Fearing stigma, US soldiers hide mental problems: study

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

Fearing stigma, US soldiers hide mental problems: study 1 hour, 30 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (AFP) - A majority of US soldiers who have done tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan say they suffer from stress-related troubles linked to their deployments, a study showed Wednesday.

But most keep their psychological problems to themselves for fear of being stigmatized or seeing their careers take a nose-dive, the study conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Psychiatric Association (APA) showed.

Nearly six in 10 US military members said their deployment in a war zone has caused them to suffer from "negative experiences" associated with stress.

But a mere 10 percent have sought treatment for mental health concerns, according to the study, which surveyed 347 members of the US military and their spouses.

Just over 60 percent said they avoided seeking help for mental health problems because they feared doing so would impact negatively on their career.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080430/ts_afp/ushealthmilitary;_

[Bozita]

1. This story has been written over and over again since WWII

Nothing's changed here.

Macho trumps logic every time.

[Donnachaidh]

3. yup - Vietnam vets same thing

Stepdad was recon Marine, and had many friends go over and come back *squirrely*. These guys were suffering, and to cover it up they'd go apeshit every now and then and we'd be driving to bail most out of jail. And many just disappeared over the years. We knew they didn't get help - far too proud to admit the pain.

The numbers from this war is staggering. :wow:

[Arctic Dave]

2. Gee, I guess if we had a government that remotely cared

about the troops, they would have ALL of them treated for mental stress when they came home from combat.

[Posteritatis]

6. If we had that gov't, most of them wouldn't have gone out into combat in the first place. (nt)

[Wilber_Stool]

4. This is a good read.

It was originally published in Atlantic Monthly in 1989. About WWII when they got the data that allowed them to predict how much stress a soldier could be expected to take.

[InkAddict]

5. Your link takes me somewhere weird - where's the site/link/content? n/t

[Wilber_Stool]

7. It should take you here

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/bookauth/battle/fussell.htm

[Bozita]

8. You're right. That's a really good read. Thanks.