Military admits: We don't understand trauma
New Zealand Herald
David Fisher Senior reporter of the year
Saturday Feb 1, 2014
Military chiefs have admitted they do not have a "well-developed" understanding of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
It comes as Weekend Herald inquiries reveal low levels of reported PTSD in the New Zealand Defence Force and no statistical collection of the mental health problem by Veterans Affairs.
There have been just 13 cases of PTSD relating to New Zealand deployed to combat zones in the last 10 years.
The number equates to half of the level established by Australian Defence Force research which pegged the level at 2 per cent for each deployment.
Research found 8 per cent of current serving members suffered PTSD.
PTSD is caused by exposure to stressful events and can lead to anger, aggression, flashbacks, sleeplessness and a range of other mental and physical health issues.
It follows figures from NZDF showing there have been five suicides in the past two years, against five in the previous eight years.
New Zealand's military partners are having fallout from years of combat in Afghanistan with increased mental health problems and a soaring suicide rate among veterans.
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