Stigma And Mental Health Case Study

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

Veterans are everywhere throughout the United States, but just because they are everywhere, doesn’t meant they are getting the proper care. According to the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of America, “One in three veterans return home and suffer from some sort of mental health issue.” Their mental health issues vary from post traumatic stress disorder to anxiety and depression. The switch from fighting everyday to being home is tough for the veterans and they need to receive the proper treatment so they can possibly live a life as normal as possible. The state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, started a $810,000 program to support these veterans with their issues returning home. The transition is hard, not

Recent research has revealed that the majority of Veterans with a mental disorder under-utilize mental health services [3]. Among OEF/OIF Active Duty Veterans, only 23-40% of those with mental

As the war is coming to an end, we find more and more veterans coming home from a violent and brutal war. The services military personnel are given after being discharge is not enough to help convert them back into civilian life. I can speak from personal experience as my husband had many difficulties adjusting back to normal life. He exhibits symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he was always hyperventilating and had nightmares when he slept. Many veterans are not given services directly until they actually request help. Getting assistance has become extremely difficult for veterans as the Veteran Affairs makes service members prove that their injuries occurred in the line of duty. This documentation is hard to provide because many service member are taught to not show weakness. This discourages them to go to “sick call” or see a medic while serving. Every time I pass by downtown Los Angeles I see a larger population of homeless people in the area. Homelessness among veteran is a problem that will continue to grow if we do not help these men and women that protected our country. Many of services members choose to self medicate because the system in place makes it so difficult for them to get help. We need to change the system and help these warriors get therapy to talk about the trauma they have witness and get them the medical help they

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

The stigma that the military culture practice may be a barrier that will have an impact in the veteran receiving services or treatment in the future. This stigma has not only been seen in the military environment, but as cultural stigma as well among civilians. What is also a factor of not seeking treatment would include the type of ranking that was obtained in the military, the type of combat exposure experienced, the duration of their deployments, and any psychosocial environmental contexts that happened near them during their

A large segment of military veterans come from rural areas rather than more populated areas in the united states and in turn the access to care has often been identified as an issue in rural areas for veterans (Dittrich, et al., 2015). It has been suggested throughout the literature that a reason for service utilization difficulties is due to stigma and negative beliefs associated with mental health care among veterans (Dittrich, et al., 2015). According to (Fischner, et al., 2016), the VA provides health care to 3.3 million veterans living in rural areas or 36% of all veterans that are currently enrolled in the system. This study also showed that rural veterans were less likely to receive any type of mental

The wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have not only renewed the appreciation for our nation’s military, but it has also raised awareness about the sacrifices and the culture that is produced through the ranks in uniform and also amongst veterans. While it is important to note how the Department of Defense, and The Department of Veteran Affairs have significantly ramped up their efforts to address and identify the transitional problems that affect many veterans, barriers to treatment remain along with the challenge to provide successful outreach through benefits and mental health services to the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), veteran population.

Many schools across the country are lacking in their efforts to accommodate veterans. The challenges faced by our former men and women in uniform deal with handling post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide-risk, and adjusting to a class environment.

I. Introduction Although veterans go to war to fight for our freedom, they are not always treated with the respect and honor they deserve or given the help they need after returning home. When veterans come home after war, they bring a lot of baggage with them. The way we treat them as a society and the kind of medical or mental treatment they receive will help them to deal with that baggage and learn how to become assimilated into society.

In the past, veterans who disclosed suffering from signs of PTSD encountered a great deal of ignorance and bias. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.), veterans who had the illness were often considered weak, were rejected by comrades, and even faced discharge from military service. In fact, even physicians and mental health specialists often questioned the existence of the disease, which of course led to society’s misconception of PTSD in general. Sadly because of this existing prejudice it appears even today soldiers are still worried to admit having PTSD symptoms, and therefore they do not receive the proper support they need. While individuals are assured that their careers will not be affected, and seeking help is encouraged, most soldiers see it as a failure to admit having a mental health illness (Zoroya, 2013). Educating military personal of this illness, and making sure no blame is put on the veterans who encounter this disease is therefore vital.

Many psychosocial interventions are optional giving the veteran the autonomy to choose their level of involvement. Psychosocial interventions are minimally invasive proving to be non-maleficent. The nurse leader of these therapies and modalities often has utilized this in their own personal life prior to sharing with others demonstrating beneficence. Finally, the studies under review demonstrate a desire to give justice to all veterans with mental health concerns, not just those who need medications or more intense

Throughout my research of disabled veterans and their participation in recreation and sport programs, I have found some of the issues that needs to be addressed. One of them was mentioned by F. Ostovary and J. Dapprich who addressed challenges facing while transitioning into learning and work places. One of the bigger problems that veterans have to face is our society’s misunderstanding of military impact on human. Society lacks knowledge of different symptoms that veterans may struggle with and is quick to judge. (Hall, 2011) addressed this problem and stated that those symptoms sometimes are viewed as odd and inappropriate behaviors by the general public, and can be viewed as weakness by the veterans themselves. Individual pride or stigma for having any of the mental health issues or diagnosis, and the enhanced emotional suppression of the military culture often leads to increased isolation or depression. This issue is affecting veterans in not participating in any recreation programs or team sport activities. Some of the veterans tend to ignore the first symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder because of the social stigma that comes with it. It affects a person’s self-confidence and desire to fit in with their peers. With that being said, creating more programs where veterans feel comfortable and are able to connect to someone who may face similar challenges is very necessary. As a recreation and parks system’s member, I see room for big improvements and a chance to

References"Mental health matters" in advocacy. (2004). Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 15(2), 126-128. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/211208480?accountid=27965Blair, E. (2007). Evaluating an issue's position on the policy agenda: The bellwether methodology. The Evaluation Exchange, 13(1), 29.Dickens, B., Handa, S., Litz, B. and Vogt, S. (2010). Targeting Self-Stigma in Returning Military Personnel and Veterans: A Review of Intervention Strategies. Jo

However, for the purpose of this paper I will focus on the roles that stigma and social support as they describe in the study. This study is an example of results finding evidence contrary to my primary argument. The participants who utilized mental health services actually scored lower on reported post-deployment social support than others. In addition, 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 included 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 should not discriminate against those receiving mental health care, instead they should positively affirm their utilization of resources to address their issues. As for those who received care that reported low post-deployment social support, they could be receiving treatment because their symptoms have worsened because of low social support. Furthermore, not every veteran that is screened for modifying factors of PTSD is screened at the VA, which is where the study took place.