Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among soldiers used to be called
“shell shocked” or combat fatigue. The usual onset is following a
traumatic event. Symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks to the event,
irritability, nightmares and insomnia.
In its first study of returning troops who’d fought in Iraq in 2004,
the Army found that one in eight soldiers exhibited symptoms of PTSD.
Only half sought professional help with their problems, possibly due to
concerns about being stigmatized.
The study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
involved 6,201 service members. Split into four different groups, they
were surveyed before serving in Iraq, six months after serving in
Afghanistan and eight and six months after serving in Iraq.
The servicemen were asked to fill out questionnaires concerning their
mental health and war experience. Sixteen to seventeen percent of those
who’d served in Iraq reported symptoms of major depression or anxiety.
Eleven percent of those serving in Afghanistan reported similar
symptoms. The ...