PTSD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

PTSD - Essay Example People believe that soldiers had gone through a lot of trainings - too much training that taking lives is just a usual thing to do. But what people do not know is that war leaves a mark not only to the soldiers’ body but also to their sanity. Soldiers may be trained to be killing machines but the violent experiences that they encounter during the war can have detrimental effects on them which include post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. According to Oak, whenever soldiers are at war, they have to hurt or kill their opponents. Their duty forces them to destroy their enemy’s forces and end lives. However, enemies or allies, they are all human beings after all. This is why â€Å"they have to bear the grief of the suffering and deaths of their fellow mates as well.† (Oak). These situations affect the soldiers emotionally and often results to depression and deprivation of peace of mind among soldiers. The soldiers who experience this go through emotional struggle that often results to severe mental stress. They will also experience different kinds of emotions which will result in great mental strain. â€Å"Their homesickness can lead to intense feelings of solitude. Their trauma brings them mental insecurity. The violence, the injuries and the heavy destructions result in distress.† (Oak) Peter Kilner, a major from the Army, contributed an important essay to the journal Military Review. According to Kilner’s essay, as cited by Adam Weinstein in his article in Mother Jones magazine, medical consultants of the army gave an estimation of 20 percent of soldiers who fought in Iraq had shown symptoms of mental problems. The study also showed that suicide in the military has doubled since 2001. There was even an investigation by the National Public Radio that soldiers with PTSD were punished and kicked out of the army (Weinstein). When a person encounters a traumatic experience that might have harmed the individual physically and/or emotionally, the person is