Connection Between War Related Trauma And The Escalating Use Drugs

War and Drugs
Name
Institution
War and Drugs
Response 1
Before the soldiers started using drugs in the war front, the individuals used drugs for social events as it was illegal in the society. During the war, the first use of drugs by the soldiers was during the First World War, where the soldiers needed to use drugs to forget about the issues they had experienced in the war front. The bars and pubs were closed early due to the curfews making it impossible to get alcohol (Bergen-Cico, 2016, Pp.32). The soldiers tuned to using opium which was a drug used by soldiers that were stationed all over Europe. During the Second World War as the Navy and the Airforce pilots used drugs as part of their daily retunes. The servicemen used amphetamines during their missions with the aim of staying alert (Bergen-Cico, 2016, Pp.83). The soldiers bought the drugs from the Vietnamese children and there were cases od deaths from overdose or psychological breakdown. The third occasion of conflict that drug was used by the soldiers was during the War in Afghanistan and Operation in Iraqi Freedom where the soldiers abused Marijuana and Amphetamines to stay awake. During the period, the soldiers were abusing drugs such as opiates to assist in relieving pain, and sedatives to assist them sleep. The soldiers in all occasions developed addiction for other had drugs such as heroine.
Response 2
There is a connection between war related trauma and the escalating use of alcohol and drugs by the veterans after they leave the battlefield. The soldiers find themselves enduring a lot in the war front. Many of the soldiers who left the war find themselves experiencing memories of the traumatic events through historical footages and human experiences, which make them not to have a stable mindset referred to as mind related trauma (Bergen-Cico, 2016. Pp.118). For the soldiers to remain stable, they found themselves using and abusing drugs and alcohol. The escalated use of drugs in their lives were to assist them in dealing with the emotional and physical pain. Some of the soldiers could not sleep as they had photographic images of their dead friends, torture and inhumane experiences they might have experienced. The experienced terror led them to use of cheap alcohol and drugs which later resulted to their addiction as they found it difficult to retain being sober. The use of drugs and alcohol by the survivors of war has increased over the years as many of the soldiers cannot keep up with the counselling and medication. The soldiers abuse the drugs with the aim of retaining the standards they had already accrued over the past years in the war front.
Response 3
The use of drugs by the soldiers has not been more harmful than beneficial to their bodies and mind in their real lives compared to the battle field. The individuals who abuse the drug would encounter different problems in their lives. One of the problems is based on risking their personal safety both at the battle field and at home. In many occasions, drugs might react slowly after intake, which means that the individuals might fail to make better decisions within the required time (Bergen-Cico, 2016, Pp. 89). As an individual is at the battle field, the decisions that they make would be based on life and death and through taking of the drugs, the soldier would put his life and those of his colleagues in danger. At the same time, use of drugs would put the lives of his comrades in jeopardy as the soldiers rely on each other in the battlefield. the lives of the others are in one’s hands and the use of drugs might not give one the room for proper judgement giving them room for confusion and misjudgment. Similarly, the use of drugs creates a wrong environment as one will not be able to understand the issues that are happening around him. As a soldier, one is expected to follow a chain of command which might be complicated for a drug user since there would be more problems in case of chaos or conflict which might require proper functions.
Response 4
Addiction, drug abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is common for many of the veterans since they have a complex relationship and might interfere with the wellbeing of the individual. War related PTSD might make an individual use alcohol and drugs as a form of escape of the high levels of stress. The use of drugs might result to reduced anxiety, increased pleasure and assistance in dealing with difficult emotions. The individual would have an increased reaction in the adrenaline and the use of drugs might lower the reactions (Bergen-Cico, 2016, Pp 126). The drugs such as marijuana, opioids, and alcohol would suppress the nervous system. The continued use of the drugs would make an individual have cravings for the drugs and lack of it would result to withdrawal symptoms, insomnia, depression, anxiety and irritability. The conditions would make it difficult for the individuals to reduce or stop using the drugs and they would be dependent on the use. PTSD individual who is addicted to use of drugs would loss control on the use which would result to abuse. The rate of addiction is high in the PTSD patients as they are used to using drugs for survival and livelihood. The addiction would is related to the overdependence of the drugs.
Response 5
The use of drug money has been used unofficially to fund some of the covert operations. For instance, there are regions such as South Asia, the intelligence ...