Military And Mental Health Stigma

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

Combat veterans are among the highest at risk for issues in transitioning form military life to civilian. Many potentially suffer from both physical and/or mental traumas. Many veterans and even active duty services members have allowed the unofficial culture of if you need mental or medical help you are weak. Many military families are also afraid of utilizing family support mechanisms out of fear of

1. The purpose of this paper is to identify the best method for the United States Air Force (USAF) to eliminate the stigma of mental health issues. These solutions included quarterly mental health education programs, educating Airmen on different types of mental health issues and their signs, and educating of its leaders to recognize and address mental health issues in their Airmen by gaining their trust and encouraging them to seek help at the onset of signs or symptoms.

PTSD, depression, and the lack of treatment should all be taken into consideration when thinking about the military. Depression in soldiers can be caused by the length of deployment because they don’t see their families or friends for months.

The main point of this article was that recently deployed service members and their families are affected by the deployment. A research was conducted in order to see what kinds of effects deployment had on military families, to include if a service member returned with symptoms of

Studies indicate that 56% to 87% of service members experiencing psychological distress after deployment report that they did not

As we learn more about the cause and effect of PTSD we can better equip ourselves to help those in need. It is a process that has a clear beginning but an unclear ending. A person who can function normally for many years after seeing combat may find it increasingly difficult to sit in a classroom day after day. With raising awareness on not only the severity but the scope of impact of mental health disorders it can eliminate the stigma of weakness and get these men and women who have put themselves second much of their lives the help they

Haynie believes the cause of this distorted reporting is due to three main problems: money, The Bedford Guide for College Writers, 10th edition, includes the article: “As Attitudes Shift on PTSD, Media Slow to Remove Stigma,” by Mike Haynie. Haynie, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is also the founder and executive director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, at Syracuse University (546). In the article, Haynie theorizes “some in the media continue to perpetuate a stigma linking military service to mental illness and violence” (547). He reiterates President Bill Clinton’s imperative that “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of.’

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of

According to a study constructed by JAMA Psychiatry, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association, explained that one out of five soldiers, who have enlisted into the military have suffered from a mental disorder (Hastings). With this statistic, there are doubts regarding the military’s assessments of the enlisted. Matthew Nock, a Harvard University psychologist, led a study on mental disorders in the military, and concluded that

scored lower on reported post-deployment social support than others. Also, those who utilized treatment did not report lower stigma levels. However, concerns about discrimination were significantly higher in participants who received psychotherapy and medication than in both other groups. The other groups being psychotherapy alone, medication alone, or no treatment. These concerns about discrimination include items in a questionnaire such as “I believe my employer will discriminate against me because I am receiving mental health care”. This fear of discrimination is another form of a stigma. Employers shouldn’t discriminate against those receiving mental health care, instead they should positively affirm them utilizing resources to address

T. Stecker, J. Fortney, F. Hamilton, and I. Ajzen, 2007, address that mental health symptoms have the likelihood to increase within post deployment for military veterans, especially for the ones who have seen combat. An estimated quarter of recent war veterans who are currently receiving care in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System have reported mental health problems. Soldiers who have served in Iraq come home suffering from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Statistics of Iraq soldiers meeting the criteria for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is greater than the soldiers who served in Afghanistan. The mental health symptom rates for soldiers who served in Iraq were as high as 20% for PTSD, 18% for anxiety, and 15% for depression.

A service member’s emotional and psychological issues are not like malfunctions of a piece of equipment and must not be treated as a troubleshooting problem in a technical manual. And yet this seems to be the only way the military, as a whole, knows how to address the issue of a service members mental health. It requires a holistic approach that is not currently embraced by the military. Historically, the military has been ill-equipped to handle the shifting nature of the psychological issues created by introducing a service member to the battlefield.

The three articles are similar in a way that all of them clearly defined where the three components of the COSC fit in the military culture and provided analysis on how they play a role on destigmatizing mental health disorders and advancing the Mental health needs of service members and their families that needs it. The articles illustrated how unit leaders can recognize distress as indicated by the four color zones (Ready or Green, Reacting or Yellow, Injured or Orange, and Ill or Red). These explained the relationship of unit leaders and medical personnel on the distressed service member and their relationship with unit (cohesiveness and support) towards recovery, causes of stress, and when referrals are warranted.