The Impact of Head Injury Upon Returning War Veterans & Their Families

With so many of our troops returning home, after experiencing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are increasing concerns over the level of care these veterans are receiving through their military VA benefits. Of most significant concern are the number of war vets who are returning from conflict after suffering a head injury. As a family, when caring for a loved one who has returned after conflict, it is important to understand the varied dynamics that will be of issue as the head injury is managed.

First, as a family, there will be a significant degree of stress that will set in; and it simply will not go away. With even the normal stressors of family life come the added issues associated with the care of a war veteran who has suffered a head injury, which, ultimately, leads to chronic stress in the family and even more illness. Unfortunately, when this chronic stress is not addressed, the family unit will, to some extent, fall apart as various family members come to terms with their inability to face the daily struggles ahead.

In addition to chronic stress in the family unit, there is another psychological issue that will be of concern involving social isolation. Because remaining family members will tend to focus all of their energy into the war vet who has suffered a head injury, the family unit, as a social unit, will fall out of the social networks an, essentially, come to rely on each other only. While family support is important, if this is the only support available, eventually the support network will deteriorate, often leading to greater family conflict.

As with most major traumatic injuries sustained during war, the returning veteran, and affected family members, will also experience a period of significant grief over the loss of normalcy in their lives. Often, this grief is expressed as if a death has occurred and, in many cases, the veteran may feel some level of guilt as he or she witnesses the pain and agony of the family members.