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Traumatized Folks ARE Resilient: #MeToo May
Trauma Is Not a Character Flaw
Is PTSD predictable? What makes someone shut down after experiencing terrible events…while others shake off the experience and roll on with the rest of their lives?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that around 30% of Vietnam Vets suffer from PTSD. For recent wars, the figures are lower, perhaps because long-term effects have not yet been measured. About 12% of vets from the Gulf War suffer from PTSD; for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the numbers vary from 10% to 20%.
The New York Times reported this month that PTSD rates among trauma surgeons, who have been told to “stay in their lane” by the NRA (i.e. “Cut out the anti-gun-violence activism!”), are roughly the same –15% -although in a Philadelphia study, up to 40% showed signs of PTSD. Many have turned to activism as a way of preventing burnout in the face of the helplessness they feel, caught in the revolving door of cleaning up in the wake of gun violence.
My father-in-law is a veteran of WWII who enlisted at the age of 17. In his service he experienced combat, shooting others at close range, capture by…
