Post by LadyBlue on Jan 16, 2012 16:31:49 GMT -5
An excellent website
Soldiers came back from the Civil War with "irritable heart." In World War I there was "shell shock." World War II vets had "battle fatigue." The trouble of Vietnam veterans led to the codification of post-traumatic stress disorder. Actually, it only in the aftermath of the Vietnam War that veterans’ mental health injuries were examined scientifically.
A 1988 study estimated that 15% of Vietnam vets suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but researchers agree that the figure is much higher since many soldiers did not seek treatment out of fear that they’d be seen as weak and/or their career would be negatively affected.
The statistics on Vietnam vets tell a frightening tale of what could happen to the Iraq and Afghanistan vets if they go untreated.
•23% of the homeless population are veterans (that’s between 529,000 and 849,000 vets)
•33% of male homeless population are veterans
•47% are Vietnam vets
•76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
•50+% have experienced “clinically serious stress reaction symptoms” including PTSD
•50% of PTSD sufferers have been arrested or in jail at least once
•11.5% of these have been convicted of a felony
•140,000 Vietnam vets were held in State and Federal prisons in 2009
MORE INFO AT LINK BELOW
www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-on-veterans
Soldiers came back from the Civil War with "irritable heart." In World War I there was "shell shock." World War II vets had "battle fatigue." The trouble of Vietnam veterans led to the codification of post-traumatic stress disorder. Actually, it only in the aftermath of the Vietnam War that veterans’ mental health injuries were examined scientifically.
A 1988 study estimated that 15% of Vietnam vets suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but researchers agree that the figure is much higher since many soldiers did not seek treatment out of fear that they’d be seen as weak and/or their career would be negatively affected.
The statistics on Vietnam vets tell a frightening tale of what could happen to the Iraq and Afghanistan vets if they go untreated.
•23% of the homeless population are veterans (that’s between 529,000 and 849,000 vets)
•33% of male homeless population are veterans
•47% are Vietnam vets
•76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
•50+% have experienced “clinically serious stress reaction symptoms” including PTSD
•50% of PTSD sufferers have been arrested or in jail at least once
•11.5% of these have been convicted of a felony
•140,000 Vietnam vets were held in State and Federal prisons in 2009
MORE INFO AT LINK BELOW
www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-on-veterans