I noticed that a lot of media and publications talk about Vietnam War veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychological/mental health issues.
What was so devastating in this specific war comparing to other wars (i.e. WW1 and WW2) that caused so many vets’ trauma?
Or is it a matter of fact that during previous wars mental health care was less developed?
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Mental health in WW1 was a huge issue, “shell shock” and desertion were major problems leading to increased attrition. WW1 is probably the single most brutal war in the history of the planet.
In WW2 “war weariness”/”battle fatigue” was still an issue, but there was a more concrete cause that people were fighting for. PTSD was absolutely still a problem, but the sheer number of people involved and the cause people were fighting for made it seem like less of an issue, even if it was a pretty big issue.
In Vietnam there were a lot of draftees and less of a real “cause” involved in the fighting. Teenagers were being drafted into a war that people didn’t really believe in, and then when they came home they were spat on by their own countrymen. Also after all that, we lost the war, everything they fought and died for ended up being for nothing once we pulled out. That was compounded by the fact that the illicit drug scene was booming at the time, so things like weed and heroin and LSD were used as ways to “escape” PTSD issues but in reality they were making the problems worse. Also there are a lot more Vietnam veterans alive today than WW2 (and definitely WW1) veterans, so there are more people still around that are suffering.
It’s easier to deal with mental stress when you feel like you fought for a good cause, you’re celebrated as a hero in the end, and you have millions of other people to relate to.
When you’re shoved into a warzone you don’t want to be in and not sure why you’re even there and then demonized when you get back home, that’s a lot harder to deal with, and hardcore drugs only make things worse.
On top of all that, the entire field of psychoanalysis was being developed in like the 1920s which was between WW1 and WW2, so only the beginnings of concepts like PTSD were being developed around then.
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