Frustrating article.
Ugh. I read so many frustrating articles, yesterday.
The most anger inducing one was about a study done that was funded by the Department of Defense that says that military suicides have nothing to do with being in the military.
According to the article, "Record numbers of US service members killed themselves last year, with 350 taking their own lives. From 2011 to 2012, the military suicide rate increased by nearly 16 per cent...In 2012, a service member committed suicide every 25 hours, but that rate has since increased to one suicide every 18 hours. The annual number of suicides last year surpassed the number of troops killed in Afghanistan and the number of military members who died in transportation accidents in 2012."
The study tracked 150,000 soldiers between 2001 and 2008. The soldiers who killed themselves within that time were usually heavy drinkers, suffering from depression, or had been diagnosed with manic depression. They said that it was "unclear" whether or not these symptoms were due to having been in combat. There was no mention of the study taking into account any behavior and mental health issues before being deployed.
Meanwhile, another study from 2011, which was NOT funded by the DoD found that there was an increase in self-destructive behavior and psychiatric problems in those who had been deployed and there was also an increase in mental illness among those in active duty service since 2005.
This is just infuriating, both the 'research methods' and the results, which completely contradict every non-DoD funded study in the past few years. How they completely ignored any possible difference between pre and post deployment behavior just blows my mind--yes, there's a correlation between alcohol abuse and depression and military suicides, however what they heck are they thinking caused/influenced said alcohol abuse and depression? When the suicide rate among military personnel raises 16% in a year, to the point where deaths from suicide outnumber deaths while in combat and, statistically, a solider commits suicide every 18 hours, something is seriously wrong.
You can't just sweep these issues under the rug and tell those coming back from combat to just suck it up like they did in the past and ignore the severe psychological effects that being in a warzone causes. And this need for treatment doesn't even stop at PTSD and depression and substance abuse--there needs to be more counselling to reintegrate into life where there's not a risk of being shot at, and there also needs to be more counselling offered for the spouses and families of soldiers to help them better know how to help their loved ones through that readjustment and any mental issues that may come from being deployed.
I linked this on FB and Rich expressed surprise that this got to me so much. I just feel like those who put their lives on the line deserve better than this. I don't necessarily agree with the wars we've been in, being the liberal pacifist tree hugging hippie that I am, but I appreciate the courage and internal strength that it takes to go out and fight--especially in light of a lot of the stories he's told me. These people take care of us, and we (and by we I include the military as well as civilian efforts) need to take care of them. If they want robot soldiers, they need to build robot soldiers. Until then, these people are human beings and human beings get sick and injured and see and do things that would negatively affect anyone's mental health. I'm sure Rich hasn't even told me the half of it and I know that the majority of people would not be able to walk away from any of that stuff unscathed. Needing to carry out the mission at all cost and repress everything while in a combat zone to keep a clear head and focused mind is one thing, though I do think there should be something offered while over there, even if it's only grief counselling (though I suppose that service could be offered by the chaplain). But once you're home, the mission is over and it's time to recover.
This kind of thing just makes me so mad. These people failed simple Psych 101 research methods and were obviously bought out to fudge their results, considering the discrepancy between this and every other study not funded by the DoD. This kind of shit puts back efforts to get soldiers adequate mental health services back 50 years.
The most anger inducing one was about a study done that was funded by the Department of Defense that says that military suicides have nothing to do with being in the military.
According to the article, "Record numbers of US service members killed themselves last year, with 350 taking their own lives. From 2011 to 2012, the military suicide rate increased by nearly 16 per cent...In 2012, a service member committed suicide every 25 hours, but that rate has since increased to one suicide every 18 hours. The annual number of suicides last year surpassed the number of troops killed in Afghanistan and the number of military members who died in transportation accidents in 2012."
The study tracked 150,000 soldiers between 2001 and 2008. The soldiers who killed themselves within that time were usually heavy drinkers, suffering from depression, or had been diagnosed with manic depression. They said that it was "unclear" whether or not these symptoms were due to having been in combat. There was no mention of the study taking into account any behavior and mental health issues before being deployed.
Meanwhile, another study from 2011, which was NOT funded by the DoD found that there was an increase in self-destructive behavior and psychiatric problems in those who had been deployed and there was also an increase in mental illness among those in active duty service since 2005.
This is just infuriating, both the 'research methods' and the results, which completely contradict every non-DoD funded study in the past few years. How they completely ignored any possible difference between pre and post deployment behavior just blows my mind--yes, there's a correlation between alcohol abuse and depression and military suicides, however what they heck are they thinking caused/influenced said alcohol abuse and depression? When the suicide rate among military personnel raises 16% in a year, to the point where deaths from suicide outnumber deaths while in combat and, statistically, a solider commits suicide every 18 hours, something is seriously wrong.
You can't just sweep these issues under the rug and tell those coming back from combat to just suck it up like they did in the past and ignore the severe psychological effects that being in a warzone causes. And this need for treatment doesn't even stop at PTSD and depression and substance abuse--there needs to be more counselling to reintegrate into life where there's not a risk of being shot at, and there also needs to be more counselling offered for the spouses and families of soldiers to help them better know how to help their loved ones through that readjustment and any mental issues that may come from being deployed.
I linked this on FB and Rich expressed surprise that this got to me so much. I just feel like those who put their lives on the line deserve better than this. I don't necessarily agree with the wars we've been in, being the liberal pacifist tree hugging hippie that I am, but I appreciate the courage and internal strength that it takes to go out and fight--especially in light of a lot of the stories he's told me. These people take care of us, and we (and by we I include the military as well as civilian efforts) need to take care of them. If they want robot soldiers, they need to build robot soldiers. Until then, these people are human beings and human beings get sick and injured and see and do things that would negatively affect anyone's mental health. I'm sure Rich hasn't even told me the half of it and I know that the majority of people would not be able to walk away from any of that stuff unscathed. Needing to carry out the mission at all cost and repress everything while in a combat zone to keep a clear head and focused mind is one thing, though I do think there should be something offered while over there, even if it's only grief counselling (though I suppose that service could be offered by the chaplain). But once you're home, the mission is over and it's time to recover.
This kind of thing just makes me so mad. These people failed simple Psych 101 research methods and were obviously bought out to fudge their results, considering the discrepancy between this and every other study not funded by the DoD. This kind of shit puts back efforts to get soldiers adequate mental health services back 50 years.