The men and women returning from the Iraq War are left to deal with tremendous emotional difficulties, having just survived a living hell. While many do not have external injuries, they have deep emotional wounds. These scars, while not visible are just as debilitating and in some cases more so, because they do not receive the recognition and treatment they need.
Many behavioral health issues are taboo for troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. As soldiers must project a "macho" image, it becomes a struggle to reconcile the internal demons they must ward off upon returning. For, when they get back, these men and women of combat must somehow reenter society as colleagues, friends, siblings, husbands, as if they have not just witnessed the worst sides of humanity.
Back in normal life, they are stripped of their greatest support network, their battalion, fellow soldiers with whom they worked through the hardship of war; those who really understood what they struggled through. Surrounded by family and friends, it appears as if no one can relate.
Even veterans of previous combat do not like to talk about or seek treatment for their internal battles, fearing it will hurt their careers. In a 2004 study by the office of Veteran Affairs, almost two-thirds of soldiers and Marines who fit the criteria for mental health problems felt that seeking help would harm their careers, or make them appear weak. While they are plagued by night terrors and unshakable memories, everyone else seems to be going about their normal life. But for our soldiers, their worlds have been turned upside down.
This is not the fault of the military; it is the result of a society that does not provide the space for these men and women returning from war to express their difficulties. As such, while these mostly young men and women of combat have put their lives at risk to fight a war for us, we must recognize the totality of their needs when they return home.
My husband and I are in the behavioral health business and we serve a diverse population from Medicaid recipients to military dependents. We have seen first hand how much people can be helped with the proper intervention.
Society needs to shed the stigma against mental health treatment. It's all of our responsibility to embrace those returning from war, to reach out and help them reenter. Give a former member of combat some job leads, lend them an ear and let them know it is okay to feel uncomfortable. As these men and women have literally put their lives on the line in service to their country, we owe them every bit of emotional and social support we can provide.