Many Frontline Troops Turn To Meds To Cope

Many Frontline Troops Turn To Meds To Cope
David Martin: They're Using Anti-Depressants, Sleeping Pills To Combat Stress Of Battle

June 10, 2008


(CBS) As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, we're learning that a large number of troops are turning to medication to deal with the stress of battle.

Each year, between 20 and 40 soldiers are evacuated from war zones for mental problems brought on by combat, says CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin, and many more stay in the battle with the help of medication.

A recent survey found 12 percent of soldiers in Iraq reported taking either anti-depressants or sleeping pills. That works out to about 19,000 soldiers, half of them using anti-depressants.

"We are in new territory," Martin quoted an Army psychiatrist as saying, meaning, Martin explained, that never before have anti-depressants without dangerous side effects been available to soldiers facing repeated combat tours.

Starting in the late 1980s, anti-depressants that didn't cause dizziness, drowsiness and other complications began to come on the market. Then, Martin observed, came Iraq and Afghanistan, with their multiple combat tours and demands for increasing numbers of troops -- and the Pentagon approved prescribing drugs such as Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil for soldiers who otherwise might have to be evacuated from the war zone.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has become one of the signature wounds of this war," Martin pointed out. "Now, anti-depressants are emerging as one of the signature medications."

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Tuesday, "This high rate of the use of anti-depressants and sleeping pills is really just a symptom of a deeper problem. We're sending folks back over and over again in a tremendously stressful environment, and it's taking its toll. The anti-depressants and sleeping pills are one way that the military and the individuals are trying to meet that threat."
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