SBAND Seminar Materials 2013 Free Ethics: Echoes of War The Combat Veteran | Page 18

of  PTSD  can  lead  to  behaviors  likely  to  result  in  criminal  behavior  and/or  sudden  outbursts   of  violence.    Individuals  with  PTSD  are  often  plagued  by  memories  of  the  trauma,   chronically  anxious,  and  unable  to  sleep  without  terrifying  nightmares.    They  often  self-­? medicate  with  drugs  and  alcohol  in  an  attempt  to  calm  their  nerves  and  sleep.    The   emotional  numbness  many  trauma  survivors  experience  can  lead  the  survivor  to  engage  in   sensation-­?seeking  behavior  in  an  attempt  to  experience  some  type  of  emotion.    Some   combat  veterans  also  may  seek  to  recreate  the  adrenaline  rush  experienced  during  combat.     “Hypervigilance,”  feeling  the  need  to  be  always  “on  guard”  can  cause  veterans  to   misinterpret  benign  situations  as  threatening  and  cause  them  to  respond  with  self-­? protective  behavior.    Increased  baseline  physiological  arousal  results  in  violent  behavior   that  is  out  of  proportion  to  the  perceived  threat.    It  is  common  for  trauma  survivors  to  feel   guilt  and  to  resort  to  self-­?destructive  behaviors,  which  can  sometimes  lead  them  to  commit   crimes  that  will  likely  result  in  their  apprehension,  punishment,  serious  injury,  or  death.64     A  particular  traumatic  stressor  can  lead  an  individual  suffering  combat  trauma  to   commit  a  specific  crime  in  three  primary  ways.    First,  crimes  at  times  literally  or   symbolically  recreate  important  aspects  of  a  trauma.    The  second  way  that  traumatic   stressors  can  be  linked  to  specific  crimes  is  that  environmental  conditions  similar  to  those   existing  at  the  time  of  the  trauma  can  induce  behavior  similar  to  that  exhibited  during  the   trauma,  in  particular,  violent  responses.    The  final  way  that  traumatic  stressors  can  be   linked  to  specific  crimes  is  that  life  events  immediately  preceding  the  offense  can   realistically  or  symbolically  force  the  individual  to  face  unresolved  conflicts  related  to  the   trauma.    This  creates  a  disturbed  psychological  state  in  which  otherwise  unlikely  behaviors   emerge.65             64 65  Id.    Id.   18