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Combat PTSD Statistics:
- Lifetime occurrence (prevalence) in combat veterans 10 – 30%.
- In the past year alone the number of diagnosed cases in the military jumped 50% – and that’s just diagnosed cases.
- Studies estimate that 1 in every 5 military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has PTSD.
- 20% of the soldiers who’ve been deployed in the past 6 years have PTSD. That’s over 300,000.
- 17% of combat troops are women; 71% of female military personnel develop PTSD due to sexual assault within the ranks.
- Afghanistan = 6 – 11% returning vets have PTSD
- Iraq = 12 – 20% returning vets have PTSD
Combat PTSD. Following deployment in a war zone, many veterans return home significantly altered. They have a changed view of themselves and the world around them. For some, reactions to their experiences may be short-lived (perhaps lasting the first few months of reintegration back into civilian life). For others, healing may require long-term vigilance and care (lasting months, years and even decades).
Typical symptoms of combat-related PTSD are:
- Survivor guilt
- Cynicism
- Frustration
- Fear
- Negative self-image
- Problems with intimacy
- Distrust
- Loneliness
- Suicidal feelings
- Preoccupation with thoughts of the enemy
- Revenge fantasies
- Addiction
- Alcoholism
- Thinking that feelings are meaningless
- Feeling powerless or hopeless
- Resignation (“don’t care”)