
PTSD is defined by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs as a mental health condition triggered by experiencing a trauma or life threatening event.  PTSD is a very serious and very prevalent issue within the military system and in life today. In the article Posttraumatic stress disorder and functioning and quality of life outcomes in nationally representative sample of male Vietnam veterans the National Veterans Vietnam Study observed lives of Veterans from the Vietnam War with and without PTSD. To determine whether the patient’s life was negatively altered they used questions that dealt with sleep, work, mental health, physical health, physical functioning and violence. These questions pertained to the ways the researchers predicted the mental condition affected their lives. The results showed that lives of Veterans with PTSD were greatly affected in many ways. The events that occurred over in Vietnam left the soldiers with constant levels of stress, interfering with normal life because they were unable to escape the ultra anxious state in non-stressful situations.  This means that the soldiers take the stress that they felt within the War Zone and never let it go.  They also have certain triggers that could cause flashbacks or certain thoughts that could hinder their normal civilian functions, like walking down the street or doing their job. 

This article relates to the text The Things they Carried, showing a different perspective now knowing the knowledge of PTSD. Soldiers carry burdens and events from the Vietnam with them everyday. This excerpt is from the chapter titled The Things they Carried and it talks about what all the soldiers carried with them everyday while in the war zone. Not only did they carry tangible things like watches and letters, but also they carried the horrors from the war.  These tangible items are only carried with them when at war however; the horrors and events from the war will stay with them forever. PTSD is a result of these horrors and affects many from the Vietnam War since it was so controversial. Many soldiers did not believe in what they were fighting for and they had to kill people, basically for no reason in their eyes because of their lack of pride. Killing people is hard enough and the mind is greatly affected by it especially when one cannot make excuses for their actions. These soldiers went through the worst and then are expected to assimilate back into everyday life with no problem. PTSD became a very large issue during the time of the end of the Vietnam War when soldiers came home. This issue started studies like the one in the article Posttraumatic stress disorder and functioning and quality of life outcomes in nationally representative sample of male Vietnam veterans. Tim Obrien himself was in the war and is able to touch on the subject of PTSD through his stories and show real life experiences and information just like the study. The soldiers on his team all carry different things and every soldier is different. They all have one thing in common though; they will never forget the things they carried and the things they still carry. This weight put on their shoulders by the war prevents them from acting like normal citizens and continuing their old everyday lives. There stress never leaves and neither do their memories. 
