Few civilians can begin to understand what war is like. Even fewer can understand post-traumatic stress disorder, a disability a large percentage of war veterans return with. Like many disabilities, a stigma is attached to PTSD, and several veterans find it difficult to return to living a normal life. Disability can prevent people from getting or keeping jobs and disabled people may not have access to the help they need.

However, the U.S. government is planning to relax the rules on PTSD. Veterans would be able to seek benefits for PTSD without documenting the events that caused it. They would still have to prove they served the Army in war zones and stressful situations that could cause PTSD.

The former rules discriminated against another minority group: women. Because women are not on the front lines in war, they had difficulty getting benefits for PTSD despite still being in danger and stressful, PTSD-inducing situations. Veterans also complained that finding these records was difficult and time-consuming.

Costs of the new rule are estimated at $5 billion over the next few years. The Department of Veteran Affairs is spearheading the effort and the new regulations could be in effect by Monday.
Disability benefits include free healthcare, including physical and mental and can cost between $200 and $2,000.

At least 150,000 veterans from war in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD by public health institutions. 78,000 veterans have been approved for PTSD disability benefits.

Symptoms of PTSD, according to The New York Times, include numbness, emotional irritability and flashbacks.

Reaction to the new rule is mixed, with some veterans happy for a simple process and mental health care providers afraid it will cause economic dependency on the VA instead of encouraging veterans to get jobs.