First Aid for Your Emotional Hurts: Veterans: Veterans

By Edward E. Moody Jr. and David Trogdon

This book provides hope and healing for veterans and their families who are suffering the invisible wounds and scars of war. Moody and Trogdon provide helpful information to understand the struggles and offer effective ways to find a brighter future of purpose and peace. Topics include: PTSD, traumatic brain injury, stress of war, transitioning to home, and many more. The author's writing flows out of experience and a genuine appreciation for those who have served to protect our country's freedom. They speak with qualified voices and offer real solutions to those suffering. Readers will find this book to be a valuable tool to help veterans recover form the horrors of war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randall House
• Release date: Jul 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781614840855

Edward E. Moody Jr.

Edward E. Moody Jr. has been a counselor educator at North Carolina Central University since 1995. He is a professor of counselor education and associate dean of the school of education. He also serves as pastor at Tippett's Chapel in Clayton, North Carol

Book preview

FIRST AID FOR

VETERANS

Pay to all what is owed to them … respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Romans 13:7

Thank you for your service

To the 2,500,000 veterans of Operation New Dawn (OND), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); the 2,244,583 veterans of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield, to the 25,000 veterans of Operation Just Cause and the 7,600 veterans of Operation Urgent Cause, and the millions who held the line during the Cold War, to the surviving 7,391,000 who served in Vietnam, the 2,275,000 who served in Korea, and the 1,711,000 surviving veterans of the Second World War¹ we thank you for your service. Because of your sacrifice there has not been a major attack on the soil of the United States since September 11, 2001. Because of you the people of Kuwait do not walk in fear of a dictator. The people of Panama enjoy a safe society and a thriving economy. Granada, Eastern Europe, South Korea, and much of the world is free from the chains of communism. Instead of fomenting unrest, Germany and Japan are vital contributors to the well-being of the world. We all owe you so much. As one Civil War soldier once noted, we owe a debt to you that cannot be repaid.² This book is to and for you.

People at home owe a debt to the soldiers that they can never pay. Let them do what ever they may they can never cancel the obligations.

Civil War soldier

We know that for many of you the price you have paid for our freedom has been extremely high. Some of you have lost limbs, suffer from constant pain, and have experienced severe trauma. You have seen and experienced the unthinkable while most Americans stateside have gone on with their lives. We know each of you have been changed in significant ways. In this booklet, we intend to address some of the challenges you and those who served with you may be facing. We will help you survey the terrain by examining your experiences and their impact. We will help you develop a plan to win this battle as a way of thanking you for your service.

The New Normal

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life? For you are a mist that

appears for a little time and then vanishes.

James 4:14

It seems that everyone who serves is changed in significant ways. Some of these changes may be positive, like a sense of understanding the importance of life. Perhaps, the experiences have left you feeling you can handle whatever difficulties life may send you. On the other hand, your life may be very different. You may feel distant from family and friends or anyone who didn’t serve. Perhaps you find yourself with little patience with people who seem upset about inconsequential things—thinking to yourself no one is dying, what is the big deal? Maybe you are finding yourself having trouble getting motivated to do the little things around the house after the very important work you’ve been doing. Perhaps a good night of sleep is a distant memory for you. There may be more difficult aspects where you struggle with headaches, sadness, flashbacks, memories, and guilt as a result of your deployment. At times you might even feel a bit isolated since your return home and even like there is some stigma associated with being a veteran. Maybe you think people look at you and wonder, Is he about to go off? Of course, if you’ve been injured there are a lot of challenges associated with that. Whatever you are like, it is probably clear to you and those around you that you are different. You have left Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, or wherever you may have been deployed but they have not left you. This is your new normal.

How have you been impacted by your deployment?

Survey the Terrain

Let’s get one thing clear; this is all normal. Perhaps you have wondered if you were going crazy or losing it. When people experience combat and the trauma associated with it there are some normal reactions they have. It is normal to be sad for some time after seeing some of the things one sees in combat and to experience nightmares and flashbacks. You would be abnormal if you were unaffected by what you have seen and had to do. We know from research and history that there has always been a price paid by those who have experienced combat.

For many, a new normal consists of a re-experiencing an event or events from deployment. For others there are feelings of sadness, sleep problems, difficulty dealing with stress, headaches, and other issues. How has combat impacted you? If one is to succeed in battle they must survey the terrain and develop a plan. Let’s begin by looking at the terrain. Later we will develop plans to address the challenges that emerge.

What have you experienced?

Injuries

Were you injured during your service? If you were, what is the nature of your injury or injuries? Advances in medical technology have saved many lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. For every death in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been about seven injured.³ Some injuries make you more susceptible to other challenges. For example, limb amputation increases the likelihood of struggling with depression. In one study of individuals within 2 years of the amputation, 30 to 58 percent experienced symptoms of depression.⁴

For every one service member who has died in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan there have been about seven who have been injured.

This same response can even be traced to those who served in the Civil War. Physicians from the Civil War period noted that soldiers who lost limbs seemed to experience more depression and stigma than soldiers who did not. Many soldiers tried to conceal the amputation.⁵

A life changing injury or illness increases ones risk for depression and the feeling of stigma. Civilians who have experienced major medical complications like a heart attack or a stroke report similar rates of depression and stigma after the event. The good news is that 2 to 10 years after amputation, the rates of depression for combat wounded are no greater than the general population.⁶ It is normal to be more susceptible