One Psychiatrist for 4,500 Troops
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Cases Rise in German Soliders in Afghanistan
The Germany armed forces' deployment in Afghanistan appears to be having an impact on soldiers' psyche. Several newspaper reports claim the number of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder is on the rise. And the Bundeswehr lacks psychiatrists to provide the necessary treatment.
The number of Bundeswehr soldiers affected by psychiatric problems has increased rapidly in recent months, with the number of those suffering from so-called post-traumatic stress disorder having risen particularly quickly, two German newspapers reported on Thursday.
Both of the dailies, the Rhein-Zeitung and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, referred to a request for information made to the defense affairs committee of the German federal parliament by politician Elke Hoff of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). "Up until now the government has neglected to do anything to better the psychological care and treatment of soldiers," she told the Süddeutschen Zeitung.
According to the newspapers, the number of soldiers suffering first symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder had risen by over 30 percent in the first six months of 2009. This resulted in a total of 163 cases. Last year, a total of 245 cases of the psychiatric disorder were reported in the military, with 226 of them occurring in Afghanistan. In 2006, only 55 soldiers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. During the past six months, attacks on German forces in Aghanistan have risen.
read more here
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,651015,00.html
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Sunday, September 27, 2009
PTSD a wound to humans and not nation
While this is about German soldiers in Afghanistan, it just goes to show that PTSD does not know one nation from another. It only knows humans. The US has a bigger problem with troops and PTSD because we have more of them. It's as simple as that but also we don't take care of them any better than other nations take care of their own.
IMHOTEP (Wisdom to You!),
ReplyDeleteI am a 31 year old US Marine Infantry Veteran. I am writing to inform you of my blog site "Vigilant & Vigorous Verification Validating the Vindication of Veterans from Vicious Vilification":
http://veight.wordpress.com/
Thank you for your concern on these most exigent of issues facing this nation and the world. I invite you to regularly visit my site for updates on Veterans mental health issues highlighted in the news (or better yet, subscribe via RSS feed: http://veight.wordpress.com/feed/). Also, I strongly encourage you to view the letter I composed and mailed to 25 or so senior military officials highlighting my causes of concern entitled "Our Brave Warriors Deserve Much More!":
http://sanity4servicemen.wordpress.com/
Open dialogue and collaboration is welcome in reference to any related Veteran issues. Once again, I truly appreciate your awareness and look forward to hearing from you.
NARMER
(Think with a Unified brain & Mind!),
Todd M. Skorich
“Todd M. Skorich’s tireless fight for justice in the care of mentally ill soldiers is exemplary and the kind of true leadership we need in America. I encourage all people of good will to take part in this honorable struggle for justice. God Bless you, Todd. Keep fighting for justice!”
-Vincent D. Lewis, National Leader, Black Cotton News Network