
In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association added Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to the third edition of their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Although the PTSD diagnosis was contentious when first introduced, it has helped fill an important gap in psychiatric practice and theory. PTSD was an extremely common phycological illness soldiers developed after leaving the Vietnam War. The soldiers who served time during the war were exposed to intense life altering events that made life after combat challenging. The men also carried with them many mental and emotional burdens throughout the duration of the war that affected their everyday lives in the long run. Through the evidence showed in Jonathon I. Bisson’s medical journal, Leslie Robert’s Science except, and Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carry” it is recognized that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has a direct correlation with the Vietnam War.

There is a passage in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carry” that list some emotional burdens that the soldiers of the Alpha Company carry with them during their time at war. O’Brien explains that the men carry the emotional baggage of other men who might die, the shameful memories of their cowardice, and their greatest fear of dishonor where they will kill and die because they were embarrassed not to. “It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.” Fighting for one’s country is an extremely noble and courageous thing to do. In America we praise and honor the men who put their lives on the line to give us our freedom. During the Vietnam War men were expected to step up and take the initiative to go fight for our country even when they didn’t want to. When O’Brien says that the soldiers “died as to not to die of embarrassment” it was for the prideful men who were too ashamed to admit that they were scared of dying. The reaction of men not wanting to be perceived as a coward helped intensify the situation of being at war which therefore led to being a factor of why the soldiers developed PTSD. 

 Jonathon I. Bisson wrote the journal article, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” This article describes an overview of what Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is, who is impacted by it, ways to avoid it, and how to deal with the disorder. PTSD is a mental health illness that is triggered after witnessing or undergoing a terrifying and life altering event such as death or a serious injury. People who are affected by this condition could experience symptoms that include flashbacks, outburst of anger, nightmares, and extreme anxiety. To be diagnosed with this disorder patients must had been experiencing symptoms for at least a month with significant distress, enabling them to complete everyday functions. Typically, traumatic experiences conform without the development of a pathological response. When this process fails, PTSD can occur. “Anyone can develop the disorder after a traumatic event, but the incidence increases with the severity of the trauma. Studies have reported an incidence of more than 50% for rape, 30-40% for disasters, and around 19% for veterans of the Vietnam War.” Interventions are being organized for people who have been involved in a traumatic event to help prevent PTSD from happening. Researchers are focused on developing more practical, social, and emotional support from non-mental health professionals. People who are looking to manage their PTSD have been recommended for one-on-one Psychological treatment, as well as drug treatment to help deal with this disorder. “Treatment can help some people many years after they develop the disorder, so the duration of symptoms should not influence whether or not to offer treatment.”

The excerpt “Study Raises Estimate of Vietnam War Stress” by Leslie Roberts introduces how the number of phycological disorders from the Vietnam War was highly underestimated from recent studies. A new study founded by the Veterans Administration (VA) has concluded that “470,000 Vietnam veterans still suffer from a major phycological disorder directly related to the war,” which is a huge contrast to the prior study directed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who only found that 66,000 war Veterans form Vietnam were affected by PTSD. Although PTSD was officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980, it has occurred after every war prior when it has been known as “shell shock or battle fatigue.” PTSD can range from different intensities based off of the severity of a traumatic event.  In 1984 Congress told VA to find out exactly how many Vietnam War veterans were affected by PTSD. The VA found out that “15% of veterans who served in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia still suffer from PTSD. That translates into 470,000 of the 3.4 million men who served in the war.” The VA arranged face-to-face interviews to base their study off of.  After interviewing 1600 Vietnam Veterans they found that PTSD cases are focused among those veterans who experienced heavy combat or the loss of close war buddies. The soldiers who experienced war in a less stressful environment were less likely to have PTSD. 

In the excerpt “The Things They Carry,” Tim O’Brien uses his personal background of being a Vietnam War veteran to share with his readers the blurred lines of reality and fiction that the soldiers of the Alpha Company experience in their time during war. O’Brien uses the physical objects that the men carry in Vietnam to help deal with the emotional burdens that come along with being in combat. Many soldiers who served time in Vietnam experience PTSD after they leave. In “The Things They Carry,” O’Brien uses explicit details from the battlefield to illustrate what the scared soldiers were exposed to during combat. Most men who fought in the Vietnam war were in their late teens and early twenties. They were at a young age and because of their inexperience and little knowledge of war life the emotional burdens the soldiers carried with them were dramatically increased. They had no capable knowledge of how to deal with hardships as intense as the killing of others and the death of close friends. O’Brien uses gory and intense details in his passages to stress the hardships that soldiers in Vietnam went through. He describes times of panic where the men would squeal and make moaning noises and cover their heads while praying to Jesus, and firing weapons blindly. Where the men would sob, and beg for the noise to stop and make stupid promises to themselves, God, and their parents, hoping not to die.  O’Brien mentions a variety of different things that the soldiers carry with them physically and emotionally throughout the war. He talks about how after Ted Lavender’s death the men felt relief because they were still alive. Immediately after feeling relief however, the soldiers felt guilty because their friend just died and they should be feeling remorse. After a person has been exposed to high war zone stress such as killing and death it is likely that they could develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In Johnathon I. Bisson’s journal article he said that 19% of Vietnam War veterans develop PTSD, which according to Leslie Roberts article is 470,000 soldiers.

As you can see through the evidence shown in O’Brien’s “The Things They Carry,” Bisson’s “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” and Roberts’ “Study Raises Estimate of Vietnam War Stress” it is understood that PTSD has a direct correlation the Vietnam War. 
