One of the reasons this blog was created was to raise critical awareness about veterans and the shame many veterans carry with them everyday. This section of the blog is dedicated to benefiting the greater knowledge of clinicians about veterans and shame. The important thing to remember while reading this post, reading this blog, and interpreting all information regarding Veteran Affairs, no matter where it come from, is keep a critical mind. The media, your own colleagues, teachers, or even bloggers, may present information as fact. Keep a critical mind that all the information you are reading or hearing is biased. These biases may be intentional or unintentional. Although the information presented on this blog is intended to be unbiased, it is fact based on our opinions. We advise you to critically analyze this and all information for yourself before interpreting information as fact.
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the exact number of veterans is unknown. This is interesting to me. I try to keep in mind that this is the information that the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs allows the public access. Whether it is accurate or not, it is the most accurate information that people like you and I can get. Between the American Revolution, which began in 1775 and the two current wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has been involved in 12 wars. Although documentation and statistic for Afghanistan and Iraq are incomplete due to the fact that they are currently ongoing, up to date information can be found on the fact sheet on America’s Wars at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Currently there are almost 24,000,000 million living U.S. Veterans. This statistic alone shows the need for clinicians to be able to treat shame within the veteran population. There is no known amount of shame among the veterans, but we do know that shame is universal, everyone has it. Among veterans, the percentage of men greatly outweighs that of women, 93% to 7%, respectively. Our blog is dealing with the issue of shame and clinicians who are dealing with veterans battling with shame. I would like you to think about how men deal with shame in compared to the way women deal with shame. According to Brene’ Brown on June 9, 2008, during her lecture discussion, men and women deal with shame very differently. The number one shame trigger for women is body image while the number one shame issue for men is professional identity. I am sure that body image is a critical issue of shame among veterans, but I do not feel that body image ties into shame for veterans as closely as professional identity does. For many veterans, being a veteran is their professional identity. I am in no way saying that being veteran is shaming. I am just asking you look at the coinciding facts. For men and women alike,not happy with professional identities can often be a source of shame. It is highly important for clinicians working with veterans to understand the shame that many veterans may be carrying with them.
Where does shame among veterans come from? Not being a veteran myself, I have no idea what it is like to be a soldier or a veteran. The extent of my knowledge about the military comes from what I have learned at all levels school, books, personal relationships I have with veterans, and movies. The media is one way that a clinician may learn about the life of a veteran. Any veteran would probably have disagreements with any movie meant to dramatize the military and war. But for a clinician, who has no military experience, books and movies are often the easiest way to comprehend what military personnel experience. For example, a dramatized version of soldiers dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the film, The Deer Hunter. The Deer Hunter is a great movie that shows the audience how different PTSD can be for each individual. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all influenced by the media and the media’s portrayal of the military and veterans. But, by keeping a critical mind the media’s biases about this subject, clinicians and civilians, may be able to learn from these resources.
This blog is intended to help clinicians, who are working with veterans, and give to those clinicians insight into shame and the world of veterans. At this point, I will list some possible examples of shame that a veteran could be dealing with. The first being intrapersonal shame issues. What I mean by intrapersonal shame issues are personal experience that each veteran has seen or done during their time in the service. These could be experiences that cause a person to suffer from PTSD. Suffering from PTSD is awful for anyone. But the idea of being diagnosed with PTSD can be a source of shame. A veteran’s negative reaction to PTSD can create the shame of having PTSD. A clinician working with any person suffering from PTSD should keep in mind having PTSD due to a catastrophic event can often be as shaming as the event itself. Clinicians should keep in mind that dealing with the shame of any disorder, including PTSD, is often as important as treating the disorder.
A second source of shame for veterans is internal military shame. This could be the decision to join, or retire, from the military. For some veterans, joining the military can a source of shame. Having an understanding that the military is not for everyone, a veteran or even a person currently active in the military, may have wished they would have chosen a different career path. Although there are multiple examples of veterans who are ashamed of the United States Military, I am talking about those who wished they had done something different with their careers. This parallels civilians as well. Many people are dissatisfied and ashamed of what they do for a living. This shame ties back to shame issue of professional identity. Similarly, the decision of a veteran to retire from military service can bring about shame. Being a veteran instead of an active soldier can bring about shame. Veterans could feel a lack of professional identity. A veteran may also feel as if they are leaving their cohorts behind. This can be a source guilt as well as shame.
Looking at the hierarchical structure of the military, a veteran may feel shame about the status attained in the military. A veteran could feel shame about the fact that he or she never ranked as hi as he of she envisioned. For example, a sergeant who never made a rank advancement. This can bring about shame for anyone who did not get the promotion they wanted. Again, this is an issue of shame brought about by professional identity. Shame among veterans can be based upon career decisions and directly related to professional identity.
The final example of shame among veterans is shame brought on by society. Society attributes stereotypes to veterans which can greatly affect them. Veterans deal with countless stereotypes including patriot, courageous, and skilled. These are some positive stereotypes associated to military personnel and veterans. Negative stereotypes are also associated to many people who are or in the military as well as veterans. People may assume, and you know what happens when you assume, that military personnel and veterans, are vicious, killers, uneducated, and that they have they same opinion of war. These negative stereotypes can be very hurtful and shaming to not only those who are currently in the military and veterans, but also the family and friends of these individuals.
The United States, as well as the rest of the world, is very split on their opinion of the United States’ involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The part of society that is against the war may, unintentionally and intentionally, attribute their negative attitudes about the war to the entire population of the military and veterans. It is important for clinicians, regardless of the own opinions of war, to understand their own biases when treating veterans dealing with shame. If a large portion of society thought what clinicians were doing was morally wrong, you might understand the shame felt by generations of veterans.
I hope this post, and blog, will help clinicians understand shame that many veterans may be feeling. This post is based upon both fact and opinion. In no way am I trying to contribute to shame of veterans or imply that all veterans have shame because they are veterans. Nor do I wish to label or stereotype veterans with shame. Whether you agree or disagree with the information presented here, I hope it can help understand the shame a veteran my feel. Remember to keep a critical mind about this, and all, information you inquire concerning the status of veterans and shame. You may never fully understand someone else’s shame. Clinicians who have never been in the military will probably never understand what shame really means to a veteran. Hopefully this blog will help give clinicians some insight into the shame that many veterans cope with and an understanding how to begin treatment. Clinicians who understand the shame of a veteran can effectively empower veterans with resilience to shame. Understanding veterans and shame is only the first step to practicing effective Shame Resilience Theory among the diverse population of veterans.
For more information on the statistics used in this blog please visit:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/amwars.asp
http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/4X6_spring08_sharepoint.pdf
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the exact number of veterans is unknown. This is interesting to me. I try to keep in mind that this is the information that the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs allows the public access. Whether it is accurate or not, it is the most accurate information that people like you and I can get. Between the American Revolution, which began in 1775 and the two current wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has been involved in 12 wars. Although documentation and statistic for Afghanistan and Iraq are incomplete due to the fact that they are currently ongoing, up to date information can be found on the fact sheet on America’s Wars at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Currently there are almost 24,000,000 million living U.S. Veterans. This statistic alone shows the need for clinicians to be able to treat shame within the veteran population. There is no known amount of shame among the veterans, but we do know that shame is universal, everyone has it. Among veterans, the percentage of men greatly outweighs that of women, 93% to 7%, respectively. Our blog is dealing with the issue of shame and clinicians who are dealing with veterans battling with shame. I would like you to think about how men deal with shame in compared to the way women deal with shame. According to Brene’ Brown on June 9, 2008, during her lecture discussion, men and women deal with shame very differently. The number one shame trigger for women is body image while the number one shame issue for men is professional identity. I am sure that body image is a critical issue of shame among veterans, but I do not feel that body image ties into shame for veterans as closely as professional identity does. For many veterans, being a veteran is their professional identity. I am in no way saying that being veteran is shaming. I am just asking you look at the coinciding facts. For men and women alike,not happy with professional identities can often be a source of shame. It is highly important for clinicians working with veterans to understand the shame that many veterans may be carrying with them.
Where does shame among veterans come from? Not being a veteran myself, I have no idea what it is like to be a soldier or a veteran. The extent of my knowledge about the military comes from what I have learned at all levels school, books, personal relationships I have with veterans, and movies. The media is one way that a clinician may learn about the life of a veteran. Any veteran would probably have disagreements with any movie meant to dramatize the military and war. But for a clinician, who has no military experience, books and movies are often the easiest way to comprehend what military personnel experience. For example, a dramatized version of soldiers dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the film, The Deer Hunter. The Deer Hunter is a great movie that shows the audience how different PTSD can be for each individual. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all influenced by the media and the media’s portrayal of the military and veterans. But, by keeping a critical mind the media’s biases about this subject, clinicians and civilians, may be able to learn from these resources.
This blog is intended to help clinicians, who are working with veterans, and give to those clinicians insight into shame and the world of veterans. At this point, I will list some possible examples of shame that a veteran could be dealing with. The first being intrapersonal shame issues. What I mean by intrapersonal shame issues are personal experience that each veteran has seen or done during their time in the service. These could be experiences that cause a person to suffer from PTSD. Suffering from PTSD is awful for anyone. But the idea of being diagnosed with PTSD can be a source of shame. A veteran’s negative reaction to PTSD can create the shame of having PTSD. A clinician working with any person suffering from PTSD should keep in mind having PTSD due to a catastrophic event can often be as shaming as the event itself. Clinicians should keep in mind that dealing with the shame of any disorder, including PTSD, is often as important as treating the disorder.
A second source of shame for veterans is internal military shame. This could be the decision to join, or retire, from the military. For some veterans, joining the military can a source of shame. Having an understanding that the military is not for everyone, a veteran or even a person currently active in the military, may have wished they would have chosen a different career path. Although there are multiple examples of veterans who are ashamed of the United States Military, I am talking about those who wished they had done something different with their careers. This parallels civilians as well. Many people are dissatisfied and ashamed of what they do for a living. This shame ties back to shame issue of professional identity. Similarly, the decision of a veteran to retire from military service can bring about shame. Being a veteran instead of an active soldier can bring about shame. Veterans could feel a lack of professional identity. A veteran may also feel as if they are leaving their cohorts behind. This can be a source guilt as well as shame.
Looking at the hierarchical structure of the military, a veteran may feel shame about the status attained in the military. A veteran could feel shame about the fact that he or she never ranked as hi as he of she envisioned. For example, a sergeant who never made a rank advancement. This can bring about shame for anyone who did not get the promotion they wanted. Again, this is an issue of shame brought about by professional identity. Shame among veterans can be based upon career decisions and directly related to professional identity.
The final example of shame among veterans is shame brought on by society. Society attributes stereotypes to veterans which can greatly affect them. Veterans deal with countless stereotypes including patriot, courageous, and skilled. These are some positive stereotypes associated to military personnel and veterans. Negative stereotypes are also associated to many people who are or in the military as well as veterans. People may assume, and you know what happens when you assume, that military personnel and veterans, are vicious, killers, uneducated, and that they have they same opinion of war. These negative stereotypes can be very hurtful and shaming to not only those who are currently in the military and veterans, but also the family and friends of these individuals.
The United States, as well as the rest of the world, is very split on their opinion of the United States’ involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The part of society that is against the war may, unintentionally and intentionally, attribute their negative attitudes about the war to the entire population of the military and veterans. It is important for clinicians, regardless of the own opinions of war, to understand their own biases when treating veterans dealing with shame. If a large portion of society thought what clinicians were doing was morally wrong, you might understand the shame felt by generations of veterans.
I hope this post, and blog, will help clinicians understand shame that many veterans may be feeling. This post is based upon both fact and opinion. In no way am I trying to contribute to shame of veterans or imply that all veterans have shame because they are veterans. Nor do I wish to label or stereotype veterans with shame. Whether you agree or disagree with the information presented here, I hope it can help understand the shame a veteran my feel. Remember to keep a critical mind about this, and all, information you inquire concerning the status of veterans and shame. You may never fully understand someone else’s shame. Clinicians who have never been in the military will probably never understand what shame really means to a veteran. Hopefully this blog will help give clinicians some insight into the shame that many veterans cope with and an understanding how to begin treatment. Clinicians who understand the shame of a veteran can effectively empower veterans with resilience to shame. Understanding veterans and shame is only the first step to practicing effective Shame Resilience Theory among the diverse population of veterans.
For more information on the statistics used in this blog please visit:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/amwars.asp
http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/4X6_spring08_sharepoint.pdf
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