PTSD & The Vietnam War

By Gaurav Roy

Gerard R. Ford, the president of the United States, proclaimed the end of the “Vietnam Era” on May 7, 1975. However, it took over five years for Congress to ask for a detailed study on the prevalence and incidence of PTSD and other psychological trauma among Vietnam War veterans after the end of the war. The comprehensive study based on an independent peer review was known as the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study.

The Catalyst

PTSD was commonly referred to as “Vietnam Syndrome” and “Vietnam Stress” during the Vietnam War. As per the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD was formally recognized as a medical disorder in 1980.

The Vietnam War proved to be the catalyst that led to the consideration of the diagnosis of PTSD as a medical disorder. After the war ended, American soldiers returned home with a condition known as “post-Vietnam syndrome” and “delayed psychiatric trauma” among the psychiatrists.

The symptoms of post-Vietnam syndrome or PTSD, as it is called today, often included anger, sleeplessness, nervousness, intense guilt, nightmares, and painful flashbacks of traumatic war memories. The onset of symptoms began months or even years after the soldiers returned from the war.

Ignoring the Elephant in the Room?

Even after PTSD became a medically recognized disorder, it was never really discussed, as it was the culture of those times to avoid talking about PTSD. It was socially expected to let go of what has happened and move on from your negative experiences. The veterans were specifically susceptible to such expectations as they felt that talking about PTSD makes them look weak.

The Damage!

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacted many Vietnam War veterans, both in the war zone and upon returning home from the war. Most of the soldiers who participated in the war theater returned without even a little assistance. They were expected to transition back to civilian life as if nothing happened.

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) found that 17% or 510,000 of Americans who served in the Vietnam War suffered from PTSD after the war. Divorces, substance abuse, and suicide rates were also up among the veterans, and these were often considered to be the collateral damage caused by the war.

The Fight is Still On!

The researchers followed up with the participants of the National Vietnam Readjustment Study of the 1980s to prepare a research report on the current situation of the Vietnam War veterans.

It was found that the PTSD prevalence rate was 4.5% among the men who served in the Vietnam War. The numbers went as high as 11% if the study factors in the veterans that only met just a few of the criteria. On the other hand, the prevalence rate of PTSD was about 6% and 9% among women veterans. Almost one in five women soldiers active in the U.S. military during the period of 1960s and 1970s have experienced PTSD.

Almost 271,000 Vietnam War veterans are still suffering from PTSD and subthreshold warzone PTSD. One-third of them have a major depressive disorder even after more than 45 years after the war.