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War Trauma: The
Psychological
Back to top Consequences of
War
August 8, 2023
6 min.
Any traumatic experience that stems from military conflict is considered
war trauma, and all war trauma can lead to mental health disorders like
post-traumatic stress disorder.
By: Sarah Fielding
Clinically Reviewed By: Dr. Don Gasparini
Learn more about our Clinical Review Process
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Families & Caregivers Teens & Young Adults
Trauma
Table of Contents
Cross-national and civil wars are a part of daily life for soldiers and civilians worldwide. The pain,
suffering, and displacement that come alongside a traumatic event is an ever-present aspect of
this ongoing violence. The emotions and circumstances connected to this violence are known as
“war trauma” and can potentially bring long-term consequences to a person’s mental health and
well-being.
So, what is war trauma? Simply put, it’s a blanket statement covering any traumatic event
experienced while preparing for, living through, or serving in a war. Adults and children alike feel
the impact of war. A 2022 Children In Conflict report from Save The Children found that 468
million (one in six) young people worldwide lived in a “conflict zone,” and 1.7 billion young
people (two out of three) live in a country impacted by conflict. Children are also sometimes
used as spies, soldiers, or cooks in conflicts around the world, Unicef reports.
War trauma is often considered to be something soldiers experience in combat zones, where
they witness atrocities like mass death and destruction. While this is undoubtedly the case, war
trauma also impacts civilians in war zones and active duty members not stationed in direct
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combat. “Support personnel and medical personnel come back with trauma from seeing,
treating, or in some cases even hearing about traumatic events,” says Dr. Christopher Hansen,
a licensed professional counselor and a clinical supervisor at Thriveworks in San Antonio, Texas,
and a disabled Navy veteran. Here’s what you need to know about what causes war trauma, the
associated mental health disorders, and available treatment options.
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What causes war trauma
Like any lasting painful experience, war trauma can take many forms — both for soldiers and
civilians. According to Hansen and Dr. Jim Jackson, a trauma expert and a professor of
medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center, causes of war trauma include:
Witnessing war unfold
Direct combat experience
Seeing people wounded, mutilated, or killed
Inflicting pain or killing another person
Giving orders that lead to other people’s pain or death
“These traumas may be experienced while training or while deployed,” says Kiva Harper, a
licensed clinical social worker and associate professor specializing in trauma treatment. A range
of factors can determine whether a person develops war trauma and the degree to which it
impacts them. Here’s an overview of the factors that can cause war trauma:
Inadequate training
Soldiers should undergo training before deployment that helps prepare them for what they will
face, but the quality of those exercises can determine how much trauma affects them. “People
who have been trained effectively and realistically as well as indoctrinated into mental health
resources tend to do much better than personnel that don’t have that type of training,” says
Hansen. “Training cannot prepare you for every eventuality or situation in war, but what it does is
instill confidence, muscle memory, and resilience.” However, Harper notes that the realities
faced during training might also cause trauma.
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Previous trauma
Your mental state and past experiences determine how certain things impact you—including war
trauma. As Harper explains, people who have lived through trauma before being in a war — and
who might still be dealing with the mental impact of it — have a higher likelihood of
developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from deployment.
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Regular exposure
One traumatic experience can have a negative impact, and regular exposure to similar or
equally painful events can take an even more intense toll. Jackson emphasizes that “repeated
exposures to trauma can make people especially likely to struggle with mental health and
functional problems of various kinds.” This applies to war trauma, too, meaning the more
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regularly people are exposed to war the more intense their trauma may be. These instances can
particularly affect someone in the long term when witnessing something (or potentially having to
do something) at odds with their morals.
What mental health conditions can stem from
war trauma?
As if experiencing war trauma itself isn’t enough, it can also impact a person’s mental health
long-term. Trauma affects each person differently and can cause or exacerbate mental health
conditions — most notably, PTSD. According to a 2019 report from the World Health
Organization, 22% of people who live in conflict areas have a mental health disorder, such as
PTSD, anxiety, or depression. For 9% of people, the condition is moderate to severe. Here are
some mental health conditions that commonly stem from warm trauma:
PTSD
PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that stems from going through or even learning about one or
more traumatic events.
PTSD symptoms include:
Emotional numbness
Difficulties with cognition and memory
Dissociation
Reduced or a complete lack of pleasure for previously enjoyed things
Physical pain like headaches
According to the National Center for PTSD, about 7% of veterans will experience PTSD at some
point in their life, compared to 6% of civilians. However, that number jumps to 13% when looking
specifically at women veterans. One of the causes of this might be military sexual trauma —
which one in three women veterans who received Veterans Affairs healthcare reported
experiencing. The same was true for one in 50 men. PTSD is one of the most regular mental
health diagnoses received by people who have experienced military sexual trauma. As a whole,
people who use Veterans Affairs healthcare have a higher rate of PTSD at 23%.
Anxiety and Depression
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Yes, as far as mental health disorders go, trauma is most commonly associated with PTSD.
However, people who experience war trauma might also develop into anxiety or depression.
According to all the mental health professionals we spoke to, these conditions can occur on their
own or in tandem with PTSD. Military sexual assault, specifically, is also frequently associated
with depression.
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Treatment for war trauma
It can be helpful for people to get mental health support before entering
a war zone.
PTSD and other mental health conditions can’t necessarily be prevented in people who
experience trauma, such as service members. However, having support systems on hand and
working with mental health professionals before entering a war zone — if possible — can be
beneficial. Effective war trauma treatment options can also help people cope with mental health
conditions, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. PTSD-specific treatment, in particular,
could be especially significant in helping a person work through the disorder.
So, what are some treatments for war trauma-induced PTSD? “PTSD is treated with a handful of
therapies that have been found to work especially well, like cognitive processing therapy (CPT,)
prolonged exposure therapy (PE), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
(EMDR),” says Jackson. “These therapies can greatly improve outcomes, reduce PTSD
symptoms, and help enable people to function better in many different areas, like work, home,
and relationships.” Veterans and civilians who lived through a traumatic event in war can benefit
from mental healthcare at any point in their lives. This support might come from a veteran-
oriented organization like Veterans Affairs or a different mental health provider.
How Charlie Health can help
If you are dealing with trauma, including war trauma, Charlie Health is here to help. Charlie
Health’s virtual intensive outpatient program (IOP) offers group, individual, and family therapy to
people in need of more than once-weekly therapy, including trauma survivors. Our
compassionate healthcare providers utilize a range of techniques to help people understand and
cope with mental health conditions, including PTSD and war trauma. Fill out our short form to
get started today.
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