Bipolar Disorder In Veterans

In the recent years, the number of mental health professionals providing for the military has dwindled, there is almost no combat-specific psychologists left, and the wait time to be treated for a mental health issue by the Department of Veterans Affairs has drastically increased. Examining MilitaryOneSource and the Department of Veterans Affairs, two of the most highly regarded military health providers, the lack of mental health services for veterans and active duty members has diminished and has resulted in a multitude of veterans going untreated or even ending their own life instead of receiving the help they

Many veterans are coming home with a psychological disorder. “Between 2000 and 2011 nearly one million veterans were diagnosed with at least one psychological disorder and almost half had multiple disorders, according to a 2014 report of the Institute for Medicine” (Quigley). With almost one million veterans diagnosed with at least one psychological disorder, more veteran’s hospitals need to be built to help treat the ill. In addition, there has been an increase in veterans in need of mental health services. “There has been a surge in demand by veterans for mental health services since returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq, with some local providers in California reporting increases of 40 to 60 percent in the numbers of veterans seeking mental health services” (Quigley). Because California had a massive increase in the number of veterans in need of mental health services, more veterans’ hospitals were needed to treat the mentally ill. Since more and more veterans are seeking health services, more veteran’s hospitals are needed to treat the ill.

One of the most common mental health illnesses within the veteran population is posttraumatic stress disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD. It is estimated that between eleven and twenty percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer to some degree from PTSD in a given year (Gradus, 2015). Social workers maintain a wealth of knowledge regarding programs and services that are aimed at combating the effects of PTSD in order to provide accurate and useful referrals. Additionally, they also work in conjunction with these programs acting in such capacities as case managers, program managers, counselors, and teachers. Social Work Today (2007) suggests that for clinical social workers over the next 10 years, combat-related stress disorders will affect every institution, hospital, and private practice in the United States. One such program where social workers are being utilized in treating PTSD is at Walter Reed Medical Center. According to the Deployment Health Clinical

Max Lerner an American Journalist stated “the turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” Throughout The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen are faced with an unpleasant upbringing that they are put through by their parents Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Due to the terrible living conditions and bad parenting they had to endure for many years, they had to teach themselves and each other to be strong and survive on the very little food and necessities that they were given. Throughout the memoir, it is seen that Jeannette has a special connection with her father unlike any of the other siblings, but despite Jeannette believing in him Rex struggles to raise her and the kids in the normal life that they deserve due to his battle with mental illness.

Bipolar disorder is a severe illness because they are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through time to time.

Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD) is a brain disorder that is caused by stress and some sort of trauma. This disorder can be influenced by life occurrences such as being in a war, abuse, assault, natural and unnatural disasters, military combat, and even accidents. PTSD affects the lives of 8 million people worldwide, including children! This disorder is known for being more prone to women than men. There is also some evidence that it runs through families, or can be passed down from generations. PTSD is frequently accompanied by other disorders such as depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders, just to name a few. Unfortunately, veterans,

Throughout the nation and our world people are suffering from this disease. Depression effects people of both genders, all ages, and any background. The history of mental illness, specifically depression were extremely helpful in today’s treatment and diagnosis. We know that all individuals are different and because of this, we can assume that each case of mental illness, more specifically depression, is unique in its own way as well. One treatment that is very effective for one person may not be equally as effective in a similar case simply because of the differences in patients. History, types of depression, symptoms, and treatments are all equally important in finding ways to help one who is suffering from depression.

One such mental illness is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is already the most common form of mental illness, affecting almost 8% of American adults (PTSD Statistics). PTSD rates are increasing dramatically, particularly among soldiers that see combat, and the use of modern, advanced weaponry (PTSD Statistics). Increases in the rate of occurrence of PTSD in these soldiers can be linked back to this weaponry. Historically, World War I was the first war to utilize the increasingly dangerous methods of warfare such as trench warfare and biological weaponry, which significantly increased the death toll of the war. Accompanying these weapons was the first emphasis on war trauma-related mental illness, with soldiers returning from battle with PTSD, misnomered and misunderstood as ‘shell-shock’. Rates of PTSD climbed steadily after World War II and the Vietnam War as weaponry became more and more advanced, reaching 12% of soldiers who saw direct combat in the Gulf War being diagnosed with PTSD afterwards (cite). Clearly, there is a strong connection between advanced weaponry and mental illness in soldiers, proving that violent weaponry negatively affects those who are forced to encounter

It may come and go over the years too. The significant impact of PTSD on the lives of veterans afflicted gives doctors a greater understanding of this illness. With knowledge about PTSD, returning veterans can seek the early diagnosis and treatment they need, giving them a chance to recover. Many veterans have spoken and stressed that the PTSD will never go away, even with treatment, group therapy, counseling, or medication. Awareness and understanding can also help and support the families. An estimated 7.8 percent of American Veterans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women at (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18-54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a year. About 30 percent of the men and women who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. An additional 20 to 25 percent have had partial PTSD at some point in their lives. More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced clinically serious stress reaction symptoms.” PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other wars. ("PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress

There was a five-year-old boy sitting in a public school bus next to fifth grader who was repeatedly sticking a sharp object into his leg, waiting for him to react.

The essay ‘’Bipolar Disorder: The Agony and the Ecstasy” written under the pseudonym Thomas Wheaton focus on the pleasant and the appalling sides of having bipolar disorder such as the medication, the different types of disorders there are, also how others treat people with bipolar disorder. To start off with some of the medications are Depakote, Zoloft, Xanax and Trazodone which a few must be taken daily or whenever needed. However, like every medicine there are side effects including but not limited to organ damage, heat-sensitive, dry mouth, also dizziness. Wheaton says he from his experience he must drink unpleasant amount of water just to avert serious side effects. To continue, the medicine help whoever take it feel stability is more

Mental health stigma in the military is defined as, “a dynamic process by which a service member perceives or internalizes this brand or marked identity about himself or herself or people with mental health disorders.”1 The perceived mental health stigma in the military stems from proximal and distal impacts.1 The proximal impacts include interpersonal outcomes, coping mechanisms, attitudes toward treatment and the distal impacts include the personal well-being, readiness, quality of life, treatment-seeking, and treatment success.1 The United States Air Force has been promoting treatment-seeking through various programs to reduce stigma and facilitate a widespread culture shift that views mental health in the context of readiness and resilience.1 The Air Force has attempted to redefine mental health help-seeking as a sign of strength instead of a sign of weakness.1 Additionally, the Air Force has quadrupled the availability of mental health programs over the past six years.2 The Air Force has provided over seven mental healthcare treatment options to Air Force members.3 These options include: the airman and family readiness center, military family life consultants, installation chaplain, mental health clinic, behavioral health, family advocacy program, and master resilience

Mel McGinnis was one of the main character of Raymond Carver 's story entitled, What We Talk About When We Talked About Love. Mel is a cardiologist in this story, a cardiologist is a doctor known to specialized in cases of heart problems or ailments. The story is about two couples in which they have different definition of what love is. It is a cliché that Mel, as a cardiologist who supposed to be an expert regarding heart doesn 't know or understand what love is. In my psychological point of view, Mel is consistent on having a diagnosis of bipolar manic disorder. Bipolar manic disorder is a serious mood disorder in which episodes of both depression and mania (excessive euphoria) occur. Depression and being manic is in the opposite poles, depression

PTSD means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is a deadly disease emotional and physically. For example, it causes veterans to see flash backs of what they have saw over seas, they can physically hurt themselves and are unable to control the disease. PTSD is known to destroy family 's and break them apart even though the veterans can 't control it. "When trauma reactions are severe and go on for some time without treatment, they can cause major problems in a family"(Carlson).This shows how most family 's get divorced after a veteran has come back from war because of how severe the disease is. No veteran wants to admit that they have a disease, because they want to be seen as a tough individual. For example, many family 's force their loved ones to get treatment at the VA to help make their family better. PTSD makes the memory and senses more active and sensitive, this can be very disturbing to anyone. For example, a veteran who has PTSD has many blank stares throughout the day and can cause very bad dreams about what they saw over seas. All veterans who come home from war have received a diagnosis of

Homelessness amongst veterans is a very big concern in the United States for those returning from the military. According to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (2014), it was estimated that there were about 49,933 veterans out at night (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). That is a big number for people who were out there serving our country and sacrificing themselves and putting their lives on the line. Many of them are coming to be in this position because of transition issues, substance abuse, mental health issues and housing limitations. We must be able to understand and relate to these issues that the veterans are having in order to help them overcome the homelessness and find housing and employment.