Military Falls Short Dealing With Returning Soldiers' Mental Health
Many of the soldiers returning from Iraq are experiencing mental healh issues. Their loved ones say the military is not helping to the extent it could or should be helping.
The psychological toll from the war in Iraq is climbing, according to new research and experts who cite the severe stress of fighting a deadly insurgency. Though the Pentagon says mental health care, including battlefield counseling, is expanding, critics counter that military suicides and post-traumatic stress disorder cases have exposed gaps in how treatment is delivered to soldiers.
"There have been improvements..... "But it's still the military's dirty little secret that lives are shattered and often we don't do enough when the war is over and these people have to deal with the consequences of what they saw and did."
According to a study by the New England Journal of Medicine, one in eight returning soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms include "flashbacks, feelings of detachment, trouble concentrating, sleeplessness and more." Many of those afflicted don't seek help because they fear it will negatively impact their military careers.
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