Challenges of living with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder from the perspective of spouses: a qualitative content analysis study.
Zahra MaddahReza NegarandehSoheil RahimiShahzad PashaeypoorPublished in: BMC psychiatry (2024)
The consequences of PTSD-related injuries in veterans directly and indirectly affect the overall living conditions of their spouses. These spouses experience emotional detachment and constant rejection, leading to a decrease in their resilience against existing stressors and exposing them to disruptive and challenging issues in individual, family, and social dimensions of life that affect their physical and mental well-being. Therefore, these spouses require empowerment and access to social support in dimensions of educational, caregiving, therapeutic, and supportive. It is recommended that health policymakers pay special attention to designing up-to-date interventions to enhance the health of these spouses in physical, mental, spiritual, and social dimensions.