Mental health injuries scar 300,000 U.S. troops ~ MSNBC

[mzmolly]

Only half of vets have sought help for depression, post-traumatic stress



Until surgeons replaced a shattered piece of his skull with a permanent metal plate,
Tim Ngo of Vadnais Heights, Minn., had to wear a plastic helmet to protect his brain.
About 320,000 U.S. soldiers have suffered brain injuries in fighting in Iraq
and Afghanistan, a new study estimates.

WASHINGTON - Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.

“There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Terri Tanielian, the project’s co-leader and a researcher at the nonprofit RAND.

“Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24183188>1=43001">MSNBC

Such a shame. The war will cost this nation for decades in ways we can not measure. :(

[maddezmom]

1. and then there is this: Care program misses badly wounded troops

Care program misses badly wounded troops
Source: Army Times

Care program misses badly wounded troops

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 17, 2008 10:25:39 EDT

A new program that is supposed to provide a care coordinator to help severely injured service members navigate the military and veterans’ health care systems is failing to serve hundreds who were injured in the early years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a Senate subcommittee learned Wednesday.

The hiring of so-called federal recovery coordinators has been good news for those who are helped, said Meredith Beck, national policy director for the nonprofit Wounded Warrior Project. Most families who have contact with one of the coordinators “are very excited about the program,” Beck told the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.

But Beck said the coordinators are focused on service members in military hospitals, not on people being treated mostly as outpatients or people who were injured before the coordinator program was created.

“There is a common and dangerous misperception that if you were injured earlier on, then all your problems have been solved,” she said. “I can tell you from personal experience those families are often the ones in need of the most help. They are the ‘bow wave,’ often finding the problems and facing them alone.”

more:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3272010&mesg_id=3272010

[mzmolly]

2. Troubling

on so many levels.

[maddezmom]

3. yes

:(

[mzmolly]

4. Thanks

for the recs.

[maddezmom]

5. WaPo: Combat Stress May Cost U.S. Up to $6 Billion

Combat Stress May Cost U.S. Up to $6 Billion

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 18, 2008; Page A18

About 300,000 U.S. military personnel who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression, a mental toll that will cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion over two years, according to a Rand Corp. report released yesterday.

In addition, nearly 20 percent of the 1.64 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, or about 320,000 personnel, reported a probable traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment, the report notes, although it says their treatment needs have not been determined.

The economic cost of the PTSD and depression cases -- including medical care, forgone productivity and lost lives through suicide -- is estimated at $4 billion to $6 billion over two years. Meanwhile, the cost incurred by traumatic brain injury, based on all cases diagnosed through June 2007, is estimated at $600 million to $900 million.

The 500-page report, titled "Invisible Wounds of War," says prolonged and repeated exposure to combat stress is causing a disproportionately high psychological toll compared to physical injuries. It warns of "long-term, cascading consequences" for the nation -- ranging from a greater likelihood of drug use and suicide to increased marital problems and unemployment -- if the mental health problems are left untreated.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041701749.html?hpid=topnews

[mzmolly]

8. Not to mention the effects of PTSD will "trickle down" for generations

to come. :(

[Fireweed247]

6. K&R

We need to stop this war of error
www.peacecandidates.com

[Juche]

7. The only silver lining is

That hopefully this will break down some of the stigma against mental illness. When Rock Hudson came out as an AIDs patient that opened the door for others to come forward. Perhaps this event can be used to help educate the public about the importance and legitimacy of mental illness since most of us claim to respect and care about soldiers.

[mzmolly]

9. Good point.

Mental illness, like any other illness, is not a choice.

[Kurovski]

10. K&R. (nt)

[mzmolly]

11. Thanks

K :hi:

[Kurovski]

12. Of course.

And we need a Democrat back in the White House to shift attention back to the needs of our troops. Either of our candidates will listen to the troops, and work to keep our promises to those who sacrifice. :hi: