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Veterans and PTSD

By Michelle Cummings

 

Today, approximately one in ten veterans serve time in jail. Most incarcerated veterans have similar stories. Christopher Lee Boyd, an Iraq War veteran, returned to Virginia after two bombs killed four of his comrades in a Humvee. Out of ten men, Boyd was the only man uninjured (Wolfe). Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, initiated by Boyd’s traumatic experience caused him to carry a gun and become an alcoholic. The following year, Boyd shot a friend in the chest while drunk, which led 

to a sentence of five years in jail.

 

Boyd’s quarters contains only war veterans at Haynes Correctional Facility (Wolfe). States like Virginia have laws that mandate veterans should be housed with only other veterans. The facility’s environment is described as similar to bivouac by the soldiers. Bivouac is an uncomfortable environment. This situation replicates the environment of being in a war and is not healthy for soldiers.

 

Substance abuse, mental health conditions, unemployment, and lack of counseling is leading veterans’ incarceration rates to rise exponentially. They are not receiving the attention or care that they deserve upon their return. By not receiving psychiatric help, the soldiers have a high risk of committing a crime that leads to incarceration just like Boyd.

 

In some cases, PTSD can allow a veteran to plead insanity, so he or she will not lose the case. Jessie Bratcher was the one of the first people to successfully use a PTSD insanity defense (Brewster). After losing his best friend in the Iraq War, Bratcher returned home with a completely different personality. He was distant and cold-hearted to his family and friends. A few years later, Bratcher sought psychiatric help. He began a relationship with a woman named Celina after he improved. When Celina told Bratcher she was pregnant, he was thrilled – until she told him that he may not be the father. She was raped while he was on a trip. When Bratcher shot and killed the man who raped his girlfriend, he claimed to have had a flashback to when he was in Iraq. A psychologist supported Bratcher’s defense in court, and he was labeled insane (Brewster). While the justice system saw how Bratcher was not completely responsible for his accident, other cases convict the veteran as a sane individual with complete control of his or her actions.

 

To understand the veterans with PTSD, people must first have knowledge of the disorder. The definition of PTSD is a mental disorder that occurs as a result of a person undergoing extreme psychological stress, such as Boyd’s experience. The stressful event often results in a period of apathy and denial that can last for many years. PTSD afflicts the Vietnam veterans by causing many psychological symptoms (“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”). Nightmares, also known as night terrors, about scenes from the war repeatedly plague the soldier. This leads the veteran to suffer from insomnia. Flashbacks of the war take the soldier back to the battle scenes of Vietnam. They lose their short-term memory. Sudden or loud noises can startle and frighten the soldiers. These symptoms can cause soldiers to commit crimes without being aware of his or her actions.

 

Almost a decade past after the Vietnam war, doctors named the condition and diagnosed the veterans’ symptoms as PTSD. Most of PTSD cases are not chronic, but many had to be treated. The most common treatments are individual psychotherapy and anxiety management or group psychotherapy with other victims of PTSD. Anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs are currently being studied for their effectiveness in combating PTSD. Doctors are unsure of the exact cause of PTSD, but it is believed that there is a physical change inside of the brain. It was been theorized that excess amounts of cortisol, a steroid hormone given off in extremely stressful times, could damage nerve fibers or even kill nerve cells. The hippocampus, the part of the brain that works with memory, is smaller in PTSD victims. Dr. Mark Shelhorse stated, “We’ve learned a lot of lessons from Vietnam. If we intervene early, most cases resolve with just a little support and therapy” (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

 

Overall, the Vietnam War cursed some of its returning soldiers for life by causing them to endure the demon that is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The veterans’ participation in fighting for their cherished country in the Vietnam War caused a portion of them to acquire a malicious condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that affects the veteran’s family, and obviously, the veteran himself. Veterans with PTSD need help before their condition becomes severe. A rehabilitation center is more appropriate than prison or jail for veterans. The mundane prisons are only detrimental to Veterans' mental states. Veterans do not ask for PTSD, but America does ask them to fight for their country.

 

 

Citations
 

Brewster, Todd. "Veterans on Trial: The Coming Court Battles over PTSD Hardcover – June 1, 2012." Veterans on Trial: The Coming Court Battles over PTSD: Barry Schaller: 9781597976961: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2015.

 

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. Middle Search Plus. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

<http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?sid=6a2be5c3-5467-4440-a594 1b08486653d5%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=117&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=mih&AN=39014350>.

 

Wolfe, Matthew. "From PTSD to Prison: Why Veterans Become Criminals." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 28 July 2013. Web. 20 July 2015. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/28/from-ptsd-to-prison-why-veterans-become-criminals.html>.

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