Psychological Factors Of The Vietnam War - 1064 Words

The Vietnam War was a distinctive conflict that had a particularly strong psychological impact on those who fought in it. It was a complicated event that often had an unclear objective. Many of the young men who were sent into combat lacked the type of patriotism that would have been an important motivation. The confusion about their mission and the nature of their elusive enemy made the mental toll much more pronounced. When they returned home, they faced a non-accepting society that failed to welcome and support them. The Things They Carried gives a vivid image of how the nature of the war in Vietnam contributed to a more intense mental toll on Veterans. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs when someone loses their personal identity as a result of distressing event in which their own life is at risk (Hochgesang 2). The two major factors that contribute to the mental toll of war are pre-war vulnerability and the severity of combat exposure. The latter has a more important impact on how soldiers react immediately following the war. Pre-war psychological factors, on the other hand, may affect the long-term persistence of PTSD (Dohrenwend 12). The amount of mental stress that soldiers experience has also been linked to how the war violates their personal beliefs and goals . People have pre-existing meaning making systems that allow them to feel a sense of purpose, and certain actions during combat may disrupt them (Stegar 3). The distress after war requires people to beginShow MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War Has Far Reaching Consequences For The United States1710 Words   |  7 PagesFailure is a hard word, and no matter how you analyze the Vietnam War, that is precisely what it was. The War was a personal failure on a national scale. From its covert commen- cements, through the bloodiest, most tenebrous days and determinately to the acrid end, this ten-year period of American history is a national disgrace. 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