Can people who where in a war really have flash backs of it ?

Question

I just wanted to know if this was true or not and if this could be what my dad is having.

Well my dad did get hurt bad during the Vietnam war.

Answer 1

Yes it's true. The one thing that brings back memorys for me is smell. I don't call it a flash back as much as a memory. I don't wake up in cold sweats thrashing about, but some guys were effected differently than others. I am truely fortunate. I'm 64 now and a song can come on the radio and bring it all back. I'm listening to the 60's now on XM satalite and I know pretty soon one of them Veit Nam songs will bring it back but I'll deal with it. Please try to be understanding of your father, he was a young man once and his life got changed. Major Lance singing Um UM UM UM UM just came on, it reminds me of dancing in my paratrooper boots with my buddies at Ft. Campbell Ky. That was before we deployed. Some of them are still on patrol in the central highlands, if you get my meaning. He can only talk about it to other guys who have been there done that. No one else would understand are believe him. Like I said, I'm 64 now and I have a teen age daughter and a teen age son, Sometimes I act like a drill sgt. and it hurts them to see me get crazy.All their friends parents are in their 30's and 40's and are more laid back than me. I guess that's my devil, trying to be a good father and not so much a drill instructer. So please, cut your father some slack. He needs to feel loved and appreciated. He loves you and maybe doen't know how to show love.

Answer 2

People who have seen active duty during wartime do indeed have flashbacks, some for many years, others for a lifetime. I have a very close friend who was in VietNam and even though it was a long time ago, there are still certain things he cannot do because they bring back those memories. We've been "hang out buddies" for 20 years and, being a trucker, he'd come in off the road and sleep at our house. I did not dare touch him to wake him up but would stand across the room and touch him with the broom handle and call his name. If he was startled out of a sleep, he was likely to go into flashback mode. He eventually spent several weeks in a VA facility being deprogrammed and treated for PTSD which did help as he was able to talk about all the awful memories he had. He's much better now but still has times when he sees or hears something that brings back the bad times. He takes anti-depressants which also help him. He's retired now and has had open heart surgery and is healthier and more able to enjoy life. If your dad is a VietNam veteran, God bless him, he's got some awful stuff going around in his head. I hope he's being treated at the VA.

Answer 3

I believe that it's true. Not just war, but from sudden traumatic events. The cause is beyond what I can describe. People learn how to deal with certain events that happen by triggers. Imagine for a moment that you witness a severe car accident. You hear the screeching of tires and then hear a crash. More than likely sounds that are similar to screeching tires and crashing will trigger the memory of that crash, in essence taking you back to that moment. You learn how to react to situations from previous situations. If you hear a boom that results in the deaths and maming of dozens of people, you're going to link that sound (or sight/smell/etc) with that event. A car backfiring could bring back the memory of a mortar attack, which would put you back into survival mode for a mortar attack (take cover), etc. So, yes. As to whether your dad is having this, I hope not. I've never had a war experience that would give me Post Traumatic Distress Syndrome, but I did work for a funeral home that had to collect the bodies from a wreck between a passenger car and a dumptruck. Now whenever I see a dumptruck driving down the road or a car speeding, I get nervous that people are going to get hurt. It does hit me sudden "flashes", but not nearly as bad as I would expect from some person who was there for the entire experience. Show him you love him the best way you can.

Answer 4

positioned up annoying rigidity, besides the incontrovertible fact that i know a lot of marine men and army men that have seen some exceptionally frightening *** stuff and that i think of positioned up annoying rigidity isn't brought about by utilising frightening happenings however the thought they can't safeguard their buddies in conflict. there became a guy i became chatting with some months decrease back (he became an elite army seal) and he worked on sniper accountability a great variety of the time yet he got here decrease back and the only nightmares he had became from his buddies dying all around him and his set off does no longer pull on his gun. that's genuine some human beings see different issues of their targets and warfare ruins a lot of human beings emotionally yet that's why they could desire to be honored by utilising the community and not rejected like they a great variety of circumstances are.

Answer 5

Yes, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts are very possible for a combat Vet. I know because I suffer from them. PTSD shows in many ways and it is a demon which will never go away. Meds only help to limit the demons not eliminate them. The veil of darkness caused by combat will forever be embedded in our psychic.

Answer 6

Im not sure if it is a flashback but PTSD is a condition in which a person cannot stop remembering some violent situation or something like that. If he has been in a war then he most likely has PTSD.

Answer 7

for some ppl, they will return from war with no problem at all and then 20 years later they start having flashbacks... maybe watching the news on iraq might be triggering it.

Answer 8

Yes it is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Anybody that has been in an accident or something similar will also have this.

Answer 9

Any kind of traumatic experience can cause flashbacks. Therapy and time are the only cures.

Talk to your mom or another adult that can help him.

Answer 10

it's called post-traumatic stress disorder. it doesn't just happen to war veterans. it happens to people who are raped, witness a murder, live through a natural disaster, etc. basically anything that is a traumatizing experience.