Almost 1 in 5 Troops Suffer From Depression, PTSD
Almost 1 in 5 of U. S. troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan now suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports a new independent study released on April 17. The report is the first major study outside of the government.
The researchers said that 18.5% of current and former service members surveyed reported symptoms of depression and PTSD. Using Pentagon data about the number of service members deployed, the researchers estimated that 300,000 troops were currently affected. Only about half of those with mental health problems had sought treatment, however.
The survey included 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the armed forces, both active duty and those who had completed their service.
The results of the study appear to be consistent with government reports. Although the Department of Defense, which covers the medical needs of active duty and reservists, has not released data, the Department of Veterans Affairs, which cares for those who are no longer in the military, reports that 120,000 persons have mental health problems. Around 60,000 of these suffer from PTSD with a slightly smaller number suffering from depression.
Col. Loree Sutton, who heads a new Pentagon center on brain injury, said officials have been working to add thousands more mental health professionals to help meet the demand for care.
The report, titled "Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery", was sponsored by a grant from the California Community Foundation and prepared by researchers from Rand Health and the Rand National Security Research Division.
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Truly they are the real heroes. We often tend to forget about them and their sacrifices.
It is sad to hear that many among them are undergoing depression
Leaving their families and home for so long and seeing violence, death it must be really tough on them. We must really salute to these Heroes
The government specifically recruits young individuals… once they get them they send them overseas… there is a lot of troubled images and scenery that our soldiers witness overseas (much more that we would ever see). IT IS DISTURBING ON MANY LEVELS. TO KNOW THAT A SOLDIER IS SUFFERING DEPRESSION IS A SHAME, BUT A BLESSING CONSIDERING WHAT SOME OF THE OTHERS HAVE TO LIVE (OR NOT LIVE) THROUGH.
In a study published in 1980 John P. Wilson, Phd. describes his clinical study of Vietnam Veterans and what happens to the young soldier’s ego and character development when they experience such traumas. The Vietnam veteran was unique, in that there was no one to talk to for 20 years. They existed in their own private hell which would later be termed as PTSD. Thirty years ago this study which was included in a book called: Strangers At Home:Vietnam Veterans Since the War 1980, predicted that the most critical time for veterans with unresolved issues WILL BE..Later Life Stage. This would have been good information to know, since my husband, who “cycled” with PTSD every ten years had it come on him like a vengeance and in July 2009 he shot himself, while under the “care” of the VA. He was given Sertraline which I would learn only AFTER the fact is just another name for Zoloft. In a book called “Soft Spots” a young Iraq veteran talks about his PTSD and the drinking and being given his 15 minute drive through medical exam and then “the pills” There are no “lessons learned” from Vietnam, this generation is going to see an epidemic of mental and emotional mayhem like no other, because of “the pills” They should be made illegal, as they are every bit as dangerous as any illegal narcotic out there. Now the military says they are trying to come up with a “screening” test that will alert them to individuals who have the potential to develop emotional disorder from war/combat. That’s something to think about…a military made up of individuals with no moral repulsion to war! God help us.