Tesla Espinosa
Period 2
3/10/15
1960’s PTSD PTSD in returning soldiers from Vietnam, how it affected them and families, aftermath of war in society, sliders didn’t get the help needed to recover. WHAATS PTSD. Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a psychological debilitation found in many soldiers returning from war. The Vietnam War sent its soldiers home but they never escaped the traumatic events they encountered in war. This caused the 1960s to suffer even after war had ended through flashbacks and not being able to function in a normal society. The Veterans returning from Vietnam in the 1960’s were unaware of what they would go through when they returned to their own lives, they were not the same people as when they left and this was hard for many to cope with. A young soldier returned from Vietnam but when he returned he was nothing like the man he used to be. He was an honored war hero but felt like he did more bad than good. He became withdrawn and didn’t want to form relationships with people because “you lose people when you get close to them” (Patterson, Health Day, 2015). He couldn’t sleep at night and feared walking streets. He turned to drugs and alcohol and lived like this for 30 years until an accidental run-in with a therapist who helped him receive the help and therapy he needed for his severe PTSD. PTSD is a psychological illness but it can be just as debilitating as a physical wound to a returning soldier, that’s why it is so difficult but vital to treat the under the surface damage. Since PTSD wasn’t diagnosed in the 1960’s they called it Post – Vietnam syndrome, a disorder which causes “growing apathy, cynicism, alienation, depression, mistrust, and expectation of betrayal as well as an inability to concentrate, insomnia, nightmares, restlessness, up rootedness, and impatience with almost any job or course of study.” (Satel, 2011). There was some treatments and assistance available after Vietnam but not nearly enough to accompany the many different soldiers with many different issues. This caused many soldiers to withdraw from everyday life. For most Vietnam veterans holding a job was not an option, they were lucky to keep temporary part time jobs. Many who then turned to things such as drugs, alcohol, or in the worst case suicide, PTSD is tragic but