Mental Health Consequences of War Research Paper

The consequences of war are many, it doesn't only affect the socioeconomic status of the countries, but also the lives of those that went through war. The marks of war will always leave a scar. Some of them can come as: mental health consequences, crisis of faith, long-term effects.

The effects of war trigger the mind of the individuals who went through war. According to Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research founded by R. Srinivasa Murthy along with Rashmi Lakshminarayana, says: “10% of the people who experience traumatic events will have serious mental health problems with another 10% will develop behavior that will hinder their ability to function effectively. The most common conditions are depression, anxiety and psychosomatic problems such as insomnia, or back and stomach aches.” As described, the consequences of war are great, it will bring other consequences that will follow the survivors for the rest of their lives. Even if those that went through the trauma go through therapy or take medicine, their lives will never be the same with their effectiveness in society will be uncertain. Also, according to Shell Shock by George Carlin, it says: “There’s a condition in combat most people know about it. It’s when a fighting person’s nervous system has been stressed to its absolute peak and maximum can’t take anymore input the nervous system has either snapped or is about to snap in the First World War that condition was called shell shock.” The condition described by the comedian Geroge Carlin is known as PTSD nowadays, which is also another mental consequence of war.

Some survivors go through different consequences in their personal lives. The ones that follow a religion may go through a crisis once they experience something like this in their lives. According to Exploring The Impact of War by Keith Myers, says : “A common question is, ‘How can God allow this evil to exist when He is supposed to be good?’ Some warriors find it impossible to continue believing in this view of God as well as an experience a crisis of faith that affects them on many levels (cognitive, emotional and so on). Nevertheless, some veterans’ faith and religious convictions are deepened by their experiences. But no matter whether their faith is ultimately strengthened or weakened, most veterans face spiritual stressors.” In this case the article is making a specific reference to the veterans, but this also applies to common people that even if they believe in God, they go through a crisis stage where they can question their faith.

The long-term effects of war are not only related to mental or spiritual issues, sometimes it can affect the setting where war occurred, bringing consequences to the civilians. According to Hiroshima by John Hersey, it says: “(...) the citizens of Hiroshima still suffer from the aftereffects, and nuclear escalation continues to threaten the entire world. Hersey also finds that these six people show, in the aftermath of the bomb and war, remarkable feelings of good will, reconciliation, and pride.” The article is making a reference to the war in Hiroshima where the civilians were affected by a nuclear bomb, and the outcomes are still there and many had to move out of the city.