Question 1

Why Do Veterans Have a Hard Time Adjusting to Civilian Life?

Accepted Answer

Returning veterans may have a hard time adjusting to civilian life because the average civilian has no context or understanding of what the soldier experienced during their service.

This can make it difficult to meet friends and get involved in a community.

Military veterans might also face problems when entering the workforce, as they may not be familiar with the latest job application and interview processes.

In addition, military life is extremely structured, and life outside of service can be more ambiguous.

Returning veterans can be overwhelmed with the wide array of choices and decisions they need to suddenly make on their own when they return home to civilian life.

Since the military provides soldiers with all necessities—including housing, food, clothing, and medical care during their active service—it can be an abrupt change when veterans re-enter civilian life and they have to secure all these things on their own.

Concerned you may have PTSD?

Answer a few questions in our online PTSD evaluation to get personalized feedback. Talking with a therapist or counselor can help you recover.

Check out the Monarch Directory by SimplePractice to see licensed mental health professionals who specialize in clients with PTSD.

You can also browse therapists who specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as this therapeutic approach has been shown to help PTSD recovery.

Question 2

What Problems Did Returning Soldiers Face After World War I?

Accepted Answer

Soldiers who returned home from World War I faced a number of problems that also haunted veterans returning from more recent conflicts such as the Vietnam War (in the 1960s and 1970s) and the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts (in the 2000s).

Returning veterans from World War I suffered unemployment, serious mental illnesses—including trauma, "shell shock" or PTSD, grief, anxiety disorders, and depression—as well as physical injuries, such as amputations, paraplegia, lung problems, and blindness.

Unfortunately, in the years immediately following World War I, treatments for soldiers' injuries—both physical and mental—were crude and sometimes did more harm than good.

The term "post-traumatic stress disorder" or PTSD wasn't coined until the 1970s—during the first World War, it was simply known as shell shock.

Concerned you may have PTSD?

Answer a few questions in our online PTSD evaluation to get personalized feedback. Talking with a therapist or counselor can help you recover.

Check out the Monarch Directory by SimplePractice to see licensed mental health professionals who specialize in clients with PTSD.

You can also browse therapists who specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as this therapeutic approach has been shown to help PTSD recovery.

Question 3

What Mental Illnesses Do Veterans Struggle With?

Accepted Answer

According to the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research, 20% of the military veterans who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from either major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In addition, traumatic brain injuries inflicted from combat woulds can affect veterans' mental health.

Less than half of veterans returning from duty receive mental health treatment, even though it can be essential to the healing process, even for veterans who don't have an official mental health diagnosis.

Veterans are often exposed to violence in war zones and may witness people getting horrifically injured or killed.

This can create lasting trauma that can have a lifelong impact on their mental health.

Even without witnessing violent acts, the stress of being in an active war zone can take its toll on anyone-even the strongest soldiers.

Concerned you may have PTSD?

Answer a few questions in our online PTSD evaluation to get personalized feedback. Talking with a therapist or counselor can help you recover.

Check out the Monarch Directory by SimplePractice to see licensed mental health professionals who specialize in clients with PTSD.

You can also browse therapists who specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as this therapeutic approach has been shown to help PTSD recovery.

Question 4

What Are the Biggest Challenges Facing Military Veterans?

Accepted Answer

The most daunting hurdle facing military veterans is adjusting to life when they return home. A recent Rasmussen Report indicated more than one-third (38%) of respondents felt transitioning to civilian life was the biggest challenge.

The other two most pressing challenges were getting civilian employment and accessing healthcare and mental health care.

Other challenges include dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and managing personal finances.

Many veterans feel that private employers don't value military experience. Veterans can have problems co-existing with people whose norms and values differ from the military culture and establishing relationships with civilians. Returning veterans many also struggle to find new career paths. PTSD causes debilitating mental disability and is the leading cause of veteran unemployment.

Concerned you may have PTSD?

Answer a few questions in our online PTSD evaluation to get personalized feedback. Talking with a therapist or counselor can help you recover.

Check out the Monarch Directory by SimplePractice to see licensed mental health professionals who specialize in clients with PTSD.

You can also browse therapists who specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as this therapeutic approach has been shown to help PTSD recovery.

Why Do Veterans Have a Hard Time Adjusting to Civilian Life?

Concerned you may have PTSD?

Related questions about military/veteran's issues

Life is complicated. Finding a therapist shouldn’t be.

Newsletter signup

Get inspiration straight to your inbox.