5 August 2014
Suicide Amongst IAF
Who is a soldier?
A soldier is someone who fights as part of an organised land-based armed force.
They belong to armies of a particular nation, and their sole job is to safeguard the territories of their country from rebel forces.
They are known to have the most risk-taking and dangerous career - and it is a job with no guarantee for one’s personal safety.
Soldiers of every country belong to the armies of their own country. Similarly, Indian soldiers belong to the Indian Armed Forces.
Soldiers, of every army, go through certain life altering events, and each of these events have their own repercussions and consequences.
Certain events, like war, can lead to combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD. Although PTSD and combat stress are two very different things, they are commonly misunderstood as having the same definitions and causes.
Combat Stress is referred to as a predicted reaction to combat experiences. After being in a war zone where people are under constant physiological stress such as - death of a fellow soldier, poor diet, bad weather conditions etc, whereas PTSD is a purely psychological disorder which may develop after a person is exposed to traumatic events such as warfare, sexual assault etc.
There are certain symptoms of combat stress and PTSD that overlap each other, but they most certainly aren’t the same. Combat stress isn’t a medical problem that needs treatment, it simply wears off over time. However, in extreme cases when combat stress doesn’t wear off, it can soon lead to PTSD. And if PTSD is left untreated, it can lead to other problems, such as depression, substance abuse etc. An individual might even start contemplating extreme measures such as suicide, once they start to feel depressed.
Depression Among Soldiers
Depression is defined as a mood disorder where individuals feel prolonged unhappiness usually accompanied by other symptoms such as...