Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among the Veterans Social Sciences Essay

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among the Veterans
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among the Veterans
One of the biggest challenges that veterans face is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while transitioning into civilian life. On one hand, military transition is a challenging experience because issues such as lack of purpose post-military, identity crisis, unemployment, and cultural adjustments affect military transition (Stull, Kirchner, & Herd, 2020). On the other hand, PTSD is a mental condition that results from exposure to traumatic or distressing events (Shalev, Liberzon, & Marmar, 2017). Veterans are exposed to many distressing events during combats and as such, PTSD is the most common mental health condition among veterans. In fact, about 10% to 15% of veterans who have served in Operations Iraqi Freedom, the Gulf War, and the Vietnam War experience PTSD in any given year (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). The severity of PTSD among veterans varies depending on the level of exposure to traumatic events. Also, many veterans suffering from PTSD commit suicide every year, with the number of successful suicide going as high as 8, 000 in a year (Haveman-Gould & Newman, 2018). These statistics make this issue important t me because I want to be part of the solution.
Military Transition, PTSD and its Historical Context
Military transition impacts not only veterans but also their families. While transitioning, veterans encounter civilian stigmatization, unemployment and underemployment, cultural adjustment challenges, and identity crisis (Stull, Kirchner, & Herd, 2020). These obstacles make it harder for veterans to transition and even when they do, they still face some challenges post-transition because adjusting to civilian life after years of service is difficult. PTSD also hinders this transition. PTSD is characterized by a range of symptoms that affect the normal life of a veteran. These symptoms include nightmares, detaching from others, and avoidance, anger, insomnia, and drug and alcohol abuse (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). When veterans develop PTSD, their quality of life is affected. Armenta, Rush, Leardmann, Millegan, Cooper, and Hoge (2018) indicate that people with severe PTSD experience high rates of cardiovascular diseases, immune-mediated disorders, hypertension, and even death. It also affects their families. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (2020), partners of veterans with PTSD live in distress unlike those of veterans without PTSD. Further, the children of veterans with PTSD have more behavioral issues than those of veterans without PTSD. This indicates that PTSD not only affects the veteran s themselves, but also their immediate family members. Also, PTSD affects the entire veteran community.
PTSD after military transition is not a new issue among veterans and military service members. While veterans have experienced the same symptoms associated with PTSD for years, the name that describes the condition has been different. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (2018), in the past, the condition had several names including “soldier’s heart,” “shell shock,” or “combat fatigue.” Veterans with this condition often experience stress, anger, or feel distant from other peoples after reliving a traumatic event. Over the years, veterans have often sort help from the office of the veterans' affair. Given the magnitude of the issue, the office of the veteran affairs established the National Center for PTSD in 1989 (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). This center was established to meet the mental health needs of veterans with PTSD. It also offers its services to other survivors of trauma who have developed PTSD.
Current Policies/ Initiatives to address the Issue
Given the obstacles faced by veterans, the government established a program that helps ease the transition of soldiers, known as the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) (Stull, Kirchner, & Herd, 2020). All soldiers are congressionally required to participate in TAP so that they can adjust to civilian life, learn how to access Veteran Affairs benefits, and gain useful employment. This program also provides soldiers with counselors who help soldiers make a transition plan and provide them with individualized counseling (Stull, Kirchner, & Herd, 2020). Veterans also use the post-911 GI Bill, which is a veteran educational assistance act, to get tuition benefits post-military (Perkins, et al., 2019). Such policies allow veterans to transition into civilian life, although their uptake is still limited. Policymakers need to understand that veterans experience social isolation and any policies meant to help them should incorporate ways to help them re-connect with other civilians.
Also, the federal government, through the U.S. Department of veteran affairs, has initiatives that address PTSD. The federal government established the National Center for PTSD in 1989 to ensure that the needs of veterans with PTSD are met. Also, this center facilitates research on PTSD and establishes initiatives that improve the understanding of PTSD (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). One such initiative by the federal government is the PTSD Psychopharmacology Initiative, established in 2016. This initiative is aimed at identifying, testing, and confirming effective medication for treating PTSD among veterans. However, this initiative has not borne any results because investigators are still at work. The federal government’s efforts are focused on research on PTSD management and tre...