EDITORIAL — Worse than the physical wounds

During a recent visit to the Army General Hospital where he visited soldiers wounded in clashes with terrorists in Lanao del Sur, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised to support programs that assist battle casualties and promote the welfare of soldiers and their families.

The president must have meant taking care of their immediate and physical injuries. No doubt this is good as our soldiers deserve a lot for risking and even sometimes laying down their lives to protect our freedom.

However, we would also like to suggest expanding care for our wounded/retired soldiers to mental care as well. By this we mean helping them deal with any mental issues and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

PTSD isn’t something many retired servicemen talk about, partly because their training in the service taught them how they just have to “tough it out” during difficult situations. And leaving the service this is still the attitude of many. This is also partly because until late there has been little to no support for PTSD here.

Even in the US, despite all the medical advances they have made, PTSD still remains an issue among veterans. It’s a problem that has been rearing its ugly head as of late, with more and more of their veterans feeling more and more dissociated from the people and the society they once protected, sometimes with tragic results.

We need not look far to see how our own veterans can suffer from their demons, with tragic consequences. Remember the case of William Ragos? He was the former soldier shot dead in Quezon City in April 21, 2020 after he failed to respond to policemen enforcing quarantine lockdown.

That he was shot dead by a cop who already drew his gun even if the situation didn’t warrant it is another issue. Ragos was suffering from a mental illness and was unable to get his usual medication because of the lockdown and just spaced out outside.

We are sure many others are suffering in their own way, but have nowhere to turn to and are just choosing to “tough it out” as was ingrained in their training for military service.

We hope they get the help they deserve, because the scars suffered by the mind are sometimes worse than the wounds suffered by the body.