How can communities help veterans heal from the effects of war?
Did you know that as many as 500,000 U.S. troops who have served over the past 13 years have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Did you also know that veterans now account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S., with the youngest being four times more likely to commit suicide than their nonveteran counterparts of the same age? According to the National Library of Medicine, many community-based mental health providers are struggling to help provide adequate treatment for veterans suffering with PTSD. Which leaves the question, how can we, as a community, help veterans who are struggling with the effects of PTSD?
Significant Risk Factors for Combat Related PTSD in Military Personnel and Veterans
This table shows the different factors that can effect or increase levels of PTSD in Veterans and Military Personnel. (CI stands for confidence interval).
According to the National Library of Medicine, the Vietnam War has one of the highest rates of veterans with PTSD. After Vietnam, approximately 700,000 Vietnam veterans (about 25% of them served in the war) suffered from PTSD. At the time, the psychological effects that veterans had after the war was known as “post-Vietnam syndrome” as it had a delayed effect. Veterans who served in Vietnam required psychological care for the effects of the combat exposure, however they were not able to receive care until the late 1970s when the diagnosis of PTSD was finally adopted. One of the veterans who had been negatively impacted by Vietnam is Sarah Barnes. Sarah was a Senior Master Sergeant during her time in the Air Force and served on home territory during Vietnam. Even though Sarah didn’t experience the combat first hand, she did loose a lot of close friends and family who died on the battle field during this time.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) had conducted a survey from Veterans across the world who had served in different service areas and found that the second biggest war to impact U.S. veterans was the Persian Gulf War, also known as Desert Storm. According to their survey, 21% of veterans suffered from PTSD after the war. A lot of these veterans had served in Vietnam and started facing a bigger impact with their PTSD diagnosis as more psychological treatments became created during this time. One veteran who served in the Persian Gulf War is Thomas Barnes. Thomas served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and flew planes during the time of the Persian Gulf War. Thomas didn’t see a big impact of the Gulf War in his own life as he was experiencing day to day life events, but he did see a big impact on veterans around him.
With the challenging effects of PTSD, many veterans began suffering with other psychological disorders. According to the National Library of Medicine, one of the biggest psychiatric comorbidities amongst veterans is depression. One survey the National Library of Medicine conducted showed that major depressive disorder (MDD) is three to five times more likely to show up in veterans who suffer from PTSD than those who do not have it. One of the other biggest psychiatric comorbidities that occurs with PTSD is substance abuse. A study from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment, conducted in the 1980s, found that 74% of Vietnam veterans who suffered from PTSD had a substance use disorder (SUD). Another recent survey of veterans showed that about 63% of veterans had met the criteria for an alcohol use disorders (AUD). However, the VA is working on helping veterans suffering with PTSD find adequate and effective care for this disorder. According to the VA, they are working on adding more regional sites as well as more telehealth services for veterans who can not travel the long distances and would prefer remote care.
However, the VA is not the only organization that is helping veterans suffering with PTSD. The American Legion is one of the biggest organizations around that provides a lot of different communities and event for veterans who are suffering from PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. According to the American Legion, they have a Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation committee that focuses on helping veterans make sure that they are getting the right treatment and support for PTSD. One of the biggest aspects of this committee is they evaluate the treatment for each veteran in the group and provide other scientifically discovered treatments for veterans to help guide their recovery. Jay Davis served as a Airman First Class in the Airforce. He has seen the American Legion make a positive impact on veterans who are currently struggling with PTSD and has donated to their different committees to help provide support to those who need it.
Jay Davis – Airman First Class
According to the VA, social events are one of the biggest factors that can help veterans suffering from PTSD. The Chicago Veterans Organization and the Wounded Warrior Project are two of the biggest organizations that hold community events for veterans suffering from psychiatric disorders like PTSD. The Chicago Veterans Organization stated, “social events can help veterans connect with other people who have shared similar experiences, build friendships, and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.” One of the community based events that the Chicago Veterans Organization and the Wounded Warrior Project have held for veterans is fitness classes. The fitness classes have helped veterans work on their overall health and connect with others in their community that are struggling with similar disorders. The Wounded Warrior Project also provides different fundraiser opportunities for communities to donate to, with all the profits going to veterans who are struggling with medical bills and treatments.
Jay Davis
There are also a lot of smaller community organizations that are working on helping support veterans that anyone can join. One local charity group that is helping raise money for local veterans in their community is Military with PTSD. Military with PTSD is a charity organization that is located in Evansville, Indiana that is working on supporting veterans and their families through peer support. They have multiple different events that they host throughout the year that contain multiple different donation opportunities. They also provide many volunteer opportunities for those who live outside of the Evansville area. With this, there are many different ways that you can help get involved in supporting veterans and provide a safe space for them as they heal from the PTSD and trauma they endured during their time in the service. There are many surveys and studies continuing to be conducted that are showing an decrease in PTSD effects due to the increased amount of veterans joining support groups in their community. According to the Wounded Warrior Project, one of the best ways to help veterans get adequate treatment and support is doing some research on organizations that are helping veterans currently to seeing how you can help the veterans in your community.
If you are interested in learning more information about this topic or ways that you can help, you can check out the websites below.