Exploding the Bomb: The Relationship Between PTSD in Vietnam and Iraq VeteransA soldier returns home after deployment and attempts to return to civilian life after spending months disabling IEDs. He experiences recurring flashbacks to the war. His mind rewinds to the moment one of his good comrades died. He develops insomnia because the nightmares have become unbearable and moves away from his family. The memories and obsessive thoughts become too numerous. It's as if he never left the war. He realizes that it's the IED that he may not be able to defuse himself. Throughout military history, post-traumatic stress disorder and war often go hand in hand. That said, PTSD symptoms weren't always listed under that name. The first reappearances of PTSD occurred during the Civil War and were named under "soldier's heart" or even "insanity" because the symptoms, at the time, were unknown. During World War I and II, PTSD symptoms were listed under "shell shock" and "combat fatigue" after little research concluded the symptoms were combat-related ("PTSD: not a new disease"). PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into categories: reliving trauma, dysphoria, anhedonia, and avoidance (Bulkeley, “Mental Ills Rise”). PTSD is complex because the symptoms often overlap with other disorders, including: depression and generalized anxiety (Erbes, 187-189). PTSD is a psychological improvised explosive device that takes root in a veteran's mind and potentially affects every aspect of their life. Through countless research, veterans, especially those from Iraq, received better treatment than Vietnam veterans and the procedure to treat...... middle of article..... ..2 (2012): 187-190. Academic research completed. Internet. April 9, 2014.Howard, Sethanne and Mark Crandall. “Post-traumatic stress disorder: what’s happening in the brain?” » Washington of Academic Sciences. 93.3 (2007):1-18. Internet. April 11, 2014. Martin, Hugh. The stick soldiers. New York: BOA Editions, LTD., 2013. Print. O'Brien, Tim. The things they carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. Print. “PTSD: Not a New Disease on the Wartorn Battlefield.” Narr. Terry Gross. Fresh air. National Public Radio. NPR. November 8, 2010. the web. April 28, 2014. Vasterling, Jennifer J. et al. “PTSD symptoms increase among soldiers deployed to Iraq: comparison with nondeployed soldiers and associations with baseline symptoms, deployment experiences, and postdeployment stress.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 23.1 (2010): 41-51. Academic research completed. Internet. April 11. 2014.