Study: Soldiers' mental troubles delayed after return

Study: Soldiers' mental troubles delayed after return
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
By Pat ShellenbargerThe Grand Rapids Press
Tony Covell thought many of his fellow Iraq war veterans had escaped the emotional scars of combat, but often, their mental health problems were only delayed.
"It's been my experience that it's usually something that triggers it," said Covell, a Cedar Springs native badly burned by a roadside bomb in Iraq three years ago. "I know a lot of guys who seemed fine until they went to a Fourth of July celebration. Between the pops and the flashes, they couldn't handle it."
Even for those without an obvious trigger, an increasing number of war veterans report the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol abuse and other mental health concerns months after returning home, according to a study to be published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
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