Within the last decade, the military has taken a strong approach to monitoring soldier’s wellness and well being. With the tempo and deployment schedule of today's military, some soldiers are having difficulty with one or more of the dimensions of wellness. The quiz we took is very similar to a series of questions we must now answer annually, and submit to be monitored. While I consider these quizzes and questions to be a useful tool, I feel I maintain a good self awareness regarding well being. Sometimes these questions are redundant, not providing useful feedback. Perhaps one of those reasons is I make a conscious effort to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle. As with anyone, my life has ebbs and flows within the different dimensions. The difference between myself and others is; I understand they are a part of our normal life cycle and I both address and deal with them as they occur. I tend to be more patient and forgiving than most people I encounter, which are the virtues that have helped me to …show more content…
I selected, "never" for the abstinence of use caffeine and alcohol, and I believe that was the best answer choice as is helps me to maintain my wellness. Having a cup a coffee in the morning and a whiskey and water for a night cap relaxes me. I relax because I enjoy them and not because I need them to relax. Although I spend more time at work than I want to, I ensure to make time for family and break the monotony of work, because being with family makes me feel at peace. I understand humans need to take mental, physical, and emotional breaks from their everyday life; which is why we should be more cognizant of time and how we use time throughout the day. I prioritize time between family, physical exercise, and work because I enjoy these things the most. Therefore, I maintain overall wellness by spending the majority of time in situations that do not cause
Evidence regarding PTSD and depression resulting from war are non-existent within the military’s enrollment pleas and promotional posters. Tom Brokaw, however, has proved that many soldiers are able to execute successful lifestyles and businesses without suffering the effects of PTSD or other military
With that in mind, the Army conducted the very first study on the mental health of Iraq troops which discovered that “one in eight [soldiers] reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder” (“1”). In addition to this, the study evinced that “less than half of those with problems sought help, mostly out of fear of being stigmatized or hurting their careers” (“1”).
The main problem discovered is military members are experiencing psychological problems from stressors due to deployments and not seeking help for their discomforts. Many of the military members returning
Military physical therapists (PT) have the ability to order imaging, prescribe medications, and run diagnostic tests that civilian physical therapists cannot do according to their Practice Act. Yet, numerous civilian clinics accept and operate under Direct Access, which is only available to some, not all military health care facilities; despite their higher level of autonomous training. In these instances, physician referrals are still warranted in order to receive PT to treat musculoskeletal disorders. If military PT clinics utilized the highest level of their licensure and worked under Direct Access as primary care providers, patient care would be more effective and efficient. Military PTs are an integral part of the medical team, and
In war or peace, the military is a hazardous profession, and extensive service means more risk of serious injury (Morin, 2011). One out of every ten veterans alive today was seriously injured at some point while serving in the military, and three-quarters of those injuries occurred in combat (Morin, 2011). For many of these wounded veterans, according to Pew Research Center, the physical and emotional consequences of their wounds have endured long after they left the military (Morin, 2011). Almost all veterans are proud of their service, in spite of serious injuries (Morin, 2011).
99). Similarly, both articles mentioned PTSD symptoms as being a barrier overlapping with depression. Baker, Kilmer, Lemmer, Goldsmith, and Pittman (2012) provided more in-depth information that focused primarily on PTSD and depression as to where Connor et.al (2013) looked into more barriers other than the overlapping symptoms as being reasons for barriers for treatment in combat veterans. Baker et. al (2012) examined 2 significant mental health issues including PTSD and depression in OEF/OIF combat veterans in their entire research study. These researchers found that health related quality of life (HRQoL) is highly affected in both disorders. Although the study used a clinician-administered PTSD scale (CAPS) as well as standardized and structured interviews conducting to the DSM-5 criteria, the fact alone remains that the overlapping symptoms could be difficult for veterans to understand. The participants in this study consisted of 200 OEF/OIF veterans who completed an interview as well as self-report questionnaires. The sample included 95% men, 45% active duty, 55% veteran; ages 19-52, median 27%; 77% non-Hispanic/Latino, and 80% white. The findings revealed that PTSD and depression have overlapping symptoms as anhedonia, concentration, and insomnia. In conclusion, the results from the
Veterans transitioning from the rigorous and demanding lifestyle of active duty to a blue collar nine to five face unique obstacles that if go unchecked can have substantial on their mental health and over all well-being. It’s no secret that PTSD has been a hot button issue in recent years. It’s a term that has become synonymous with those serving tours in combat zones such as Iraq an Afghanistan. This mental condition brings with it a plethora of symptoms including depression, anxiety and insomnia. Not to mention high levels of stress that can have varying effects from person to person. PTSD can also come as a result of occupations outside of the military such as police, fire fighters and health care workers. This essay will be exploring how
Even though there is a high risk of mental health problems among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been no systematic studies of mental health care utilization among these veterans after deployment (Hoge, Auchterlonie, and Milliken, 2006). Such studies are an important part of measuring the mental health burden of the current war and ensuring that there are adequate resources to meet the mental health care needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (Hoge, Auchterlonie, and Milliken, 2006). When a person is in the military, he or she may experience a lot of traumatic events; therefore, PTSD becomes more prevalent in their lives post-war. There was a research conducted after other military conflicts that has shown that deployment stressors and exposure to combat result in considerable risks of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, substance abuse, impairment in social functioning and in the ability to work, and the increased use of health care services (Hoge, Castor, Messer, McGurk, Cotting, & Koffman, 2004).Veterans in America have a history of mental illness, thus it is important that there are a variety of treatment options available for veterans. Most veterans with mental health problems refused to go in for services because
Background: VHA is currently monitored using a performance tool called the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL). There is specific metric for Mental Health that focuses on Veteran satisfaction. Unfortunately, the national survey does not provide enough information for us to identify areas for improvement. We are therefore conducting our own internal interviews using the TruthPoint assessment tool.
In preparing for my quantitative research I reviewed three articles relating to the wellbeing of the milspouse. The first article, “Military Deployment and the Spouse Left Behind”, Asbury and Martin (2011) included both male and female milspouses who were civilians or they were active duty personnel themselves. They gathered their data via a voluntary online survey which measured the spouses’ depression, anxiety, perceived social support, and marital discord. They focused on the differences between the civilian milspouses and the military milspouses and hypothesized that the military milspouses would experience more depression, have higher rates of anxiety, experience higher rates of isolation and marital discord than their civilian counter parts. They found no significant difference between the groups in depression, anxiety, or perception of social support. They did discover in the marital discord findings there was a significant statistical differences between participants with a spouse in the military and the participants with civilian a spouse. “The results showed that participants with military spouses had more marital discord being that 80% of the military milspouses and only 17% of the civilian milspouses had frequently considered divorce.” (2011, p. 47)
For some time now, many have held the philosophy that the ever increasing deployment tempo and lengths of deployments have held significant value in the rising rate of suicides amongst our military and veterans. Combat trauma and other traumatic events experienced while deployed has also been on the hot seat as a predominate factor for being at risk. Whereas combat deployments can have a profound impact on the psychological and cognitive functioning of an individual, it is being seen that there is a significant percentage of individuals committing suicide that have never deployed. Stressors from military life in general are having a huge impact on the suicide rates of military members and veterans. Cerel, Van de Venne, Moore, Maple, Flaherty, & Brown (2015) found that “Stress on the entire military due to the length of these recent conflicts and the burden placed on all the forces has been linked to suicide risk among those who were never deployed. Other non-combat military- related events, such as exposure to death from training accidents, are expected incidents during military service but are also associated with PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders” (p. 83).
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.
A model for health and well-being, Petty Officer Watson selflessly came to work at 0530 twice a week this period to work out with the A school students. As a team lead, he often filled in for his team mates rather than find a replacement when they were unable to fulfill their PT duty. Always a team player, he encouraged others in his office to go on runs and has participated in the Morale Committees 5k fun runs. He was an active participant in on base intramural leagues and shared his passion for recreation with others in the office. Petty Officer Watson followed a comprehensive fitness program targeted at completing marathon
Physical health, the one everyone thinks of when the word health comes up this has to do with your diet,physical activity and hygiene and sleep habits. In this portion of the survey I learned that I am physically healthy. My nutrition part of physical health is good too,but the part of physical health I need to work on is relaxing at least ten minutes a day.My quality of life would improve if I did this because I will be able to clam down and sleep better witch will improve my mood and focusedness