Getting Mental Health Care in a Combat Zone

Guest Post by
Meredith Walker

Getting Mental Health Care in a Combat Zone
With the suicide rate of active duty soldiers at an all-time high, the issues of mental health care for those in the military has never been more pertinent or more pressing. One of the major issues in mental health care in the field, however, is the stigma associated with needing psychiatric care, in a work culture that values strength, both physical and mental. Many feel that this stigma makes soldiers shy away from getting the health care they desperately need.

New figures from the conflict in Iraq suggest that as much as twenty percent of active duty soldiers and those who have recently returned home from Iraq may be suffering from some form of depression, anxiety, PTSD or emotional disturbance. This translates to nearly 340,000 individuals who could be wrestling with mental problems on their own, unable or embarrassed to ask for help.

This issue has been brought dramatically to the forefront by the May 2009 shooting of five soldiers at a counseling center by another solider, Sgt. John M. Russell, an individual whom officials had mandated get treatment from the counseling center. For this man, treatment was too late. Encouraging soldiers to get mental health help and to talk to someone about their feelings of stress or grief over lost comrades is essential to preventing future tragedies of this nature.

Even more pressing is the current realities of serving in the military. Today, many soldiers go out on three or four tours of duty, as opposed to the one or two served by most fighting in Vietnam, a conflict notorious for the war-induced trauma many soldiers who fought in it returned home with. Studies suggest that those going out for their third or fourth rotation are twice as likely to suffer mental health problems as those just coming into active duty.

Changes are being made to help soldiers get help, however. More soldiers are actively speaking to about their combat stress and the military is offering more combat stress clinics where soldiers can rest and recover. The biggest obstacle to overcome in helping soldiers get mental health care help, however, is the soldiers themselves who often feel weak or incapable of doing their duty if they seek out help. Many do not want to be regarded negatively by peers or commanders, and simply deal with the pain silently.

Today, many in the armed forces as well as veterans at home are advocating new awareness of stress-counseling programs and are encouraging commanding officers to set an example by seeking out treatments and showing all soldiers that it’s ok to need a shoulder to lean on, hopefully preventing future tragedies and ensuring better lives for all enlisted.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the masters in public health. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983@gmail.com

Anyone that wants to write a guest post is welcome to do so at anytime as long as it is helpful. email me at namguardianangel@aol.com with the post you want to ad in the body of the email. Due to constant crashes of my PC, I no longer open attachments.