Blog
November 3rd, 2009
Soldiers are great men and women who are looked up to by their fellow countrymen. They intentionally place their lives in danger in order to protect our national security, and lives. But with heroism comes consequences. Many soldiers come back home from war with an enormous amount of eagerness to restart their lives, but PTSD can disrupt that. The biggest problem with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not that it can be a burden; it’s the fact that it can easily lead to suicide. This is a disorder that negatively affects individual soldiers, their families and the army as a whole.
The Vietnam War was a hard one for many soldiers. The veterans from this war, like many other wars, felt the dampening effects of PTSD. The PSTD came along with the feeling of guilt about combat actions, survivor guilt, depression, and anxiety (Hendin, Haas). Since the Vietnam War the suicide toll has been rising. “At least 128 soldiers killed themselves last year [2008], and the Army suicide rate surpassed that for civilians for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to Army statistics” (Alvarez).
Cognitive theories, more specifically Jacques Derrida’s cognitive deconstruction, explains the thinking behind why suicide is an option. It explains how within people’s minds they feel the need to exit themselves and the world. Within this state of mind people feel both irrational and uninhibited; making drastic measures seem acceptable (Baumeister). Soldiers will feel this strongly when they are faced with PTSD.
Data to support this: above
In conclusion when going to war there are dire consequences that can occur within a soldier’s mind. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is becoming a common occurrence within veterans. One side effect that can occur with PTSD is suicide. In order to safe the lives that soldiers are taking from themselves we need to focus on how to eliminate PTSD and the internal cognitive deconstruction. By using the many minds of psychologists we can save lives of soldiers that fight for your freedomsg.
Blog 5 work cited
Baumeister, Roy F. “Suicide as Escape From Self.” Psychological Review. Vol 97(1),
Jan (1990), 90-113. November 2, 2009. Web.
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1990-14898-001&CFID=3214520&CFTOKEN=55685281
Hendin, H.; Haas, AP. “Suicide and Guilt as Manifest of PTSD Vietnam Combat
Veterans.” The American journal of Psychiatry 148 (1991). 586-591.Web. November 2, 2009.Web.
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/148/5/586
Alverez, Lizette. “Suicides of Soldiers Reach High of Nearly 3 Decades.” The New York
Times. 29 Jan. 2009.Web. November 2, 2009.
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