Fields of Combat

P. Finley Erin

Description

For many of the 1.6 million U.S. service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, the trip home is only the beginning of a longer journey. Many undergo an awkward period of readjustment to civilian life after long deployments. Some veterans may find themselves drinking too much, unable to sleep or waking from unspeakable dreams, lashing out at friends and loved ones. Over time, some will struggle so profoundly that they eventually are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD).Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Fields of Combat tells the story of how American veterans and their families navigate the return home. Following a group of veterans and their their personal stories of war, trauma, and recovery, Erin P. Finley illustrates the devastating impact PTSD can have on veterans and their families. Finley sensitively explores issues of substance abuse, failed relationships, domestic violence, and even suicide and also challenges popular ideas of PTSD as incurable and permanently debilitating.Drawing on rich, often searing ethnographic material, Finley examines the cultural, political, and historical influences that shape individual experiences of PTSD and how its sufferers are perceived by the military, medical personnel, and society at large. Despite widespread media coverage and public controversy over the military's response to wounded and traumatized service members, debate continues over how best to provide treatment and compensation for service-related disabilities. Meanwhile, new and highly effective treatments are revolutionizing how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides trauma care, redefining the way PTSD itself is understood in the process. Carefully and compassionately untangling each of these conflicts, Fields of Combat reveals the very real implications they have for veterans living with PTSD and offers recommendations to improve how we care for this vulnerable but resilient population.

Sujets

• Afghan War
• Histoire
• Psychiatry
• Iraq War
• War in Afghanistan (disambiguation)
• Veteran
• Abnormal psychology

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 07 avril 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801460708
• Langue: English

Extrait

FIELDS OF COMBAT

A volume in the series The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work edited by Suzanne Gordon and Sioban Nelson

A list of titles in this series is available at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

FIELDSOF COMBAT Understanding PTSD among Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

Erin P. Finley

ILR PRESS AN IMPRINT OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON

Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2011 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2012 Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Finley, Erin P., 1977–  Fields of combat : understanding PTSD among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan / Erin P. Finley.  p. cm. — (The culture and politics of health care work)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801449802 (cloth : alk. paper)  ISBN 9780801478406 (paper : alk. paper)  1. Posttraumatic stress disorder—United States. 2. Iraq War, 2003–— Veterans—Mental health. 3. Afghan War, 2001–—Veterans—Mental health. I. Title. II. Series: Culture and politics of health care work.  RC552.P67F545 2011  616.85'212—dc22 2010044491

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing Paperback printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my mother, A. J. FinleyMcRee, and to my grandfathers, Dale C. Finley, Jr., and Ben Pushard, veterans who served their country in war and their families in peace

Contents

Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations List of Characters

Introduction

1.  Fourth of July: A Tradition of Service in San Antonio 2.  War Stories: Case Studies of Combat Deployment 3.  Home Again: Early Experiences of PostDeployment Stress 4.  Of Men and Messages: How Everyday Cultural Influences Affect Living with PTSD 5.  Clinical Histories: From Soldier’s Heart to PTSD 6.  Under Pressure: Military Socialization and Stigma 7.  Embattled: The Politics of PTSD in VA Mental Health Care 8.  Navigation: Identity and Social Relations in Treatment Seeking and Recovery

Conclusion

Notes References Index

ix xi xiii

1

12

22

51

73

89

99

113

135

158

181 199 217

Acknowledgments

There is no way to convey the sum of my gratitude for all those who have been part of this endeavor. The research could not have been completed without financial support from the National Science Foundation and the Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life (MARIAL). Deborah Winslow, Sybil Bridges, and Sally Pattison Cisna made grant application and management navigable. Bradd Shore and the MARIAL faculty, including Marshall Duke and Robyn Fivush, provided important intellectual and methodological insights and critiques along the way. The Fred eric C. Bartter General Clinical Research Center provided an office and logistical support for the clinical portion of the study. All the nurses and staff there were wonderful; Sharon Pryor and Terri Barnett, in particular, were patient and wise and kept a sense of humor throughout. The South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) provided a home for this research, and a long list of people aided in pulling the necessary pieces together. Mary Jo Pugh, Michael Parchman, and Polly Noel of the STVHCS Veterans EvidenceBased Research Dissemina tion and Implementation Center (VERDICT) gave me space and motivation to work through the last half of the writing and have, over the course of the past year, taught me an enormous amount about collaboration and research. Need less to say, the views expressed in this work are mine alone and do not reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. The Emory University Department of Anthropology was my scholarly home for more than a decade, and its faculty and staff deserve my thanks for their continual support. Carol Worthman, Mel Konner, and Don Seeman were edu cators and mentors throughout and made me grateful to have a doctoral com mittee who gave so generously to the process. I still marvel at my good fortune in getting to work with my graduate adviser, Peter J. Brown. His accumulated knowledge and intellectual curiosity are matched only by his great and wonderful humanity. Sarah Willen provided the eureka moment that set me on the course to this book. Tricia Fogarty, Michelle Parsons, Elizabeth Milewicz, and Daniel Lende all read and provided invaluable feedback on early drafts of material that became part of the book, as did participants in a 2008 Cornell workshop led by Stefan Senders and Chip Gagnon on medicalization in postconflict societies. Jen Kuzara

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