The topic hot topic I choose to write about is Post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) among veterans. This topic here is dear dear to my
heart. I'm a retired US Army veteran who served 21 years and have
seen a lot during that time.
Why does it matter to you?
This matters to me because veterans deserve excellent care after
serving there country. I see and meet people who always say thank
you for your service but what does that really mean? People don't
understand veterans are prepared to pay the ultimate price of losing
there life if that's what it takes. No matter how many times people
say thank you the consequences of service related trauma still lingers
in our mind.
How does this hot button topic affect individuals?
According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, about 30
percent (730,000) of active duty and reserve military personnel who
deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health conditions
requiring treatment. a However less than 50 percent of veterans who
returned have received he mental health treatment they need.
How does this hot button topic affect society?
When veterans don't address there mental health problems it can
have a negative effect on poverty, homelessness, employment safety,
and our local economy. When veterans have these conditions they
can effect healthcare costs, impede children's ability to function at
home or in school. These unaddressed conditions a can eventually lead
to family and community disruption.
a How would you use some of the psychological concepts from this
course to understand these issues?
I think if we use the psychological concepts learned it will help us
explain certain human thoughts, emotions and behaviors. I think the
more we understand the greater chances we will gain experience and
be able to better process the information we are seeing and hearing.
How does this hot button topic apply to any of the following
programmatic course themes:
•
o Self-care- can affect a veterans ability to work, perform
during day to day activities or even relate to family and
friends.
o Social justice- having these issues can affect the people
we care about with regards to economic justice, voting
rights, gun violence, healthcare etc.
o Emotional intelligence- It can negatively affect a veterans
ability to assess, regulate and control is emotions in
certain environments.
o Career connections- Cause irritability with co-workers
and increase conflicts at work.
o Ethics- Cause a veteran to lose his moral compass and lose
there ability to see what's right and wrong.
