veterans, Home

is Where the Trouble is.”,​ feels the same way that Nelson does in that he too supports the idea

that community fellowship is crucial for veterans mental health and reintegration into home life.

In his article Downes discusses nonprofit community organizations that are available to veterans
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in need of shelter, clothes, food, or even just to meet with other vets who are struggling too. He

further mentions the success of previous organizations and how they brought communities and

fellow veterans together. Outreach from the community can come in many forms, but overall it

needs to be of high priority to reach out to the veterans of our community and to show them we

want to assists and serve them as they get back into the rhythm of their life.

When soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD they will soon be sentenced to years of carrying

the weight of all the responsibilities that come with the illness. One burden that comes with

being diagnosed is the “label” that PTSD imposes. Timothy Broglio, author of “Soldiers [H]ome:

Our [D]uty to [R]eturning [V]eterans.”, claims that PTSD is a whole nother battle for veterans

when they come home. The minds of these vets are weakened from war making them vulnerable

and impressionable to an illness such as PTSD. All the doctor visits, medications, and medical

expenses can make a vet feel like PTSD is their new identity because it consumes their life when

they return home. Not only can this impression highly affect their mental health but it can also

weaken their confidence in their daily life in areas like spending time with family or finding a

job. In today’s economy finding a job is difficult for everyone, but as a veteran it is argued to be

even harder. The lack of jobs for veterans imposes vets to live a nonfunctional life (Downes).

Their lack of confidence and diagnosed illness often sets them back from pursuing a job. As

discussed earlier the lack jobs is also a reflection of the community insufficiently being

unsupportive. To reiterate, veterans need a secure job that matches their skill level and gives

them a sense of purpose in their community (Nelson).

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Veterans with a weakened self esteem are left to feel impressionable to the many “labels”

of the mental illness that is PTSD, but what if one of the biggest labels was the illness itself?

From the Vietnam War to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the number of veterans diagnosed with

PTSD has unrealistically increased raising the question that PTSD is mistakenly overdiagnosed.

According to David Dobbs, author of ​“The PTSD Trap: Our Overdiagnosis of PTSD in Vets Is

Enough to Make You Sick.”,​ the numbers of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD has been

exploited by 300 percent (p.4). He also claims that this increase is due to the overlapping health

disorders of PTSD (p.4). In other words ‘the PTSD umbrella’ emcopasses a wide range of other

diagnoses that are not medically considered symptoms of PTSD (Dobbs p.2). There are many

incidents where a patient is diagnosed with PTSD when their issue is not as severe, thus

over-diagnosing them (Dobbs p.2). Another argument for why PTSD is being overdiagnosed is

that psychiatrist focus on the diagnosis of disability more than the recovery of their patient.

According to Colin Freeze psychiatrist rarely review both the medical and personal files when

they assess their patient which is a type of treatment that is disrespectful and uncalled for (p.2).

Sally Satel, author of “​The Iraq War Has Not Increased the Number of Veterans [W]ith

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”,​ argues that therapist should not be quick to diagnose veterans

with PTSD because it imposes that they have a disability (p.). In other words Not only is the

system being mistreated by psychiatrist but it is also being abused by a minority of veterans

themselves. Many vets are intrigued by the pensions, regular payments, that the Veterans

Association offers out to veterans with an illness such as PTSD. Arthur Reynolds, author of ​“The

Disability Trap.”, ​calls out the Veterans Association for motivating and pushing veterans to

claim pensions that can only be collected by being clinically diagnosed with PTSD. To elaborate
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these pensions are encouraging veterans to get diagnosed with a serious illness such as PTSD.

This is causing part of the recent increase of veterans diagnosed with PTSD and overall the

overdiagnosing of PTSD. A system that is abused will only weaken the chances of current and

futures veterans at getting the proper support and treatment they need (p.1). This type of

mistreatment needs to be unacceptable from any community. It should be our top priority to

prevent further misdiagnoses by setting boundaries around the assessment and diagnosis of

PTSD for veterans to not only shrink the number of diagnoses but also to properly treat veterans

with a serious mental illness.

It can be easy to assume that veterans diagnosed with PTSD are given the proper means

by which to recover and settle back into their previous lifestyles. But with the growing number

of veterans being diagnosed with PTSD the awareness of the effectiveness of the system in place

must be questioned and fixed. The three specific areas in which we must reevaluate our

awareness are in the support and inclusiveness of a community, in the , and in the assessments

made my medical professionals. The men and women who served and are serving our country

deserve to have service and support from us too. It is our duty as a community to take care of the

veterans in our hometowns by acknowledging their potential in society, being careful not to

impose or label them with a mental illness, and by properly assessing and diagnosing them.
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Works Cited

Bethune, Brian. “There’s [N]o [P]lace [L]ike [W]ar: a [N]ew [T]heory of PTSD [L]ocates it is

[N]ot in [T]he [T]rauma of [C]ombat, [B]ut in [T]he [L]oneliness of [C]oming [H]ome.”

Maclean’s, 06 June 2016, p. 48,

http://link​.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A454485638/OVIC?u=

lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=28a06157. Accessed 09 July 2018.

Broglio, Timothy P. “Soldiers [H]ome: Our [D]uty to [R]eturning [V]eterans.” America, 2

November 2009, p. 21+.

http//link:.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A347526643/OVIC?u=linccli

n_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=d700a24a. Accessed 25 July 2018.

Dobbs, David. “The PTSD Trap: Our Overdiagnosis of PTSD in Vets Is Enough to Make You

​ ired.com, 28 March 2012, ​https://www.wired.com/2012/03/the-ptsd-trap/​.

Sick.”​ W

Accessed 18 July 2018.

​ ew York
Downes, Lawrence. ​“For Many Returning Veterans, Home is Where the Trouble is.” N

Times, 03 January 2013, p.A20.

http://link.galegroups.com/apps/doc/A245641755/OVIC?u

=lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=e6f4a5c9. Accessed 25 July 2018.

Freeze, Colin. “Pensions for stress disorder skyrocket: With 5,00 former soldiers on disability,

some say the system is being abused.” Globe & Mail, 14 May 2005, p. A1, ​https://www.

theglobe​andmail.andmail.com/news/national/pensions-for-stress-disorder-skyrocket/

article980416/. Accessed 18 June 2018.

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Nelson, Bill. ​“A Job Corps is Needed to Put Veterans Back to Work.”​ Greenhaven Press, 2015.

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/docs/EJ3010686238/OVIC?u=lincclin_sjrcc&sidd=OVIC&x

id=bc94ea72. Accessed 25 July 2018.

​ etter. National Review, 29 Aug. 2016,

Reynolds, Arthur. “The Disability Trap.”​ L

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Magazines&resultList

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%7CA460508169&searchId=R4&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true​. Accessed

18 July 2018.

Satel, Sally. “The Iraq War Has Not Increased the Number of Veterans with Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder.” Behavioral Disorders. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven press,

2010,

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?

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9d4b893567c50b5e89c71ec24994. Accessed 09 JUL. 2018.

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​ ashington Times, 09 August 2007, p.

“Pervasive [W]ound of [W]ar.” W

A14.​http://link.galegroup​.

com/apps/doc/A167390709/OVIC?u=licclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=f66cd638. Accessed

25 July 2018.