Share

Veterans returning to civilian duties as part of life after service have numerous ways to treat psychological scars inflicted on the battlefield. According to Yahoo News, even people in ancient societies faced problems after returning from war. While the parallels are not perfect, the source noted that ancient Greek tragedies like "Ajax" can have consolatory effects on veterans returning home from the battlefield.

The power of myth in diminishing PTSD
This particular Greek tragedy features a Greek war hero who's experiences subsequent to the war reflect isolation, mental illness and violence. According to the source, Ajax kills farm animals, operating under the misconception that they're his mortal foes. The themes the tragedy displays may be familiar to contemporary reports of the mental illnesses' that have effected veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

For example, Nerd Wallet reports that more than 12,000 veterans from these wars were diagnosed with PTSD in 2013. About 5.2 million adults experience a form of PTSD each year, the source noted, so it's not merely an element of military life. However, the traumas inflicted in war increase the chance that a veteran will face some form of PTSD after leaving the battlefield. 

"Everyone wants to tell their story," said Michael Meade, who runs a program called Voices for Veterans. "Even the most wounded people, given the chance, want to tell the story of that wound. A wound is like a mouth."

Nonprofit attempts to harness power of narratives
Meade's program "Voices for Veterans, Voices of War" operates under the broader auspices of the Mosaic nonprofit organization. This is a loose collection of artists, social workers and numerous other individuals who seek to transmit rich cultural resources to help people dealing with trauma. The special program dedicated to veterans gathers people from several wars to deal with their experiences by composing poems and narratives, in the hopes that the veterans can use this to deal with their past. 

Mosaic's website suggests that this form of creativity can help banish some of the demons found on the battlefield, bringing military benefits in its wake. The ancient Greeks fought in a number of visceral combats, such as the Peloponnesian War, which pitted Athens against the militaristic island of Sparta. This spawned a slew of writings that attempted to comprehend the experiences of the war, most notably, Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War," a study of the conflict.

Hopefully, the study of Greek responses to war help veterans deal with residual problems from the battlefield.