The Negative Effects Of PTSD On Veterans

Young men and women, some just legally adults at the age of 18, are placed into battle. These brave men and women fight for our country, a job most are afraid to do. A job that requires selflessly risking your life to make our country a free and safer place. Most come back changed. A shell of the person they used to be. Recurring nightmares that jolt them awake and make them relive times they want forgotten. Sounds make them jump and bring them back to battle. These veterans go into war joyful young adults, and come back scarred. When they are discharged for medical reasons it can be hard for them to transition back into civilian life. This is where the government comes in to help them. But, a shocking amount of veterans are not getting the
Some veterans do get help quickly and that helps lessen their PTSD. But, most have to wait too long to get help and end up not wanting it anymore. As Dr. Harkness said in an interview, ''the military teaches soldiers to survive in the harshest conditions, so they rarely seek out help'' (Streep, New York Times). Too often the family members of veterans with PTSD are the ones who are taking care of them. These family members and veterans need help, yet they face this daunting challenge that the government should be taking care of. Family members of veterans suffering from PTSD said, “Lifelong communication and outreach with the veteran and family members are crucial” (Ludlow, The Washington Post). In a survey done by ScoutComms, responses from about 1,000 adults online, with a margin of error of approximately 3.5%, concluded that our troops aren’t prepared for civilian life. It was concluded that “Almost half of those questioned said they believe troops are not prepared to succeed in the civilian workforce when they leave the military, and only 13 percent said they think corporations are doing enough to support veterans” (Shane, Survey). As for the nonprofits and charities that work towards helping veterans, “The survey shows that 23 percent of respondents think those groups are providing critical help to veterans, 34 percent think they are not — and 43 percent say they don’t know enough about those efforts to make a judgment” (Shane). 43 percent is a big number of people who don’t know about the lack of help and care veterans are getting. There is a divide between what the public sees and what the people working with veterans see. This means that the public needs to put more effort into recognizing that the government isn’t doing enough. The more people who understand that these men and women need help getting back on there