The Virtual World of Gaming and the Plight of War Veterans: A Guest Post by David Litwack
Gaming and war would seem to be as far apart from each other
as you can get. But while you’re in the midst of them, they share one thing in
common—a sense of being in an alternate reality.
I’ve always been fascinated by how much of what we consider
to be reality is subjective, how each of us bring our own experiences and
biases into play. But when we’re ripped from our normal lives and placed in
extreme circumstances, our reality becomes totally fragmented. Such is the case
with hospitals and war.
A couple of years ago, I became engrossed in the online
game, World of Warcraft, thanks to my son. I’m on the
east coast and he’s on the west, so we’d meet every Wednesday evening in the
virtual world of Azeroth, where our avatars would go on quests together. I was
struck by how immersed I became in the mood of the game as we wandered through
castles and crypts, solving riddles and vanquishing demons, how for a short
period of time, I could totally buy in to the alternate reality.
The fantasy gaming experience has a dream-like quality to
it, which led me to wonder: how would this experience affect the dreams of
someone whose reality has been fragmented by the trauma of war? These
concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together
in Along the Watchtower.
I began to research the effects of war on returning
veterans. I learned that 30% are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. That
means after six months they’re still dealing with flashbacks, disturbing
dreams, depression and difficulty re-assimilating into their former lives. And
that doesn't account for the many others who are seemingly able to adjust but
continue to deal with inner turmoil. The war experience changes all forever.
Many have suicidal thoughts (the suicide rate among veterans is triple that of
the general population. More soldiers have died by their own hand than in the
war itself). Many struggle with dark thoughts and have difficulty forming
relationships, unable to “turn off” the normal flight or fight syndrome,
leaving them suspicious in crowds and always on alert.
And then, there are the physical injuries. One of the ironic
successes of these recent wars is the advance in battlefield medicine. The
result is that far fewer die of wounds than in prior wars. The ratio of wounded
to dead in WWII was 1.1/1, in Vietnam 1.7/1. In Iraq, it’s 7/1. More are saved,
but more come home with debilitating, lifelong injuries. And 68% of the wounded
have some form or brain trauma, penetrating injuries from shrapnel or
non-penetrating concussions from the blasts of IEDs.
To learn more about brain injuries, I read In an
Instant, the story of Bob Woodruff. The brilliant Woodruff had just
been named co-anchor of ABC’s World News
Tonight. Then, while embedded with the military in Iraq, an
improvised explosive device went off near the tank he was riding in. Bob suffered
a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him. The book describes his
recovery and recounts how fragile the human brain can be. At one point, the
erudite Woodruff could rattle off the names of all prior U.S. presidents but
couldn't remember the names of his own children.
And I read about post traumatic stress. One of the best
books is Achilles in Vietnam. Written by Jonathan
Shay, a Vietnam War era PTSD counselor, it compares his clinical notes from
patients to the text from Homer’s Odyssey, showing how we as human beings have
dealt with war trauma across the millennia. He shows how war disrupts our moral
compass, leaving re-entry into normal life as a brutal and agonizing
experience.
Playing a make-believe fantasy game and going to war both
have a surreal quality that takes us out of our normal reality. But for war
veterans, the sense of normality doesn't return without a struggle.
The Wounded Warrior
Project is a wonderful organization, dedicated to
helping veterans adjust. Their stated mission is: “To foster the most
successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's
history.” How successful we’ll be at achieving that goal will tell a lot about
who we are. It’s one of the most important stories of our time.
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There Comes a
Prophet A thousand years ago the Darkness came—a time
of violence and social collapse. Nathaniel has grown up in their world of
limits, longing for something more. For what are we without dreams?
Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.
David Litwack, the once and
future writer, explores the blurry line between reality and the
Visit David on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
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