Veterans group warns of PTSD risk from Call of Duty

The non-profit group Stay Strong Nation is dedicated to raising awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (referred to by the group as simply PTS) and Traumatic Brain Injury. In doing so, it is not alone, but its work on the island of Hawaii is somewhat unique when many in America are focused on the contiguous 48 states. According to the official website, the group’s primary goal outside of raising general awareness of the issue, is raising funds for a treatment facility - as well as being actively engaged in research.

That research has apparently implicated Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops. According to a press release given to HULIQ News, the group mentions the risk violent games pose to children - and the press attention given that issue over the years - but that the risk posed to veterans suffering from PTSD is an overlooked issue. The simulation aspects of the game can serve as “angerous and sometimes volatile triggers for veterans suffering from PTS.”

Among the best-selling video games during 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops is engineered as a real-life simulation of war-like scenarios based in different combat zones. It’s been reported that violent video games may pose a danger to children, but often lost in that conversation are the millions of veterans who lived the real thing and today are left trying to put their lives back together.

Experts at Stay Strong Nation say the bigger danger resides within veterans who have PTS but fail to admit or identify the symptoms. “The scariest part of PTS is when a veteran experiences symptoms such as flashbacks, or feelings of panic and depression, yet unknowingly brushes it under a blanket of machismo,” said Gresford Lewishall, vice president of the organization. “Veterans either play or have exposure to the games and subsequently feel like they’re back in Afghanistan or Iraq in life or death situations. Their heart beat accelerates and they feel a sense of unease come over them.”

Veterans coping with PTS/TBI endure daily reminders, often unintentional by most Americans, that serve as triggers causing emotional flashbacks that are sometimes severe. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops act as a trigger whereby veterans think back to the realities of some of war’s darkest moments, from a blown out tire on a jeep to carrying a deceased fellow soldier back from enemy territory.

Stay Strong Nation urges all veterans to realize the inherent dangers involved in playing or having exposure to war-simulation video games.

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