Fallujah is the first opera on the Iraq War. Artbound documentary Fallujah: Art, Healing, and PTSD explores how the experience of war was transformed into a work of art. Watch the episodes debut Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m., or check for rebroadcasts here.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- an intense anxiety disorder, triggered by severe emotional trauma -- is alarmingly apparent in young men and women who have endured the ravages of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, Art therapists have reported remarkable results from work with combat veterans, explains The Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, adding, theorists have identified psychological and neurological mechanisms that explain the unique capacities of art therapy to promote recovery from PTSD.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs further states, Research on veterans suggests that 10 percent to 18 percent are likely to have PTSD, which was officially recognized as a diagnosis in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association. And non-profit Stop Soldier Suicide explains, Every day 22 plus veterans and one active duty soldier take their own lives. Burdened with the stigma associated with mental health issues and the military shame surrounding PTSD, they instead turn to suicide as their only option to relieve suffering.
Beyond talk therapy, group therapy and excessive medication, the American Art Therapy Association offers a more enlightened approach: Art therapy shows promise as a means of treating hard-to-treat symptoms of combat-related PTSD, such as avoidance and emotional numbing, while also addressing the underlying psychological situation that gives rise to these symptoms.
A painting by Jon Harguindeguy.
Many Iraq War veterans have been able to confront their own war-related demons by engaging in the creative process. They have in turn helped generate soul-stirring plays, visual art pieces and recently the opera, Fallujah, performed by Long Beach Opera at the Army National Guard Long Beach Armory in March. This opera had its genesis when Iraq War veteran Christian Ellis shared his war and PTSD experiences with Iraqi-American writer Heather Raffo. With these dialogues as background and inspiration, she created the Fallujah libretto, a true-to-life story about mothers and sons who are searching for meaning in life and for deeper connections with each other during and after involvement in the War.
Along with the compelling story and innovative score, combining Middle Eastern melodies with American pop, the production included images of the war projected onto the armory stage. Among the Iraq War veterans/PTSD survivors who worked on those images were Michael Hebert who fought in Fallujah, and Jon Harguindeguy who counsels other veterans through the Awaken Arts therapy program at the Long Beach VA Hospital.
Harguindeguy, 31, described himself as having grown-up normal and happy in Santa Fe Springs, CA. He took art classes in high school, and was into punk rock, tattoo culture and especially into graffiti, spray-painting walls and underpasses all over L.A. After high school, he joined the navy and was sent to Iraq in 2007. As a troubleshooter on the flight line, he was in an extremely high stress environment. With symptoms of a heart attack, he was sent to the E.R. and ended up spending eight long hours there, eventually receiving the diagnosis of acid reflux. While there, I saw and heard everything that came through, he said, a continuous parade of severely injured, bloodied people, punctuated by screaming and moaning. While he was not in active combat, he saw war's devastating effects firsthand in the E.R. That was the most traumatic experience I have ever had, he said. It also signaled the beginning of his PTSD.
Jon Harguindeguy, left, and Michael Hebert, right, at the Fallujah set, 2016.
Harguindeguy stayed in Iraq for another five months. I came home in 2008 and started drinking heavily. I got fired from jobs, and my father's death in 2009 drove me further to the bottle. In 2011, my mom gave me the ultimatum: Sober up or get out.' I kicked drinking cold turkey and began seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist, was diagnosed with PTSD, and put on medication.
In 2013, he heard about Awaken Arts at the VA hospital and became what he called a guinea pig for the new art therapy program. By using the visual arts instead of talking to describe his distress, I put a face on my trauma and began to understand my emotions, he said. Discussing his painting, Let Go, he explained, I was just getting into sobriety and needed to represent all that fueled my alcoholism leaving my body. It was the pain, hate, anger, guilt, and depression that I dragged back from my time in service being released through a final scream. After completing the program, Harguindeguy began working with Awaken Arts as a volunteer therapist; he has since then helped several dozen vets -- including a few guys who fought in Vietnam and one 93-year-old World War II veteran -- heal themselves through the visual arts, drumming and writing therapy.
Harguindeguy is attending Cerritos College, majoring in art, planning to receive his BFA, and then his masters degree in art therapy. By acknowledging his war related trauma and by channeling his experiences into creative projects, Jon Harguindeguy has found his mission in helping others with similar problems heal themselves through the arts. Awaken Arts is eternal bliss, he said.
A painting by Jon Harguindeguy.
The Sand Storm: Stories From the Front, by Louisiana native and L.A. transplant Sean Huze, recounts war atrocities as told by 10 Iraq War veterans. Huze, who found his own art therapy through his playwriting, wrote for the play's premiere: Amidst all the controversy surrounding the Iraq War, there is a story that remains untold. 'The Sand S
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Fallujah is the first opera on the Iraq War. Artbound documentary Fallujah: Art, Healing, and PTSD explores how the experience of war was transformed into a work of art. Watch the episodes debut Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m., or check for rebroadcasts here.
