Veterans need emotional help after returning from war
A study conducted by the Defense Department suggests that as many as 30 percent of soldiers returning from the Afghanistan and Iraq combat zones struggle with mental health issues.
Depression, anxiety, night terrors, rage, withdrawal, substance abuse and flashbacks are among the more common symptoms.
Mike, for example, grew up in a small town in eastern Iowa. He enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. Boot camp was the first time he had ever been more than a few hundred miles from his hometown. Six months after boot camp, his unit was assigned to Iraq.
Mike's tour ended about a year ago. He was welcomed home by family and friends with relief and gratitude.
While Mike had always been a quiet guy, those close to him noticed that he seemed quieter, more reserved, even withdrawn after his return.
More telling was his increasing fear of leaving his hometown. After time, his boundaries contracted to the block he grew up on. Soon thereafter he had trouble leaving his parents' home.
Frank, on the other hand, was a suburban kid, star athlete. He had never enjoyed school and saw the Marines as a good alternative to college. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred during the second week of his enlistment. An outstanding recruit, he became part of a special reconnaissance unit. He soon rose to a leadership position.
Frank served two tours in Iraq, the second voluntary. A few weeks from the end of this tour, the squad he led was ambushed. Badly wounded, he was one of only two survivors.
Recovering at a stateside hospital, Frank was discharged six months later. Overwhelmed by guilt at the death of the men under his command, he went on a three-month cross-country journey to visit with each of their families and offer his apologies.
Now home, he continues to struggle with feelings of overwhelming guilt and remorse.
Such responses to serving in combat zones have been observed in veterans throughout history. As we have struggled with how to understand and help these vets, the consensus has developed that many -- perhaps most -- returning soldiers deal with some degree of post-traumatic stress disorder.
As suggested earlier, the symptoms of such stress can take a variety of forms. They can be relatively mild or quite severe. They can occur in the midst of combat or months, even years, after leaving the service.
The Veterans Administration has been overwhelmed by the demands of caring for the most recent generation of returning vets. Mental health needs in particular often go un-addressed by the VA simply because their symptoms are often not as immediate, dramatic or life threatening as physical trauma.
Veterans in need of mental health services, then, often wind up seeking help through local community services or from private not-for-profit counseling services. Such organizations are also challenged to meet the needs of these veterans.
The above suggests two important points I want to make.
First, we need to accept, in fact we need to expect, that returning veterans will suffer from a variety of emotional and spiritual maladies as they attempt to deal with the experiences that they have endured. It is important that families and friends watch for the symptoms of such suffering and encourage them to get help.
Second, it is absolutely vital that we support the organizations in our communities that provide this help. It is popular to proclaim "Support Our Troops" through bumper stickers and decals; certainly this support extends to caring for them when they are no longer our troops, but our neighbors.
• Rev. Ken Potts is a pastoral counselor and marriage and family therapist with Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Centers, Naperville and Downers Grove. His book, "Take One A Day," can be ordered at local bookstores or online.