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HK

wrote:
On Mon, 11 May 2009 21:21:01 -0400, HK wrote:

Mental health problems are related to impairments in physical health and
general functioning. For example, those with PTSD often experience
difficulties in many domains of functioning such as relationships and
employment. There have also been several studies that document the
relationship between PTSD symptoms and physical health. In one recent study
of newly returning veterans, those with PTSD also manifested more physical
symptoms - greater symptom severity, lower ratings of general health, more
sick call visits and more missed workdays - even after taking into account
those who have been injured or wounded (Hoge and colleagues, 2007).

The actual percentages are higher. There is still stigma in the military
attached to admitting one is having emotional/psychological problems and
seeking professional help for them.

Whatever the actual percentage, it is at least 20% according to the VA's
study. That's an epidemic, not an aberration.

We pretty much ignored the Vietnam vets with problems and would not
even acknowledge the WWII vets could have problems.
It was great that the functional "greatest generation" kids got cheap
college (my dad did) but there were plenty of them who were just
rotting in VA hospitals, mental institutions or jails.
My father was at Loch Raven in Baltimore (1954-5) with something they
suspected as being TB and he said more than half the people there were
WWII and Korea vets with serious emotional problems. They were not
really treating them, they were just being warehoused until they
reached some level of functionality and they were released (usually as
a "hobo").
By the time we really had a significant number of Vietnam vets
returning they didn't even have that refuge to fall back on. They were
just in jail or wandering the streets.
This is far from a new problem. I bet there were PTSD victims
wandering around Rome after the Gallic wars. They were probably
gladiators when they weren't drunk.

As I stated previously, part of the problem has been the reluctance of
service personnel to admit they have these sorts of difficulties because
of the stigma. This is true of the general population, too, of course,
but service personnel know that what appears on their medical records
can make a difference, career-wise.