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Paul Anderson, a Marine veteran with PTSD (Randall Cotton, AWARE)

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In the last five years following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, more and more Americans are asking questions about the long-term costs and effects of American foreign policy decisions in the Middle East. Many of these questions have focused primarily on the economic consequences of our sustained occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and have often overlooked the psychological damage that American troops sustain during their tours of duty and later bring home with them as veterans.

Recently, a panel discussion in the Urbana Free Library's auditorium on Sept. 7 helped raise awareness about mental health issues in veterans. Entitled "PTSD: Our Troops, Our Community" and co-sponsored both by the local community activist group AWARE (Anti-War, Anti-Racism Effort) and Iraq Veterans Against the War, the panel brought together social workers, therapists, recently-returned veterans and members of the Champaign-Urbana community to discuss the social and psychological effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the special needs of veterans that suffer from it. The panel, introduced by Conrad Wetzel of AWARE, was comprised of marine vets Mike Mlekowski and Paul Anderson, psychiatrist and PTSD specialist Abigale Malone, Iraq Veterans Against the War representative Martin Smith and licensed clinical social worker Ann Russel. Two out of the three veteran marines, Anderson and Mlekowski, suffer from PTSD symptoms.

Although PTSD wasn't officially recognized in the DSM-IV until 1980, mental health professionals can now use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual to identify PTSD as a "persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with a trauma and a numbing of general responsiveness." While the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, more and more veterans are returning home with symptoms of PTSD and contributing to what Smith calls an "epidemic of mental disorders."

Furthermore, many veterans haven't sought the care they need. As Mlekowski attested, some are afraid the government will yank their check. For example, if the VA (Veteran's Affairs) can prove that there exists a history of mental disorders in a veteran's family, then he or she becomes ineligible for coverage. If a veteran happened to have ever reported depression or anxiety before deployment, seeking coverage for the treatment for PTSD is nearly impossible. Both Abigale Malone and Ann Russel agreed that, indeed, someone with a history of mental instability is more likely to develop PTSD and yet, these are the veterans who find themselves without a paddle when it comes to affordable treatment. Veteran Mike Mlekowski, for instance, has turned to alcohol to suppress his often crippling anxiety. According to Mlekowski, to get five uninterrupted hours of sleep, he drinks five hours before he plans to go to bed.

Many panelists stressed that although most veterans with PTSD appear to be functioning without trouble, daily tasks are anything but easy. As Russel pointed out, PTSD is not something we know how to cure, it's merely something we manage. As for those living with the disorder, learning to cope often means actively avoiding "triggers" or learning how to respond to them. For Russel's husband, a Vietnam vet living with PTSD, this means avoiding streets with canopy-like tree growth and sitting furthest back in a room, so as not to have anyone at his back. For Anderson and Mlekowski, this meant wearing sunglasses to the panel in order to hide emotions, which are rather unwelcome in the military.

What is perhaps ignored is that mental reactions like that of PTSD are a normal response to enduring war. In many ways, the military demands recruits to check their humanity at the door in favor of a group mentality, which is bred for combat alone. Dismantling vulnerability, sensitivity, and that which makes us human is often essential to the success of a military operation. Leading the applause for the panelists, Conrad Wetzel added, "they couldn't break that in you."

We often think that for a soldier who if fortunate enough to return home from war, the worst is over, but, as in the case of those suffering from PTSD, the war has followed them home. Although many soldiers have enlisted in the military hoping to serve their communities, few with PTSD feel they have a community upon coming home. A new sense of awareness has the power to change that. As veteran Paul Anderson put it, friends and family give us reason to keep going.