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In this article, Angie writes about the detrimental effect of war on the human mind and how veterans trauma resulted in the formation of Veterans Day.
Psychology of war
Psychology of war
By: Angie Dixon
By: Angie Dixon
With Veterans Day swiftly approaching, it is important for the American people to honor those who fought for this country's freedom. The holiday, which was prompted by World War I, was created to remind future generations of the sacrifices those courageous soldiers made for the nation. After the war, the surviving veterans and citizens were left with irreversible trauma and permanently altered brain function; as a result, it became tradition to commemorate their noble deeds.
Whether someone was on the front lines of the battlefield or a citizen trying to avoid becoming collateral damage, the psychological impact of wars on the human mind is astronomical. According to High Focus Treatment Centers, trauma from wars “can result in an inability to regulate our emotions, which can then lead to uncontrollable bouts of anger, paranoia, obsessive behaviors and more.” Along with severe and unstable emotions, traumatic situations in general can lead to moral injury. This moral injury occurs when an individual begins to engage in behaviors that defy their previous moral compass preceding a traumatic incident. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs explains how “potentially morally injurious events in the context of war include killing or harming others…making decisions that affect the survival of others…being unable to care for all who were injured” and many more. In World War I, soldiers and others assisting in the fighting may have experienced extreme feelings of guilt or shame about surviving whilst others around them did not, thus invoking symptoms of moral injury.
In addition to the trauma inflicted upon individuals in war, those surviving individuals could have altered cognitive functions, too. As stated by the Happy Neuron Blog, “Executive functions such as planning, problem-solving, and decision-making may become difficult…as well as impairments to depth perception...memory…language… and even visual-spatial skills.” Due to these factors, it is evident that war has a consequential impact on the brains of soldiers and citizens alike.
Therefore, after the conclusion of World War I, many deemed it necessary that future generations remember those who selflessly defended the country. As a result, on Nov. 11, 1954, Eisenhower signed the bill to put Veterans Day into place. From then on, Veterans Day honored both the courage and irrevocable patriotism of those fallen American citizens to the great war.
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