Counseling Veterans

January 11 2023 TalktoAngel 0 comments 905 Views

Psychological counselling can be a sensitive topic in the army. There's a huge stigma associated with those who seek psychological counseling. Many military and armed force veterans and police force suffer from a variety of mental health disorders that are prone to affect them disproportionately. They may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as well as alcohol abuse, among other conditions. Due to the stressful environments where active combatants are in the military, veterans and armed force personnel are more at chance of developing these mental health issues. The issues that arise can usually be resolved and addressed by the Best Psychologist in India. The importance of Psychology in armed forces is of paramount importance, as was noted in World Wars, many of recruitment batteries comprising of psychological tests were developed.

Mental health issues in Veterans

According to Dr (Prof) R K Suri, Clinical Psychologist, “Combat veterans often feel a surge of emotions as a reaction to having survived traumatic events like being attacked, or seeing other soldiers injured or killed”. Some veterans are unable to focus or reliving traumatic events or are contemplating death or suicide. They may also take substances, drink excessively and have difficulty sleeping. For many veterans those thoughts, feelings and actions are a reaction to their experiences, which fade as they transition to civilian life. However, for some it could be a sign of mental health issues that are serious that are referred to as "invisible injuries". Common mental health concerns encountered by veterans of the military include the following:

PTSD

A condition known as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD is a condition that is seen in a lot of veterans following the trauma of a particular event. The people suffering from PTSD recall traumatic events through their mind. It can happen due to experiencing an uneventful incident or watching distressing news clipping or hearing loud sounds. The symptoms of PTSD can also include not being able to remember of trauma or relationships, and even losing interest in certain interactions and activities, as well as being anxious.

Depression

Depression can affect the ability of veterans to get work done, sleep or eat, socialize with other people, and engage in everyday activities. The effects of depression can last for a long time that make it difficult to be a civilian. Typical symptoms of Depression include feeling of being sad or depressed, losing enthusiasm for activities that were once enjoyable, difficulties concentrating, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide, loss or gain of weight, lack of libido. However, depression may also manifest as physical issues, such as nausea, fatigue, headaches issues, and pain.

When they return home, many veterans feel isolated from their family and friends. The notion that there is no one to connect with their experiences or provide significant emotional support may cause soldiers to keep their feelings , or even look for social isolation. These actions, however, could just exacerbate the issue.

Substance use Disorder

It's normal for those suffering from mental health problems to deal with their issues through alcohol or other drugs. It may be a temporary solution but can also cause long-term health issues. It can be hard to tell if alcohol consumption has turned into a substance use disorder. Some indicators are feelings of guilt, difficulties meeting the demands at work or home and inability to control how much alcohol one drinks. Family members and friends often are the first to notice the problem and should assist their loved ones seek out help from a mental health professional such as a psychologist, online counsellor, or Online psychiatrist.

Additional Mental Health Issues Experienced by Veterans

While depression, posttraumatic stress anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and brain injuries are at the top of many people's thoughts when it comes to veteran’s medical care, there are other mental health problems that require attention. They include:

Suicidal ideation
Anger issues
Sleep Apnoea
Dementia
Delirium
Relationship issue

A person who is in the military may not necessarily be diagnosed with a mental health problem. Furthermore, an issue with mental health suffered by a veteran could be unrelated to their service in the military. Mental health professionals working with veterans typically evaluate each individual patient and take every symptom and life experiences into account prior to determining an assessment or beginning treatment.

Seeking Professional Mental Health Help

During mental health counselling, military veterans are taught to recognize physical signs of stress, like an upset stomach, muscle pains and headaches, rapid heartbeat, sleep disturbances and eating disorders. Signs of uncontrollable anger include tension in the muscles, jaws that are locked, rapid heartbeats, shaky feeling. Online Counselors can provide effective methods to combat the negative consequences of stressors including techniques for relaxation and meditation and time management techniques, exercises, or suggest more specific Online Counselling session if the issues persist.

For veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and anti-anxiety drugs can be prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist. These drugs can help treat anxiety and depression issues as well as reduce irritability and improve sleep patterns, and aid to alleviate nightmares or disturbing thoughts.

Although the use of mood-altering medication is a common practice for treating anxiety and depression however, talk therapy can be extremely beneficial. For instance, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as well as interpersonal therapy (IPT) can assist affected veterans ease their emotional burden and establish positive social bonds. Certain types of therapy, like cognitive processing therapy (CPT) or prolonged exposure therapy (PE)--may be employed to encourage positive thinking patterns and behavior for veterans suffering from mental health problems.

Relationship issue like infidelity, financial, personality issues and family conflicts for parenting are better treated by the best Marriage Counsellors in India.

Contributed by: Dr (Prof) R K Suri Clinical Psychologist and Utkarsh Yadav