When the War Never Ends

The Voices of Military Members with PTSD and Their Families

Leah Wizelman

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781442212077
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781442212091
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Medicine Biographies
• Index: Psychology

The chances of service members developing PTSD after military-related traumas is, according to a U.S. study, at least 30 percent. The effects of PTSD can be devastating, ranging, for example, from distressing flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disorders, physical symptoms, irritability, aggressions, memory and concentration problems. These symptoms often cause severe impairment in all areas of life and may lead to despair and hopelessness. PTSD is neither a localized nor a temporary problem. Here, Leah Wizelman relates the true stories of service members from different service branches and ranks from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany, who were participants in various wars (Vietnam, Gulf war, Iraq, Afghanistan, Grenada) and peace missions (Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Cambodia, Somalia, Cyprus, Haiti). They talk openly about their lives after trauma and share their fates with the reader. Spouses of affected military members also tell their stories. They talk about the challenges loved ones face when living with a partner with PTSD, how it affects their children, and how they manage to cope. As these stories show all too vividly, military-related PTSD has not been dealt with effectively or with enough empathy or sympathy. Those affected by PTSD will realize that they are not alone in their suffering, and others will gain insight into the realities of this challenging mental disorder.

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Preface
• An Introduction to 
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Stories from PTSD Sufferers and Their Families
• Chapter 1: I Could Have Been 
the Poster Child for PTSD
• Chapter 2: Part of Him
 Just Didn’t Come Home
• Chapter 3: Living with PTSD Has Become a Bearable Reality
• Chapter 4: I Look at 
Life Differently Now
• Chapter 5: A Part of 
Me Died That Night
• Chapter 6: I Believed I Did 
Not Have a Problem
• Chapter 7: He Thought I Was Telling Him He Was Crazy
• Chapter 8: I’ll Never Be 
What I Was Before
• Chapter 9: People Ask Me 
Where My Smile Went
• Chapter 10: We Walked
 Around on Eggshells
• Chapter 11: My Life Has Been Ruined
• Chapter 12: Many Thought His
PTSD Was Bullshit
• Chapter 13: At Some Point the 
Soul Forms a Shield
• Chapter 14: I Long to Be Who I Was
• Chapter 15: I Had Planned
 to Have Myself Shot
• Chapter 16: Every Day Is a Struggle
• Chapter 17: Behind Locked Doors and with a Barbed Wire over the Fence
• Chapter 18: I Am Learning Not to Take It Personally When He Pushes Me Away
• Chapter 19: I Attempted Nine Suicides
• Chapter 20: I Was Certain 
I Was Going Crazy
• Chapter 21: One Owns Up to 
It Relatively Late
• Chapter 22: PTSD Has Totally Robbed Me of the Man I Married
• Chapter 23: I Feel Guilty for Everything
• Chapter 24: For Me, the War Is Still On
• Chapter 25: Nothing Will 
Ever Be the Same
• Chapter 26: I’m Looking Forward 
to My Future
• Chapter 27: All I Want Is Acceptance
• Chapter 28: I Want People to Know 
That There Is Hope
• Chapter 29: It Was Always My Fault
• Chapter 30: I Have Made 
My Peace with It
• Chapter 31: Scars and Memories Will Remain in My Soul
• Chapter 32: You Think You 
Are the Only One
• Glossary
• Recommended Reading List
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author