PTSD on the rise among British servicemen and women

PTSD on the rise among British servicemen and women after decade of war
Mental trauma is taking an escalating toll on British servicemen and women after a decade of war, official figures show.
The Telegraph
By Sean Rayment
Defence Correspondent
17 Mar 2013

Statistics from the Ministry of Defence show that up to 11,000 serving members of the military have been diagnosed with mental conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Charities which help former Armed Forces personnel adjust to civilian life warned that large scale redundancies would mean that some of those in need of treatment would be leaving the support network if they lost their jobs.

The warning comes as a Sunday Telegraph investigation into the effects of being at war shows:

* Seven current or recently discharged soldiers apparently committed suicide last year, including one who had lost his two best friends during his unit’s tour of duty in Afghanistan;
* Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, there have been 123 suspected or confirmed suicides of serving personnel
* One charity expects a rise of up to 12 per cent in the number of cases of PTSD each year until at least 2018.
Last year, 2,550 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were treated for mental health issues, taking the total diagnosed since 2007 to 11,000 – a significant proportion of the 177,000 serving personnel.
Of those diagnosed last year, 176 were treated for psychoactive substance abuse including alcohol abuse; there were 1,662 cases of neurotic disorders, including 273 reports of PTSD; 547 cases of mood disorders, including depression and 167 cases of other mental and behavioural disorders.
read more here