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How Will The U.S. Army Address the Mental Health Crisis In Soldiers and Veterans?
Book given to U.S. veterans in 1919 to help them readjust to civilian life (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last week the VA office released a report finding that 22 U.S. veterans committed suicide each day in 2010, which works out to just under one suicide per hour, a disturbing number by any account. And last month, the number of suicides of active duty soldiers again rose above the number who died in war, numbering 349, which is almost one per day. Some have pointed out that this reversal is partly because troops have pulled out of Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan is nearing its end. But the suicide rate among veterans is still disturbingly high, and it points to the ubiquity of mental health problems that come of war – and the fact that they do not abate with time alone.
The US Army has vowed to combat the growing issue of mental health problems in veterans and soldiers, but won’t reveal exactly how it plans do this till late next week. Army Secretary John McHugh said that he’s ordered Army officials to develop plans to improve the “physical, emotional and psychological resilience” of soldiers.
He added that plans had not come together as quickly as he hoped, but that “[a]ll of us in the Army are deeply concerned about this. I take the time to send a letter of condolence to every survivor, no matter how a soldier dies, and it’s chilling to me to see the growing number of letters I have to sign as a result of a soldier taking his or her own life.”
The move to address mental health more fully was partly spurred by last year’s controversy surrounding the retraction of some PTSD diagnoses at the Madigan Army Medical Center, which was later found to be unwarranted. “This effort in part began after several issues were raised about the inconsistencies with PTSD diagnosis,” said McHugh.
Part of the challenge will be to reduce the longstanding stigma associated with seeking mental health help, so that more veterans will seek the treatment they need. Though it’s improved a bit in recent years, this “stigma problem” is, very unfortunately, persistent in the general public, and likely at least as much an issue among veterans.
The plans to increase the psychological resilience of soldiers will apparently be revealed on February 15th. It is the hope that helping soldiers increase their resilience will reduce not only the number of suicides in veterans, but the incidence of other mental health problems, like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and of course post-traumatic stress disorder, which is so common among veterans. How exactly this will work remains to be seen, but it is likely (or should be) just one element of a multi-part effort involving better attention to mental health problems as they develop in soldiers, the resources available to veterans once they’re home, and changing our attitude towards mental health as a society.
“One of the most important things that could happen doesn’t happen because an Army secretary signs a directive.… It’s soldiers looking after other soldiers,” McHugh added. “We’re trying to give them tools of things to look for, so a friend can just put their arm around another soldier and say, ‘Come on, let’s get some help.’ In my judgment, there’s no better program than that.”
It will be interesting to see what happens next week when the plans are rolled out, and exactly what the Army has in story to address these issues that have gone on so long, and deserve better, more thoughtful, and effective solutions.
---this is why American goverment is now pushing for drones
Book given to U.S. veterans in 1919 to help them readjust to civilian life (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last week the VA office released a report finding that 22 U.S. veterans committed suicide each day in 2010, which works out to just under one suicide per hour, a disturbing number by any account. And last month, the number of suicides of active duty soldiers again rose above the number who died in war, numbering 349, which is almost one per day. Some have pointed out that this reversal is partly because troops have pulled out of Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan is nearing its end. But the suicide rate among veterans is still disturbingly high, and it points to the ubiquity of mental health problems that come of war – and the fact that they do not abate with time alone.
The US Army has vowed to combat the growing issue of mental health problems in veterans and soldiers, but won’t reveal exactly how it plans do this till late next week. Army Secretary John McHugh said that he’s ordered Army officials to develop plans to improve the “physical, emotional and psychological resilience” of soldiers.
He added that plans had not come together as quickly as he hoped, but that “[a]ll of us in the Army are deeply concerned about this. I take the time to send a letter of condolence to every survivor, no matter how a soldier dies, and it’s chilling to me to see the growing number of letters I have to sign as a result of a soldier taking his or her own life.”
The move to address mental health more fully was partly spurred by last year’s controversy surrounding the retraction of some PTSD diagnoses at the Madigan Army Medical Center, which was later found to be unwarranted. “This effort in part began after several issues were raised about the inconsistencies with PTSD diagnosis,” said McHugh.
Part of the challenge will be to reduce the longstanding stigma associated with seeking mental health help, so that more veterans will seek the treatment they need. Though it’s improved a bit in recent years, this “stigma problem” is, very unfortunately, persistent in the general public, and likely at least as much an issue among veterans.
The plans to increase the psychological resilience of soldiers will apparently be revealed on February 15th. It is the hope that helping soldiers increase their resilience will reduce not only the number of suicides in veterans, but the incidence of other mental health problems, like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and of course post-traumatic stress disorder, which is so common among veterans. How exactly this will work remains to be seen, but it is likely (or should be) just one element of a multi-part effort involving better attention to mental health problems as they develop in soldiers, the resources available to veterans once they’re home, and changing our attitude towards mental health as a society.
“One of the most important things that could happen doesn’t happen because an Army secretary signs a directive.… It’s soldiers looking after other soldiers,” McHugh added. “We’re trying to give them tools of things to look for, so a friend can just put their arm around another soldier and say, ‘Come on, let’s get some help.’ In my judgment, there’s no better program than that.”
It will be interesting to see what happens next week when the plans are rolled out, and exactly what the Army has in story to address these issues that have gone on so long, and deserve better, more thoughtful, and effective solutions.
---this is why American goverment is now pushing for drones
