Mental Health and Combat Veterans

The military is inherently a dangerous occupation. Service members are exposed to a variety of hazards that may significantly impact their health and wellbeing. Killing and avoiding being killed place tremendous physical and psychological demands on its’ participants. During times of both peace and war service members risk being injured or killed. The injuries that service members experience can be both physical and psychological. ¹ While physical injuries are generally easier to identify, psychological injuries can present a challenge. The injuries that are difficult to identify are commonly referred to as the “hidden injuries” of war. Hidden injuries that have been shown to result from combat include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ² mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), ³ depression, anger, ⁴ propensity to engage in risk taking behaviors, ⁵ inability to form meaningful relationships, ⁶ and problems with sexual functioning. ⁷ These psychological injuries can in turn lead to deleterious behaviors that threaten a service members life and wellbeing, including suicide, alcohol and substance misuse, ⁸ smoking, ⁹ divorce, and aggression, ¹⁰ amongst others. ¹¹