I’m going to start reading Homer’s Odyssey. I have several patients who are returning vets from Iraq (my clinic is near several military bases). They are having troubles, as you might expect. One patient’s wife confided in me that he killed 30 people, and that he is devastated by this, and says he’s not sure he loves her anymore. Other patients can’t sleep and are having other difficulties.
NPR had a segment about a psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shay, who won the MacArthur fellowship this year for his work with vets. He talks with them about Achilles and Odysseus, and feels that seeing their stories in a more mythic light, and seeing that these types of wounds go back to antiquity has helped these men. He wrote a book called, Achilles in Vietnam, and has talked with generals about the need to keep soldiers together in the same unit over time. He has also started counseling combat vets who are now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I happen to be going through some animus work at this time, and I’m gaining an appreciation for the wounds men suffer. War is certainly not the only cause, but it is an obvious and terrible one that we are all facing right now. The problem is only going to get larger as people continue to return and try to assimilate back into their previous lives. And now we also have women vets who are being affected in similar ways. Anyone have any thoughts, comments?
Yours, Keri
