|
updated: February 6, 2007
Summary
Rates of psychological injuries among new veterans are high
and rising. At least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half
a million people, will face a serious psychological wound,
including depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Multiple tours and
inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates
of combat stress by 50%.
In addition, when troops are near an exploding mortar or
roadside bomb, the blast can damage their brains without
visible injury. Traumatic Brain Injury can lead to emotional
problems; vision, hearing, or speech problems; dizziness;
sleep disorders; or memory loss. Between 150,000
and 300,000 of the 1.5 million Americans who have served
in Iraq and Afghanistan have traumatic brain injuries.
The ramifications of psychological injuries are clear.
Untreated mental health problems can and do lead to
unemployment, domestic violence, substance abuse, homelessness
and suicide. Twenty percent of married troops in
Iraq say they are planning a divorce. At least 40,000 Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans have been treated at a VA hospital
for substance abuse. The current Army suicide rate is
the highest it has been in 26 years.
According to the American Psychological Association,
troops face “significant barriers” to mental health care.
The Department of Defense relies on an ineffective system
of paperwork to conduct mental health evaluations, and
access to mental health care is in short supply. The number
of licensed psychologists in the military has dropped
by more than 20% in recent years. Less than 40% of troops
with psychological wounds are getting treated.
Effective treatment is also scarce for veterans who have left
the military. The VA has given mental health diagnoses to
over 100,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans – that’s 38%
of the new veterans who had visited the VA for any reason.
The veterans’ mental health system is simply overwhelmed
by the influx; more than half of the nation’s 200-plus Vet
Centers, the drop-in counseling centers for combat veterans,
needed at least one more psychologist or therapist.
Veterans in rural communities are especially hard hit.
Exacerbating the problem of inadequate screening is the
heavy stigma associated with receiving mental health treatment.
More than half of soldiers and Marines in Iraq who
test positive for a psychological injury are concerned that
they will be seen as weak by their fellow servicemembers.
One in three of these troops worry about the effect of a
mental health diagnosis on their career. As a result, many
troops who need care do not seek treatment.
For more information about the mental health effects of war,
please see the IAVA Issue Reports: “Mental Health Injuries: The
Invisible Wound of War” and “Traumatic Brain Injury: the
Signature Wound of the Iraq War.” All IAVA reports are available here.
|
