Female Veterans serving in Iraq suffer from more pronounced and debilitating symptoms of PTSD than men.
by Diane Wetzel
Anxiety attacks. Insomnia.
Overreactions to sudden loud noises.
Welcome to life after deployment.
Women handle conflict differently than men, said Operation Desert Storm veteran Teresa Wickens. Veterans groups and the Veterans Administration are not prepared to handle that.
During and after the Vietnam War, mental-health professionals noticed adjustment problems in some veterans returning from Southeast Asia. In 1980 this condition was officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as posttraumatic stress disorder.
A recent study by the VA showed 810 percent of U.S. women who served in Iraq suffer from PTSD, and that women serving in Iraq suffer from more pronounced and debilitating symptoms of PTSD than men…
Wickens met with female members of the 1013th Quartermaster Company at their headquarters in North Platte Saturday to talk about post-deployment issues and United Female Veterans of America. Wickens is commander of the first Nebraska UFVA chapter, established in September 2006.
When the young women of the 1013th leave the service, they will join 1.7 million other female veterans in the United States.
The UFVA is open to women currently serving, who have retired or who have been discharged, Wickens said. The purpose of the organization is to provide assistance for female veterans and help them get through the meanderings of the Veterans Administration.
Eight women of the 1013th spoke openly and frankly about their experiences in Iraq and issues they face after returning home.
I had an anxiety attack the first time I walked into Wal-Mart after coming home, one soldier said. I started crying and didn’t know why.
Symptoms of PTSD may include flashbacks, and exaggerated emotional and physical reactions to events, along with difficulty sleeping and concentrating.
Of the 1,632 Vietnam veterans who took part in the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, 432 were women who had served in or around Vietnam between 1964 and 1975. The study found that about 27 percent of female Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD sometime during their postwar lives.
The study showed that with high levels of social support after the war, female veterans were less likely to have PTSD symptoms.
Emotional support, having someone to talk to and someone who really cares, helped women adjust more comfortably to postwar life, the study said.
More than 155,000 women have ben deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002, according to the Pentagon. That number is four times the number of women who served during the Persian Gulf War, and represents 15 percent of the current active duty force.
UFVA was founded in May 2006 to bring women veterans together, Wickens said.
I don’t want any woman veteran to ever come back from deployment and say, we don’t have anybody to talk to, Wickens said. It is important there is someone on the other end of the phone who absolutely understands who can provide resources and support.
The Nebraska L.A. Tango-Greiss chapter of UFVA meets on the third Monday of each month at the American Legion Hall, 2020 East Fourth, in Noth Platte.
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