Military
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A new focus on war’s mental wounds
A surge of new money is in the pipeline to help Department of Veterans Affairs and Army hospitals and clinics treat the mental wounds of men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. But the increased funding comes amid a surge in soldiers and veterans who may need help. About 38 percent of new veterans seeking VA care in April reported possible mental-health problems.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Depression May Play a Bigger Role in Readjustment Than Previously Thought in Vets
Depression may be an unrecognized readjustment problem for recently returning veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study released today at the American Psychological Association 115th Annual Convention. Researchers working with veterans referred for psychiatric evaluation from a primary care service found that major or minor depression was associated with domestic abuse and other family problems.
http://www.apa.org/releases/vetdepressionC07.html
Thursday, August 16, 2007
War Stress Pushing Army Suicides Higher
Repeated and ever-longer war-zone tours are putting increasing pressure on military families, the Army said Thursday, helping push soldier suicides to a record rate. There were 99 Army suicides last year - nearly half of them soldiers who hadn’t reached their 25th birthdays, about a third of them serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Overstretched armed forces leading to mental health problems
Prolonged periods of deployment among Britain’s armed forces is associated with mental health problems, finds a study published on bmj.com today.
PTSD in Today’s War Veterans: The Road to Recovery
The times—and both Pentagon and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policies—may be changing. Military doctors and combat medics are better educated about the early triggers for PTSD. Combat stress teams—usually medics with additional training in counseling and psychological assessment—now serve on the ground with combat units. A unique pilot program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has utilized the skills of social workers in pioneering “whole person” post-deployment care for service members struggling with PTSD and other impacts of war.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Army to Train Soldiers About Brain Injuries, Other Mental Health Concerns
The Army plans to begin a program today to educate every soldier about traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. The rare effort to break the perceived stigma within the military on mental health problems comes as increasingly more troops return from battle with serious but undiagnosed conditions.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Battle stress may lead to misconduct
Battle stress may cause combat-hardened Marines with clean records to get into trouble after they return home, according to new Marine Corps research. The Marines have a plan to help these troops but not the resources to implement it, said a leading mental health expert with the Corps. Stress-related misconduct can involve drug and alcohol abuse and may result in dismissal from the service and the denial of Department of Veterans Affairs services.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Mental illnesses appear common among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
Almost one-third of returning veterans who received health care at Veterans Affairs facilities between 2001 and 2005 were given a mental health or psychosocial diagnosis, according to a report in the March 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Multiple deployments increase stress, study says
Soldiers who have deployed to Iraq more than once reported higher levels of acute stress symptoms than soldiers serving their first tours, according to an Army report released Tuesday. Those with multiple deployments also suffered slightly higher levels of anxiety or depression than their first-tour counterparts, but the findings also showed that it is now easier for soldiers to get help in theater and the stigma of seeking counseling is decreasing.
Burnout • Military • PTSD • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
1-in-10 US Iraq veterans have stress disorder
Nearly one in 10 American soldiers who served in Iraq were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, most after witnessing death or participating in combat, a study said on Tuesday. Overall, 19.1 percent of soldiers and Marines who returned from Iraq met the military’s “risk criteria for a mental health concern” such as post-traumatic stress or depression, compared to 11.3 percent among veterans who served in Afghanistan and 8.5 percent from deployments elsewhere.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Iraq Affecting Mental Health of Troops
Thirty percent of U.S. troops surveyed have developed stress-related mental health problems three to four months after coming home from the Iraq war, the Army’s surgeon general said Thursday. The survey of 1,000 troops found problems including anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, said Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller number of troops, often with more severe symptoms, were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a serious mental illness.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Iraq Warfare Put U.S. Troops Under Growing Stress
Guerrilla warfare in Iraq is putting U.S. troops under growing mental stress as the military struggles to retain and recruit soldiers, according to a study cited by the Army Reserve commander on Thursday.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Survey: Soldiers Suffer Stress Disorder
Fort Bragg paratroopers coming back from serving in Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder at almost the same rate as Vietnam War veterans, according to a military survey.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Stress to families is growing reason for leaving military
Military officials don’t have definitive numbers on retention, but they say there are warning signs that an increasing number of servicemen and women who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan will be looking to get out when their terms are up. If they do leave, many say, it will not be because of the hardship of battle, but rather because of the strain placed on their families back home.
Friday, August 30, 2002
Fort Bragg killings change Army’s attitude on stress
The military said Thursday it will monitor troops more closely before they leave the war zone in Afghanistan. Soldiers will be screened for psychological problems, and commanders will watch for anxiety and depression among the troops on duty there.
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