     America’s involvement in the Vietnam War is a controversial topic; however, because of American involvement, scientists were able to better understand the human brain. In 1980, psychiatrists were able to officially acknowledge Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of external trauma and stress, rather than the previous belief that it was a result of mental weakness (Friedman). The Vietnam War has a direct correlation to the acknowledgement of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because the war was very unique, which brought different post-war effects that allowed this mental disorder to be studied. 

Because the Vietnam War was so different from any other war, because of the guerilla warfare used and a negative popular opinion about the war from the American people, the conclusion of the war yielded new outcomes that history had seen before, such as _____. The negative effects of the war proved to also have negative effects on the psyche of mankind, which facilitated the acknowledgement of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder just five years after the Vietnam War’s conclusion. Tim O’Brian’s account of the Vietnam War shows these differences and the long-term effects they had on the characters in “The Things They Carried”.

      Retrospective studies show that the official discovery of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’s timely announcement is a direct effect of the conclusion of the Vietnam War just five years prior. The discovery of PTSD was so iconic in psychiatric medicine as a whole because suddenly patients experiencing these symptoms could no longer classified as “weak” or “unmasculine,” but instead, they could begin to accept their mental condition as a temporary or permanent disorder and research possible treatments. There were many factors that led to this official naming of PTSD after the Vietnam War; however, the specific causes and symptoms of this disorder were being observed long before the origin of the war. Researchers first noticed a correlation between veterans and psychological symptoms as early as after the American Civil War in 1865 (“PTSD”).  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was a diagnosis that took more than 100 years to officiate because the disorder encompasses such a wide variety of different causes, or traumatic stressors, which result in many different kinds and varieties of symptoms that the disorder can bring. PTSD’s first theory’s was publicized in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association, which vaguely stated “gross stress reaction,” followed by a second publication, in 1968, that added “adjustment reaction to adult life” (“PTSD”). These two claims were unspecific and incapable of encompassing a true PTSD condition because they were so minor in comparison. Research was conducted on Vietnam War veterans, Holocaust survivors, and sexual trauma victims, which proved to be enough evidence for the APA to publicize Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 1980 (“PTSD”). Research is still being conducted on this disorder- new publications have been released by the American Psychiatric Association since 1980 as scientists have overcome new breakthroughs and discoveries. 

     The direct effect of the Vietnam War’s specific role in the discovery of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is due to the differences of the Vietnam War from prior wars in America’s history, which produced beneficial results for psychiatrists. From the beginning of America’s involvement in Vietnam, American troops did not know what to expect because even the premise of the war was unique. America’s participation and goal of the war was to stop the spread of communism by assisting Vietnam’s protection from communism spreading nations. This had an effect on the American troops because the government was uprooting them into a foreign country, with vastly different terrain and landscapes than they were used to, all while being forced to quickly adapt and fight off bloodthirsty enemies. An example of adaptations to the new terrain was that previous war techniques proved to be ineffective in the jungles of Vietnam, so Americans had to develop a whole new style of fighting in attempts to stop the growth of communism. Instead of being a hindrance, the jungles were now played to the American’s advantage through the creation of guerilla warfare, which is another distinction between the Vietnam War and any previous wars fought by America.  Guerilla warfare consisted of lurking through the thick jungle, while being ready for combat at any second if the coverage temporarily failed to conceal a glimpse of the enemy (Kilcullen).  The thick jungle leaves provided thick coverage from the enemy, while making this war unconventional and unexpected. America’s system of tracking progress of the war was based off of ground being taken from the opposing side; however, guerilla warfare made this an impossible calculation under these circumstances because ground was not being “taken” from the opposing side anymore. As a result, America had to develop another accommodation for this war by changing the progress from ground being taken to a sheer body count of communists, which is another factor adding to the uniqueness of this war. The American citizens on the mainland of America did not see any issue with this new progress gauge at first; however, over time, they began to speculate that the American troops were not preforming as well as the “progress” the American government was conveying to them. After the Tet Offensive in 1967, the American popular opinion of the war became negative because it was concrete proof that the government was not being honest with the people about the progress of the war. This moment was the first in American history where there was distrust between the American people and the American government regarding war related circumstances. As a result, most Americans wanted to pull troops out of Vietnam because they were opposing the government’s involvement in Vietnam. The development of guerilla warfare and the popular negative opinion of the America’s involvement in the Vietnam War served to become biggest determining factors of distinction. 

     Guerilla warfare, Vietnam Tours, and a popular negative opinion of the Vietnam War by the American people had specific effects on the individual troops in Vietnam that contributed to their diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the war. Guerilla warfare had an impactful toll on young fighting Americans because they were being physical in a combat war featuring high amounts of stress, suspense, and possibly an enemy, around any and every leaf of that jungle. If soldiers found themself in the path of crossfire, they had to quickly defend and protect themselves while shooting aimlessly in the concealing jungle walls in hopes of catching a target. Combat fighting is stressful enough to be considered a traumatic stressor; so all veterans are capable of finding themself subject to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Recent studies have proved that all troops can be subject to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; however, even before Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was publicized, the military officers were aware of the tolls that a war can take on ones body and specifically tried to limit those effects for the Vietnam War by introducing Vietnam Tours. These Tours limited prolonged exposure to constant stress by establishing a twelve to thirteen month long rotation cycles of combat thought to be beneficial to the soldier by providing a pre-established date for arrival back home (Moskos). Little did they know, these Tours proved later to be causing more Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients as a result of making the soldiers feel isolated, which also decreased the morale and inhibited function of the individual units as a whole. The introduction of Vietnam Tours increased Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients by making the soldier feel like they were in the war alone because they were not given the opportunity to bond with other peers in their unit. This had an adverse effect because after the war when soldiers were trying to cope with the stress and trauma they experienced, these people had no friends to talk to that could sympathize with them in hopes of healing together because they did not establish any friendships during their deployment.  A third factor of increased Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients from the Vietnam War is due to the fact that the American people had an overall negative opinion of the war. This affected the soldiers because when they arrived back home after the war, there was no such thing as a warm welcome. Their fellow American citizens were unkind and some veterans were spat on as a result of being forced to fight in a war that was not their choice to do. This unwelcome home increased Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because the soldiers who endured hell for them to make it back home alive were completely shocked at the state of the American people and their disgust for the situation at hand. This did not foster an environment for healing and protection, like what they needed. Instead, it created an atmosphere of animosity that inhibited their mental and emotional restoration by re-traumatizing them. It is the result of guerilla warfare, Vietnam Tours, and animosity of the American people that contributed to the lasting effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on victims of the Vietnam War. 

     Because there was no known information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the time, victims of the disorder aimed to minimize the symptoms of the disorder by turning to self-medication tactics. Some common symptoms that arose after about a year post-trauma included increased anxiety and alcoholism, which led to new phobias, depression, and panic disorders (Poliquin). People with these symptoms controlling their thoughts often turned to whatever would decrease them. If people were already self-medicating while they were still in Vietnam, most soldiers turned to Opiates such as heroin because it was readily available and cheep in Southeast Asia. If they chose to begin self-medication in America, finding heroin would be more of a challenge than it was during the war, so people often started with the equivalence of heroin readability in the States- alcohol. Marijuana was also another common drug that was used to self medicate because it has mind expanding effects that are good for de-stressing. Some people who abuse self-medication techniques will quickly become addicted to the drugs and become substance abusers. Statistics show that veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are more likely to abuse substances than veterans without Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because drugs are how they cope with the pain and stress experienced in the war. Tranquilizers are another treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because it decreases panic attacks. In “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brian, one of the characters who was found with marijuana was also found with tranquilizers. By Ted Lavender having two different drugs with him, this shows the reader that he is struggling with something that directly points towards Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because Ted Lavender is still in Vietnam when this observation is made, he cannot be suffering yet from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because those symptoms usually take about a year to set in. However, Ted Lavender is obviously experiencing some sort of stress evidenced by the choice of drugs as his coping mechanism.  Kiowa’s coping mechanism was by carrying around and cuddling the New Testament. Coping mechanisms range from person to person, but everybody has something unique that they can do/carry with them that helps them to calm down and relax.
