Wednesday, Nov. 16, 5:30, Owen Library
The cost of the current wars defy imagination in terms of the damage being done to soldiers, their families, and all of us in whose name they have fought. Our soldiers are surviving wounds that in past wars would have meant death, but they are coming home gravely disabled. And this is the tip of the iceberg. The signature injury of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars is traumatic brain injury, damage to the brain which is not always obvious but can have a profound effect on a person's ability to work or control their emotions.
Additionally, we are sending soldiers over for multiple deployments. Can you imagine the effect on the psyche of living in a war zone for years? Statistics for veterans returning from these wars with PTSD are estimated to be as high as 30-60%. The suicide rate and the number of soldiers who become addicted are much higher than the general population. Little talked about is the profound effect these long deployments and PTSD have on the families and loved ones of those who return.
Dr. Ed Tick, a psychotherapist who has worked with veterans since the mid 70s, recently spoke at the Cathedral about the social contract between society and its warriors: the warriors protect us and we, in turn, take care of them. He writes:
"War wounds and distorts our thinking, feeling, perceiving, our aesthetics, intimacy and sexuality, our will and concentration, our participation in society. War wounds every function ever attributed to the soul. Socrates taught that the soul is the seat of morality. Many veterans are anguished over what they have seen or done, and what has been done to them both abroad and at home. Thus, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a soul sickness. The acronym PTSD could be translated Post-Terror Soul Distress."
Please join me to learn more about PTSD, how it can be healed, and to discuss what we, as a spiritual community, can do to help heal our veterans.
Pamela Mumby is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who has worked with veterans for over a decade and is a member of the Cathedral congregation.