PTSD on the rise among British servicement and women after a decade of war.

PTSD on the rise among British servicemen and women after decade of war


Mental trauma is taking an escalating toll on British servicemen and women
after a decade of war, official figures show.








Statistics from the Ministry of
Defence show that up to 11,000 serving members of the military have been
diagnosed with mental conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and depression Photo: Ben
Birchall/PA






By Sean Rayment, Defence
Correspondent

8:30AM GMT 17 Mar 2013





Statistics from the Ministry of Defence show that up to 11,000 serving
members of the military have been diagnosed with mental conditions including
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.


Charities which help former Armed Forces personnel adjust to civilian life
warned that large scale redundancies would mean that some of those in need of
treatment would be leaving the support network if they lost their jobs.



The warning comes as a Sunday Telegraph investigation into the effects of
being at war shows:


* Seven current or recently discharged soldiers apparently committed suicide
last year, including one who had lost his two best friends during his unit’s
tour of duty in Afghanistan;


* Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, there have been 123 suspected or
confirmed suicides of serving personnel;



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* One charity expects a rise of up to 12 per cent in the number of cases of
PTSD each year until at least 2018.

Last year, 2,550 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were treated for
mental health issues, taking the total diagnosed since 2007 to 11,000 – a
significant proportion of the 177,000 serving personnel.

Of those diagnosed last year, 176 were treated for psychoactive substance
abuse including alcohol abuse; there were 1,662 cases of neurotic disorders,
including 273 reports of PTSD; 547 cases of mood disorders, including depression
and 167 cases of other mental and behavioural disorders.

The rate of PTSD cases also “significantly increased” between 2010-11 and
2011-12, according to figures released by Defence Analytical Services and
Advice, the MoD department that monitors mental heath issues.

The MoD has said it has worked hard to improve care for personnel with mental
illness and introduced programmes to try to minimise post-traumatic stress. One
measure is having soldiers “decompress” in Cyprus for up to two weeks after
returning from tours of Afghanistan, to allow them to adjust to life away from
the combat zone with their comrades.

It is now accepted that all those who experience combat will suffer from some
form of stress and every unit has trained personnel who try to identify and help
those showing signs of trauma.

But charities said the new figures did not take account of the substantial
number who suffered mental illness after leaving the Services.

Combat Stress, the leading mental health charity for former Forces personnel,
believes there are at least 10,000 veterans living with mental conditions who
need urgent help. It fears that redundancies in the Forces, with 20,000 expected
to lose their jobs over the next two years, will put more people at risk of
mental illness without access to the military’s internal support network.

Commodore Andrew Cameron, the charity’s chief executive, said: “This is not
an issue which is going to go away. We have exposed a lot of young men to a lot
of quite horrendous trauma in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s no good saying, 'We’re
worried about it’, we have to get on and deal with it.”

He added: “We see about 1,500 new people each year and that is going up by
10-12 per cent each year. It is quite high. The lives of those people who come
to us are pretty much falling apart.”

The charity said that the symptoms of PTSD could take years to emerge, with
many Falklands veterans only being diagnosed after more than a decade. There
have also been claims – disputed by the MoD – that the death toll from suicides
now exceeds the 253 who died in combat in the 1982 conflict.

Since 2003, 123 British troops have died of suspected or confirmed suicide
while serving in the Armed Forces, compared with 619 recorded as dying in Iraq
and Afghanistan from all causes, including combat wounds, accidents, suicide and
natural causes. Some soldiers, such as Lance Sergeant Dan Collins, 29, who
survived being shot in the back and two bomb blasts in Helmand, have taken their
own lives after returning from Afghanistan.

An MoD spokesman said: “Every year around 24,000 personnel leave the Armed
Forces. Most people do this successfully but for some this can be daunting, so
we have worked hard to ensure our Services personnel get the support and mental
health care they need, including those going through the redundancy process.”

If any British Government sends any more troops to aid another Country or help the U.S. invade another Country , there should be a public demo.
Let all those Countries who never send any troops do their best for World Peace. Having said that , the AU/British invasion of iraq, Afghanistan , Libya has done nothing but create misery for the inhabitants , warfare by the splinter groups and needless loss of life, both British and the Countries invaded.