Today’s society recognizes the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among war veterans. Websites, books, articles and billboards inform the public of the ever-increasing occurrences of PTSD among veterans.
The Veterans Day holiday brought about an increased sense of awareness of the sacrifice our military makes. In fact, ASU held events throughout the week; one such event encouraged students to write letters to soldiers oversees.
Now that Veteran Day festivities have ceased, it is likely that the issue of PTSD will step out of the spotlight again.
Also, an issue that never received adequate exposure to begin with will fade from public thought.
That issue is PTSD and it’s effect on military spouses and families. “Secondhand PTSD” is widespread, but unfortunately, not commonly known.
“We raise our children single-handedly because our husbands can’t interact with their children to a normal degree,” said Susan Barrera in an email. “We do everything — handle the money, the house, the jobs, take care of our husbands, everything.”
Barrera’s husband served two tours in Vietnam between 1969 and 1971 and suffered from PTSD in subsequent years.
Barrera explained that she developed illnesses of her own and also suffered from anger, depression and suicidal thoughts as a result of her husband’s PTSD.
Barrera recognizes that her husband’s PTSD also impacted their son’s life.
“He has been badly damaged by being around a father who went into violent rages and was very unpredictable,” Barrera said. “(The son) is suffering from severe depression, is unable to work and is on disability.”
War veterans are not to blame for situations like these. War is a harrowing experience, and it’s no surprise that it continues to plague veterans.
The blame lies in the lack of facilities aimed to help veterans and families combat PTSD and transition into civilian life.
After the Vietnam War, PTSD often went undiagnosed. In fact, physicians did not even know it existed. In Barrera’s case, her husband was wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Thankfully, today’s society recognizes what PTSD is. But even today, facilities intended to help veterans and families are non-existent or sub-par.
An Arizona Republic article about Reed Webber, an Iraq veteran trying to transition into civilian life, paints a similar picture. Webber tried counseling offered at a facility in Phoenix, but the treatment did not help.
Webber and his family also searched for family counseling, but most veteran’s facilities didn’t even offer it.
As a result, Webber’s marriage began to crumble and he remained traumatized by the images of a bloody war.
Webber finally found refuge five years later in the West Valley Vet Center in Peoria, where his son and wife also receive counseling services.
These are the types of facilities our veterans and their families need and deserve.
Veterans Day has come and passed, but that does not mean that our support for veterans and their families needs to diminish.
If we recognize the prevalence of PTSD, its impact on families and the resources needed to combat it, we’ll have a society that we can be proud of 365 days a year.
Reach the columnist at eeeaton@asu.edu
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