When car exhaust becomes mustard gas You don’t have to be a soldier to sWnjer tJe PeIatKve consequences of war trauma
%ontemporary studies suggest that as many as one in siZ veterans who served in +raS or #fghanistan have symptoms of 265&, including flashbacks, anZiety, depression and irritability +n his book The Evil Hours, former soldier &avid , /orris writes p+n the traumatic universe the basic laws of matter are suspended ceiling fans can be helicopters, car eZhaust can be mustard gas q
+raS veteran -evin 2owers portrays a soldieros guilt and trauma in his novel
The Yellow Birds p+t felt like there was acid seeping down into your soul and then your soul is gone and knowing from being taught your whole life that there is no making up for what you are doing q
Research in #ustralia and the 75 suggests that rates of suicide for male veterans are twice as high as for civilian men rates for female veterans are at least two and a half times higher than their civilian counterparts (or some female soldiers, the trauma of war is compounded by the threat of seZual harassment
/any veterans suffer with alcohol and drug addiction, and homelessness linked to poor mental health 6he nature of modern conflict has, in many ways, exacerbated these problems +mprovised 'Zplosive &evices +'&s , common in +raS and #fghanistan, dominate the experience of being ‘beyond the wire’ outside of large bases. For soldiers on patrol, every step is potentially lethal. Hypervigilance is a fact of everyday life; feelings of powerlessness widespread.
&rone pilots are also suffering from PTSD, proving that you don’t need to be in a close physical proZimity to the violence to experience its psychological impacts 0or do you have to be a soldier to suffer the negative conseSuences of war trauma rates of domestic violence are significantly higher than average in the homes of veterans with 265& #nd we shouldn’t forget civilian populations living in countries ravaged by conflict +n all too many cases, these have few resources to recognise or to treat the symptoms of war trauma
Dr Emma Butcher is a BBC New Generation Thinker, based at the University of Leicester. Dr Hannah Partis-Jennings is a lecturer in international relations and security at Loughborough University