Mental Health and Physical Disabilities

            When a person has to deal not only with mental health issues but physical disabilities as well, life is a lot harder. War Veterans are a very good example of people who sometimes have to deal with both of these hardships at the same time. War Veterans go to fight for our Country or to keep the peace, however while they are doing their duties they see many heartbreaking scenes. For example they may witness starving children and families, they may see people getting beaten up for different reasons, or they may even witness one of their own die. All of these situations affect the mental health of War Veterans. The War Veterans may feel responsible for not being able to save one of his/her own and they may feel depressed after witnessing so many terrible things.

“Soldiers often relay that the most stressful event of a peace keeping mission was not the inability to defend their personal safety; rather it was witnessing many extreme atrocities they were helpless to prevent, such as death of civilians, including children.” _{(P. 511 Richardson, Naifeh, & Elhai, 2007)} Soldiers are meant to help people and carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. They know that people are counting on them, and when they cannot save civilians they feel like they are letting everyone down, including themselves. To be a soldier is very stressful, which is why their mental health is not very stable when soldiers are serving their country. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression often occur together.” “When PTSD and depression occur together, it may reflect a shared vulnerability or independent sequelae to trauma exposure.” _{(P. 511 Richardson, Naifeh, & Elhai, 2007)}

In addition to the mental health issues War Veterans face on a daily basis, they may also have physical disabilities due to the time they served their Country. Some Veterans return home to their families with no physical injuries or disabilities; however others are not so lucky. For example many veterans lose limbs, whether it is a leg or an arm it is still a major adjustment for the veteran. Some fight an on going battle to live a normal life, but have a hard time because they may not be able to do the same things they could before. By having physical disabilities Veterans will have more mental health issues if they have not accepted what had happened and cannot find a way to move forward with their lives. They could become depressed because they do not feel like they have much to live for, or worse.

War Veterans do a lot for our Country, they struggle because of what they have seen, and have to endure the physical disabilities that they may have to live with. Veterans put their lives on the line everyday knowing that they may not come out alive, and if they do make it then they will have to be able to face themselves and the health problems (mental and/or physical) that come with it.

Resources:

Richardson, D. J, Naifeh, J. A, & Elhai, J. D. (2007).

  Posttraumatic stress disorder and associated risk

  factors in canadian peacekeeping veterans with

  health-related disabilities. 52(8), 510-518.

- Brettany G.