PTSD In Military

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Prior to its diagnosis as an anxiety disorder, PTSD in the United States military was viewed as a manifestation of personal weakness rather than a result of exposure to a traumatic or life threatening experience. Medical professionals and military officials believed that soldiers developed the symptoms typical of PTSD because they could not handle the stresses and turmoil of combat and broke down as a result. Though the history of symptoms of PTSD resulting from combat trauma experienced by soldiers is extensive, the Civil War signaled the first steps taken towards treating the symptoms. However, Civil War soldiers suffering from the crippling anxiety and hyperarousal were diagnosed with Soldier’s Heart, a name assigned due to the presence …show more content…
However, there is still an overwhelming attitude in today’s military and society that foster this outdated …show more content…
However, this scandal is not about Facebook guidelines but it is about servicemembers threatening, exposing, and reducing each other to objects meant for pleasure, not brave soldiers making the same sacrifices.This shows that there is a deep divide between servicemen and women and possibly an ingrained sexism in the military that is increasingly coming to light as women are taking on more prominent combat roles. According to former Marines, this ingrained culture begins when young men first become indoctrinated at boot camp where drill instructors use derogatory terms to describe female soldiers and reinforce the stance that female soldiers are inferior to males and cannot perform effectively. This furthers the stereotype that women do not belong in the military causing female soldiers to lose their identities and be viewed in see them in a weak, subordinate light without the dignity and respect that they deserve. Unfortunately this causes victims of such harassment to feel responsible for what happened to them and they remain silent because they do not wish to further the generalizations already made about them, allowing the emotions associated with the traumatic experience of sexual assault or harassment to internalize and manifest itself as the symptoms of