Is Alcohol and Prescription Drug Use Higher in Combat Veterans?
Submitted by Elisabeth_Davies on
My heart feels for my military clients and friends, who come home from Afghanistan and are now abusing alcohol and drugs to cope with traumatic memories. My heart also feels for my colleagues who have heightened anxiety about their sons or siblings currently in Afghanistan.
Soldiers and their family members can often feel helpless to manage outcomes, or cope with the side effects that military combat can leave behind.
There is a growing awareness that military personnel returning from these prolonged conflicts have a variety of serious problems, including depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and substance abuse. Many of these symptoms are a result of traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress disorder related to battle experiences. Many of these conditions also contribute to individual health and family relationship crises.***
Jason Knobloch, Research Coordinator at Veterans for America (VFA) wrote that, “Numerous studies have shown, as VFA has found over and over again, that heavy drinking and drug use are often attempts to self-medicate untreated psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder. **
Alcohol abuse is still the most prevalent problem with Army soldiers returning from deployment to Iraq, with 27% meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse.* This is more than triple the alcohol abuse problem in the American civilian population. (About 8.5% of Americans meet the criteria for alcohol abuse).
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), prescription drug abuse has almost tripled between 2005 and 2008, among U.S. military personnel.*
The good news is that eleven research institutions in 11 states will receive more than $6 million in federal funding from fiscal year 2010 to support research on substance abuse and associated problems among U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their families. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), along with the National Institute of Health (NIH), are collaborating with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to award grants that will examine substance abuse related to deployment and combat related trauma. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA),is also part of this national endeavor.The NIH is awarding more than $4 million in grant funding. The (VA) will be awarded around $2 million. The funding will be used toward the causes, screening, identification, prevention, and treatment of substance use and abuse — including alcohol, tobacco, illicit and prescription drugs and associated problems.*
Some treatments which have been found to be effective with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and related combat symptoms, include: ****
· Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which can help change the way we think about the trauma and its aftermath.
· Exposure Therapy, which helps to decrease the fear of our memories, by repeatedly talking to a therapist/ trained expert about the trauma memories.
· Desensitization, which can help us deal with the traumatic memories a little bit at a time, so we feel more in control. (I teach clients to close their eyes and imagine or visualize they own a remote control to their memories. In addition to their remote control having ‘pause,’ ‘stop,’ fast forward’ buttons, there is an ’edit’ button. If they choose to use this’edit’ button, they can bring characters, people, or props into the traumatic memory that can rescue, heal or change the outcome. I have them replace the ‘edited’ version when the old trauma memory comes up for them.
· Thought Replacement, is another effective technique, which trains us to replace stressful thoughts with less stressful thoughts. One way this can be done, is by keeping our thoughts in the now and telling ourselves, “the past is over and I trust that I can handle each thing that life presents to me, one moment at a time.”
· Group Therapy, can be effective because it grows our support network when we share our experiences with others who have been through similar experiences. We manage better knowing we have support through difficult times.
· Medication, such as anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and/or anti-anxiety medication, prescribed through a psychiatrist or medication expert,can help to decrease severe symptoms that impair day to day functioning. We can process therapy techniques better if we are chemically and medically stable.
Although abusing alcohol and drugs may seem to temporarily medicate, or relieve emotional and physical pain, it will never heal the trauma memories, or symptoms that occur from military combat. It’s important to know that there are effective treatments for soldiers and their families.
If you or a family member are having mental health or substance abuse problems you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA) for assistance 1-800-662-4357
Veterans can chat live with a crisis counselor by calling 1-800-273-8255
Our lives get better when we choose to heal from the past.
Resources:
* Substance Abuse among the Military, Veterans, and their families April 2011
http://www.drugabuse.gov/tib/vet.htm
**http://www.drugrehabs.com/addiction_alcohol-abuse-among-combat-vets.htm ***http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2010/nida-26.htm
****http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/treatment-ptsd.asp
Written by: Elisabeth Davies, MC