Canada's Soldiers:Soldier On doesn't cut it anymore

Health officials fear rising troop death toll could add to emotional issues

Each death on the dusty roads and battlefields of Afghanistan creates a new group of soldiers who must cope with the loss of a friend and comrade.

Those left behind often talk about the need to "soldier on," and they resolve to use the death as a point of pride to complete Canada's mission to help secure Afghanistan for future generations.

Health-care officials worry that when soldiers return home from overseas, they can have difficulties including sleeplessness, nightmares and other symptoms that can affect their day-to-day lives.

The loss of a fellow soldier can be particularly frustrating, says Dr. Harvey Smith, who runs a clinic in Calgary dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It's more than just the trauma or violent loss of a comrade. There's a sense of responsibility for your partner that goes along with that," explains Smith, a psychologist who spent 20 years in the military.

"You'll find people will question what they could have done or should have done differently and so it's more than just the loss, it's the feeling of responsibility for their co-worker or their buddy."

Eighty Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet was found dead in his sleeping quarters at Kandahar Airfield .

A feeling of numbness, along with anger and an inability to cope, is a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Once known as shell shock, its sufferers were originally viewed as cowards. But that has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, and it's now accepted that psychological wounds are debilitating and can ruin a life.

"For a normal soldier, you see their pride in what they do and their focus on the mission," says Smith, who manages the Carewest Operational Stress Injury clinic, which treats military veterans suffering from the disorder.

"We see the ones for whom things are not going well. Stress and trauma takes its toll on people and on good soldiers, too, who are really skilled, proud, capable people."

Canada's combat mission means a growing number of soldiers will probably be forced to battle not only post-traumatic stress, but a range of mental disorders, says a Winnipeg psychiatrist who researches mental health problems in the Canadian Forces.

Dr. Jitender Sareen was the lead author of a 2007 study that found 31 per cent of Canadian soldiers have symptoms of a mental disorder - ranging from depression to post-traumatic stress and substance abuse. (The website for the Canadian Mental Health Association says 20 per cent of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime, and other estimates put the figure closer to 25 per cent.)
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