Gates acknowledges stress on families
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 23, 2008 17:25:43 EDT
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today acknowledged the stress that the extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are placing on military families, saying the Pentagon is concerned and monitoring “very closely” the domestic violence that can result.
“We’re obviously very concerned about stress on the force, and particularly those [troops] that have deployed multiple times,” Gates told reporters following a day of briefings during his first-ever visit to Fort Bragg, N.C. “We obviously want to stop all kinds of violence among our soldiers and their families.”
Three Fort Bragg female soldiers and one Marine have been killed off post in the past year. While no definite link has been established between those deaths and combat stress, many experts and analysts point to numerous incidents nationwide in concluding that the wars’ long deployments and shorter recuperation times are increasing levels of alcohol and drug abuse, and the domestic violence that can result.
Gates said he receives a monthly report from the Army, the most heavily deployed force, on levels of domestic violence, alcohol-related incidents and divorce rates.
“We and the Army are monitoring it very carefully,” he said. “We have a lot of programs in place to try and deal with this.”
Those programs, he said, seek ways to better identify and treat post-traumatic stress disorder, which “often can lead to some of these problems.”
Gates said the Pentagon is committed to better understanding PTSD as well as traumatic brain injury — both hallmark injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan due to insurgent attacks with roadside bombs. A total of $900 million has been budgeted in the new fiscal year to combat and treat PTSD and TBI, with $300 million of that devoted to research, he said.
go here for more
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_gates_combatstress_102308w/
Showing posts with label stress on families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress on families. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Mental illness stresses families
Mental illness stresses families
By David Riley/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Sep 06, 2008 @ 11:27 PM
Editor's note: This is part 2 of a weekly series on the stigma of mental illness.
Mental illness cost Melissa almost everything she had, including custody of her 11-year-old daughter.
Living in and out of homeless shelters in Connecticut, she was ready to give up a year ago. It was her adult son who helped her find another chance at rebuilding her life in Massachusetts.
But not all of Melissa's family has been able or willing to maintain ties with her. Aside from a sister, Melissa said most of her relatives no longer speak to her.
Family, she said, also is where some of her struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress began.
"It's good to have a good upbringing," said Melissa, a client at Programs for People, a Framingham nonprofit that helps the mentally ill recover and succeed. "I didn't."
Melissa and three other clients at Programs for People spoke with the Daily News recently about their illnesses and recovery. They also discussed their firsthand experiences with misunderstanding, fear and suspicion of mental illness that they and others face in many aspects of their lives.
"I think the public, they don't understand mental illness, and they don't want to," Melissa said.
Melissa's story illustrates the complex role of family in mental illness. She believes her upbringing contributed to her disease, and family relationships have strained or broken during her battle. Yet it was also a son who helped point her toward recovery and a daughter who motivates her today.
click post title for more
By David Riley/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Sep 06, 2008 @ 11:27 PM
Editor's note: This is part 2 of a weekly series on the stigma of mental illness.
Mental illness cost Melissa almost everything she had, including custody of her 11-year-old daughter.
Living in and out of homeless shelters in Connecticut, she was ready to give up a year ago. It was her adult son who helped her find another chance at rebuilding her life in Massachusetts.
But not all of Melissa's family has been able or willing to maintain ties with her. Aside from a sister, Melissa said most of her relatives no longer speak to her.
Family, she said, also is where some of her struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress began.
"It's good to have a good upbringing," said Melissa, a client at Programs for People, a Framingham nonprofit that helps the mentally ill recover and succeed. "I didn't."
Melissa and three other clients at Programs for People spoke with the Daily News recently about their illnesses and recovery. They also discussed their firsthand experiences with misunderstanding, fear and suspicion of mental illness that they and others face in many aspects of their lives.
"I think the public, they don't understand mental illness, and they don't want to," Melissa said.
Melissa's story illustrates the complex role of family in mental illness. She believes her upbringing contributed to her disease, and family relationships have strained or broken during her battle. Yet it was also a son who helped point her toward recovery and a daughter who motivates her today.
click post title for more
Friday, August 29, 2008
Divorce stalks Katrina survivors
Divorce stalks Katrina survivors
Story Highlights
Katrina survivor Ricky Murray is trying to save his marriage
Despite heart attack, he's still trying to repair his flood-damaged home
After three years in FEMA trailer, wife is talking about divorce
Pastor says he's busy counseling couples who are stressed out; many split up
By Sean Callebs
CNN
(CNN) -- Ricky Murray was having a miserable year long before a storm named Gustav started threatening the Gulf Coast area. Now he's afraid he will lose his family because of a previous hurricane.
It has been three years since Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people when it struck, scouring Mississippi beach towns down to bare sand and rupturing the protective levees around New Orleans, Louisiana.
Eight feet of floodwater left Murray's home in Slidell, Louisiana, uninhabitable. He's been working on the house, but he and his wife and three children have been living in a FEMA trailer.
Murray also lost his job. He recently suffered a heart attack -- brought on in part by stress, according to doctors. But what's really agonizing for him is that his wife of 16 years says she is considering a divorce. Watch their difficult living situation »
to read more go here
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/29/broken.homes.katrina/index.html
Story Highlights
Katrina survivor Ricky Murray is trying to save his marriage
Despite heart attack, he's still trying to repair his flood-damaged home
After three years in FEMA trailer, wife is talking about divorce
Pastor says he's busy counseling couples who are stressed out; many split up
By Sean Callebs
CNN
(CNN) -- Ricky Murray was having a miserable year long before a storm named Gustav started threatening the Gulf Coast area. Now he's afraid he will lose his family because of a previous hurricane.
It has been three years since Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people when it struck, scouring Mississippi beach towns down to bare sand and rupturing the protective levees around New Orleans, Louisiana.
Eight feet of floodwater left Murray's home in Slidell, Louisiana, uninhabitable. He's been working on the house, but he and his wife and three children have been living in a FEMA trailer.
Murray also lost his job. He recently suffered a heart attack -- brought on in part by stress, according to doctors. But what's really agonizing for him is that his wife of 16 years says she is considering a divorce. Watch their difficult living situation »
to read more go here
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/29/broken.homes.katrina/index.html
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