For soldiers, stress after war may be the biggest enemy

For soldiers, stress after war may be the biggest enemy
by Karen Leigh
June 02, 2009
Insurgents are stealthy fighters, their attacks unexpected, startling and violent.

Combined with the stress of longer deployments, loneliness and brutal desert conditions, they are the perfect trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.


Soldiers now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing the highest levels of PTSD since the Vietnam War.


Some just have trouble sleeping. Some find themselves emotionally numb or easily startled.


In the most extreme cases, soldiers have killed themselves – and fellow soldiers.


The nonprofit aid organization Veterans for Common Sense said that as of December 15, 2008, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, had diagnosed 115,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets with PTSD.


“These are staggering numbers,” said VCS executive director Paul Sullivan. “We can either admit that there’s a very serious problem and begin treatment, or we can ignore the problem and wait until the PTSD turns into unemployment, drug use, and suicide – very expensive social problems.”
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http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=132737