PTSD In Vietnam

A large number of people encounter daily stress in their lives but it does not mount to the stress of living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. People who suffer with this condition live their everyday lives with constant fear of the past. Most cannot deal with this transition after experiencing a tragic event causing them to seek out help from others, hence they cannot do it alone. Many Vietnam War veterans experienced tragedies and witnessed emotionally disturbing events leading them to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Vietnam War veterans experienced life threatening situations all throughout the war. When facing these events they affected them in deep mental and physical ways. The worst events they could witness occurred on the battlefield, When being present on a battlefield it is physically and
At this time there was nothing like PTSD, but they noticed varied signs like depression and or anxiety. Many did not even believe PTSD was a real condition (Dolan 48). As time went on more signs were revealed in veterans that showed symptoms of PTSD. In order for PTSD to be diagnosed these symptoms had to last for at least one month and cause the individual significant distress or interfere with work and life at home. The symptoms occur in the order of hyperarousal, intrusion, and constriction (Simpson 12,13). The first symptom they encounter is hyperarousal which leads to insomnia, reduced pain tolerance, and constantly feeling in danger. Next, intrusion is where they have a hard time keeping the dark thoughts out of their head. The last is constriction is when they keep themselves secluded away from the outside world. There are two levels of PTSD that are common, acute and chronic. Symptoms can last up to three months in acute PTSD. They last longer than three months with chronic PTSD (Veterans Health). Sometimes even the symptoms will not show up for a minimum six months which is delayed