DENVER , Colorado ( CNN ) -- On a good day , Keri Christensen spends the day watching her children . She prepares their meals , gets them ready for school and helps them with their homework . Keri Christensen was nearly a victim of a roadside bombing in Iraq when the convoy in front of hers was hit . But this housewife and mother of two is far different than most of the women living in her Denver , Colorado , suburb . She 's an Iraqi war veteran , among the first women in the United States to be classified as combat veterans . Even though she 's been home from the war for more than 2½ years , she 's now fighting another battle -- this one with depression , nightmares , sleeplessness and anger . She says all of it is caused by her time in Iraq . `` I start feeling those feelings of ' I 'm not worthy . I ca n't raise my family , ' `` Christensen said . Women have made up about 11 percent of the military force in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past six years , according to the Department of Defense ; that 's an estimated 180,000 women in the war zone . The figure dwarfs the 41,000 women deployed during the Persian Gulf War and the 7,500 who served during the Vietnam War , mostly as nurses . Unlike past wars , women are assigned to combat support roles . Many are seeing violence firsthand in an unconventional war . Watch CNN 's Randi Kaye report on female veterans » . As a member of the National Guard , Christensen transported tanks in Iraq . She says she was shot at and was nearly a victim of a roadside bomb when a convoy in front of hers was hit . `` You have this fear , 'Oh , my God , I still have to go through there , ' `` she recalled. `` 'Am I going to make it ? ' `` Christensen says that she was sexually harassed by a superior while serving in Iraq and that the harassment added to the pressure created by just being in a war zone . `` I just know it took a big toll on me because I was trying to deal with it myself . Just trying to be a soldier , '' Christensen said . In 2007 , the Department of Veterans Affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts . The VA diagnosed 60,000 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder . Of those , 22 percent of women suffered from `` military sexual trauma , '' which includes sexual harassment or assault , compared with 1 percent of men . Christensen , who has been diagnosed with PTSD , says she does n't like leaving her comfort zone . She does n't drive more than two miles from her home . `` When I get outside my familiar safe territory , I start to feel overwhelmed , '' Christensen said . `` It gets foggy . Not sure where I 'm really going . Something comes over me where I do n't feel like I have control over it . '' `` PTSD is actually something that shows up over time , and so the natural recovery process does n't happen , '' said Dr. Darrah Westrup , who counsels female veterans at the VA-run Women 's Health Clinic in Menlo Park , California . `` So three months out or so , you find yourself still not sleeping , still with nightmares , still having intrusive thoughts , '' Westrup said . Westrup says another factor contributing to poor mental health is the high amount of sexual trauma reported by women screened by the Veterans Administration . She says many women have trouble reporting the trauma to their superiors out of fear of retribution . `` When you are in a war zone , your survival depends on people watching your back and on unit cohesion , '' Westrup said . `` The same individuals who attacked you are those who will be protecting you , or you 'll be fighting alongside the next day . '' Christensen receives counseling and group therapy sponsored by the VA . However , the military has said there is no merit to her claims that she suffered military sexual trauma . Like many who suffer from post-traumatic stress , Christensen still has her ups and downs . She says she 's just working to get past the feelings of guilt , shame , loss of control and low self-esteem . `` I do n't think we 'll ever be the same . I think that you can learn to cope with it , and that 's what I 'm learning right now , '' she said . E-mail to a friend .
Dept . of the Veterans Administration diagnosed 7,500 veterans with PTSD . Women have comprised 11 percent of military force in VA and Afghanistan . Iraq : 22 percent of women , 11 percent of men suffered sexual trauma in military . Expert says women afraid to report sexual harassment for fear of retribution .