Re: Study says 300,000 U.S. troops suffer mental problems

In article <w6Wdnde5Ns1MAprVnZ2dnUVZ_vHinZ2d@comcast.com>,
 VTR <vexjorge@gmx.us> wrote:

> Study says 300,000 U.S. troops suffer mental problems
> Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:15pm EDT
> 
> By David Morgan
> 
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 300,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq and 
> Afghanistan suffer 
> symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, but about half 
> receive no care, an 
> independent study said on Thursday.
> 
> The study by the RAND Corp. also estimated that another 320,000 troops have 
> sustained a 
> possible traumatic brain injury during deployment. But researchers could not 
> say how many of 
> those cases were serious or required treatment.
> 
> Billed as the first large-scale nongovernmental survey of its kind, the study 
> found that stress 
> disorder and depression afflict 18.5 percent of the more than 1.5 million 
> U.S. forces who have 
> deployed to the two war zones.
> 
> The numbers are roughly in line with previous studies. A February assessment 
> by the U.S. Army 
> that showed 17.9 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan suffering 
> from acute stress, 
> depression or anxiety in 2007, down from 19.1 percent in 2006.
> 
> But the 500-page RAND study, based in part on interviews with more than 1,900 
> soldiers, sailors 
> and Marines, also said that only half of troops suffering debilities receive 
> care. And in half 
> of those cases, the care is only minimally adequate.
> 
> "There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served 
> our nation in Iraq 
> and Afghanistan," said Terri Tanielian, a RAND researcher who helped head the 
> study.
> 
> "Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health 
> conditions, there 
> will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation."
> 
> FEAR OF STIGMA
> 
> The study said many service members do not seek treatment because they fear 
> the stigma 
> associated with psychological problems could harm their careers.
> 
> Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can result from wartime trauma such 
> as suffering 
> wounds or witnessing others being hurt. Symptoms include irritability or 
> outbursts of anger, 
> sleep difficulties, trouble concentrating, extreme vigilance and an 
> exaggerated startle response.
> 
> RAND recommended that the Pentagon create a way for service members to 
> receive mental health 
> service confidentially and monitor the quality of care.
> 
> Army Col. Loree Sutton, director of the U.S. Defense Center of Excellence for 
> Psychological 
> Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, welcomed the study.
> 
> She was concerned at the finding that only about half of those who sought 
> help received 
> "minimally adequate" treatment and said it would spur the military to try 
> harder to recruit 
> more mental health specialists.
> 
> The Army wants to hire 275 civilian mental health professionals but a tight 
> labor market and 
> difficulties getting civilians into war zones has slowed the effort, 
> officials say.
> 
> RAND, a private research organization, estimated that stress and depression 
> among returning 
> soldiers cost $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment, mainly due 
> to lost 
> productivity, medical costs and a higher risk of suicide. (Additional 
> reporting by Andrew Gray; 
> Editing by Alan Elsner and Will Dunham)
> 
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> 
> http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1728241320080417

dick n bush are the  mentally ill, psychopaths if you ask me.
-- 
Remember," Only a dreamer can have a dream come true"