Abstract: My uncle, who works closely with veterans, often tells me about the incredible sacrifices that American soldiers have made. Many of his patients have lost limbs and their closest friends in combat, which often leads to severe mental disorders such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Moved by his stories, I felt compelled to learn more about their conditions. To my dismay, a majority of veterans struggle to secure employment due to the psychological effects of war. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts in regard to the traumatic event. Civilians are sometimes unaware of the hostile environment of war zones that our soldiers have endured. Deadly mines, RPGs, gunshots, and death have haunted hundreds of thousands of veterans. To make matters worse, less than half of veterans fail to report symptoms due to the stigma of psychotherapy. Soldiers are trained to withhold emotions and to be aggressive on the field. Such absolutistic thinking discourages expression of one’s feelings since emotions are deemed as a weakness in the military. Alternatively, soldiers express themselves through anger and hostility which makes them vulnerable to substance abuse, depression, and suicidal ideation. Through a literature review of both quantitative and qualitative data, researchers have concluded that soldiers have difficulty obtaining employment without effective job placement and transitional work experience programs in place. In that process, it is pertinent to provide mental health programs to veterans suffering from PTSD. In order to successfully transition into the workplace, veterans must understand how to express their feelings in a healthy way. Teaching emotions will help veterans develop emotional intelligence incorporating various scenarios that may arise in a work setting. By learning crucial interpersonal skills, veterans can learn to rise above an increasingly discriminatory hiring process. However, there is hope for veterans, as more and more businesses commit to hiring veterans in the years to come.
Keywords: (PTSD), veterans suffering, Job Placement, Retention, Soldiers.
Title: The Impact of PTSD on Veterans Job Placement and Retention
Author: Seung Woo Baek
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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