I read with interest the recent Chicago Tribune article on the study of the high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among women fighting in Iraq, and the possible reasons for this (“Stresses of battle hit female GIs hard; VA study hopes to find treatment for disorder,” Page 1, March 20), by Kirsten Scharnberg, Tribune national correspondent.
In the article, it is pointed out that one of the defining moments for developing PTSD appears to be when someone kills another human being, an act of violence that goes against our very nature.
I have people in my life in whom I have witnessed this struggle.
It is a struggle for to cope with returning to normal life when one’s life will never again be normal.
After you’ve killed someone, it doesn’t matter if it is 10 years after, or 30.
The pain it causes the human soul never goes away.
Those who have been forced to kill another human being return home only to find their relationships with family and friends permanently changed.
And the possibility of developing new relationships based on love and trust are nearly impossible because they feel changed, and they are.
It is time that we as a nation take a hard look at what kind of lives we are condemning our friends and family to, asking them to suffer this grievous pain for the rest of their existence, all in the name of “peace.”
