Psychological Effects of War on Soldiers

This world is a messed up place. It can be the worst but if you’re lucky you probably wont get to deal with it much other than your daily struggles. Soldiers, on the other hand are more likely to get affected. Not only they have to risk their physical health but also their mental health. Physical health issues are pretty obvious considering they have to go on wars and battles where they are exposed to gun fires and many other firearms. But what about mental health. How are they more likely to get psychological issues than a normal person. Lets find out!

Shell Shock
Shell shock is basically a term referring to the reaction that soldiers can show due to the trauma of battle. It can be caused due to the intensity of bombardment and long days of war. They usually don’t get much rest and the continuous sounds of war are enough to haunt someone. Not only that, considering the events that can unfold in the battlefield can be traumatizing as well. If you see your own friend die in front of your eyes, I’m sure you can imagine what kind of effect it will have on your mental stability.

Fact :- If shell shock is due to the enemies then the letter W(wounded) is prefixed on the report of the casualty and would also be entitled to the rank as ‘wounded’ and to wear on his arm a “wound strip” But if it is not due to an enemy then the letter S(Sickness) is prefixed to the report, and also wouldn’t be entitled to any rank or wound strip

This term was only used in World War 1, And from World War 2 and thereafter it was replaced by the term combat stress reaction aka CSR.

CSR Combat stress reaction is a term which is used only within military to describe acute behavioral disorientation which is caused due to the trauma of war according to the medical personnel. This is often related to shell shock and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because there is not much difference between them. They all have similar symptoms and its hard to distinguish. PTSD is a disorder due to extreme level of trauma and its first signs/symptoms could be CSR or shell shock.

CSR makes a soldier less efficient in warfare too because it results in disorientation of behavior that the person can’t even do simple everyday tasks with ease. The stress of battle could result in CSR if symptoms like fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one’s surroundings, and inability to prioritize are present.

Such psychological disorders are not very extreme or chronic but they still affect the mental health in a bad way. They can be cured in much shorter time span. But if no diagnosis is done, or the person could not get any medical help due to any reason, it might grow into a chronic disorder such as depression, PTSD, Insomnia, Amnesia, Borderline personality disorder and many more.

Thousand yard stare
A thousand yard stare is a condition in which a person appears to be focusing on an object that is place 1000 or 2000 yards away and hence the name. Anyone who suffers trauma can display this symptom. It can usually lead to shell shock or CSR and in the worst cases, PTSD. The photos depict what horror can be witnessed in these soldier’s eyes. It makes them feel numb and traumatized by the event.

PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental disorder that can develop in any person that is exposed to any sort of traumatic incident such as sexual assault,traffic collision, horrifying videos, warfare,etc. PTSD is not likely to develop by just some random incident that one faces. Sure, it can traumatize the person but he/she is not likely suffer from PTSD. This disorder develop when we experience a traumatic event that is very personal such as rape, death of a loved one, etc. You can only imagine what’s it like to suffer from PTSD. Its much more than just depression or anxiety even though PTSD was previously considered an anxiety disorder but not anymore. Apparently, any person with PTSD is more likely to commit suicide than the person having any other mental disorder according to some studies. It feels like this memory would not leave you, no matter where you go, no matter what you do. This memory will keep haunting you. The feeling of guilt will be there killing you from the inside and you’ll feel helpless, and this phenomenon is known as The Survivor’s guilt. And when things like this happen, killing yourself seems like the only option to set yourself free.

Things soldiers do for their country doesn’t only take physical strength but they need to mentally strong too and they sacrifice more than we can ever imagine. Things like this changes them in a way that no one wants to see. There is this dark world inside of them that no one wants to feel or see. But they do and they fight it every single day. That takes a lot of courage and strength. I want to raise awareness regarding this topic because these things are still not considered very serious by a majority of people even though this happens more often than people know about this. This need to be taken seriously and a way must be found to avoid these circumstances. If you have any ideas feel free to comment down below !!!

Originally published at allartic.com on October 24, 2016.