Affect
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“The armed forces are for you”. “Join the armed forces”. “Fight for your country”. These are the slogans that todays youth hear and see all over the media. They hear nothing but the positive aspects of the armed forces. They never stop to think what kind of life that soldier lives when he/she returns home after their time served.
American soldiers or soldiers in general are considered to be heroes. They put their lives on the line to help protect their country. However what few people seem to realize is that a soldiers battle is not only out there on the battle field. It is in their everyday lives during and after their time served. It is very common for soldiers to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental condition that results in a feeling of sadness and remorse, the sense of irreplaceable loss, and a sensation of fright and horror due to a traumatizing experience (Young, 3). This disorder is very popular among soldiers after war. Cases of PTSD were found in the majority of soldiers that served in World War I and in World War II. However the most recognized cases were founded after The Vietnam War (Young, 3). Soldiers had a feeling of shame and memories of battles and visuals of the traumatic experience would flash in and out their heads at any given moment in time. They wouldnt sleep because the visuals would awake them. These are the untold stories of a soldiers life.
Though the media tells us to join the armed forces and to fight for our country one should ask why it refuses to give the other side of the story. Why doesnt the media tell us about post war? Why does it keep the other side of the story away from those they are recruiting? The answer is an obvious one. They do not want to scare away the people from joining the armed forces. If the were to tell the people the truth then who would really go and join the armed forces. Who would want to risk the chance of living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Even soldiers of war has spoken out about their symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how the media id the truth from them about the effects of war. They describe how if they knew what they know about a soldiers life that they wouldve thought twice about joining the armed forces. They also described how hard it is to live with PTSD after a war. The everyday things that use to be so simple are now difficult. How memories can pop into their heads at any given minute and bring them back to that time. That time that many soldiers try their hardest to forget. Statistics show that out of a hundred soldiers, forty of them suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Legarreta, 1).
What is interesting about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among soldiers is that many of the soldiers tend to not let people know they suffer from it. This is bad because then they can not get treatment to help take care of the disorder. They go about their life as everything is okay. However you can still tell that they suffer from PTSD. Some signs that were recorded are that they tend to shy away from talking about their time spent in the services (Legarreta, 3). Another sign that was recorded was the fact that the veterans tend to be “cold hearted” and have very little emotion. This is because they are emotionally drained due to their army training and what they have actually seen on the front lines of war (Legarreta, 3). The most server sign of PTSD is probably the most discomforting one. Those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a high rate of suicide. (Legarreta, 3). However by this time it is too late to lend a hand out to help. Another war that showed a high case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the Iraqi war. Statistics showed that those who served in the Iraqi war suffered more server cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Hoge, 351.1).
The media hides all of this from us. They do not inform those who are interested in joining the armed forces about the dangers that come along with it. The media fails to do this in fear that the civilians might not want to join. This is unfair to those who inspire to serve their country. Maybe if the media did inform them they would be more prepared to cope with what they are about to endure.
Another outlet that media tends to ignore is the stress that is placed upon the family members of the troops during and after one of their love ones returns home from war. Imagine having to sit at home every second of minute of every hour of everyday knowing that one of your own is out their on the front lines fighting for your safety and the safety of those he doesnt even know. How would you go about your everyday life knowing that your loved one is putting his life on the line for you and others? Statistics show that people who know people or have close ones in the armed forces suffer from a tremendous