Veterans and mental health came to the forefront of the media recently when Donald Trump described PTSD as a form of weakness: “When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see maybe what the people in this room have seen many times over, and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it.”
While some veterans have not dismissed his statement as uncaring, and there are many different interpretations of his choice of words, Trump is still well-known as having scorned Senator John McCain for having endured captivity during the Vietnam war, as well as openly fighting with the parents of a fallen Muslim soldier over their backing of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Notwithstanding, this statement and the following controversy associated with Trump opened up a conversation about the nationwide perception of veterans and mental health, which does seem to suggest that the greater interpretation of PTSD among veterans (and non-military individuals) needs to be revisited. If you have PTSD, you are more likely to have a problem with alcohol. PTSD and alcohol abuse are common co-morbid illnesses affecting a large portion of the United States’ veterans: “Sixty to eighty percent of Vietnam Veterans seeking PTSD treatment have alcohol use problems…[v]eterans over the age of 65 with PTSD are at a higher risk for a suicide attempt if they also have a drinking problem.”
The military is historically associated with festive representations of drinking culture. But if you’re exposed to combat, you are also highly likely to experience some degree of PTSD: “there have been consistent reports in the literature documenting that exposure to combat experiences can lead to an impairment of psychological functioning in military personnel.” One-third of veterans in treatment for substance use disorder has PTSD. You might choose to use alcohol to mask your symptoms of PTSD, which often include symptoms of pain, anger problems, sleep issues (such as inconsistent sleep, having problems with waking up early or in the middle of the night, nightmares), flashbacks, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and more.
Perhaps you’ve found alcohol to be a good way of putting yourself to sleep, but the reality is that alcohol is just about always detrimental to positive sleeping patterns. What’s happening is self-medication, or using alcohol to numb the memories that resurface. Depression is a common side-effect of PTSD, making you irritable, and giving you more reason to self-medicate more and more: creating a very negative, self-perpetuating cycle.
That’s why a treatment center that addresses both PTSD and alcohol abuse is so important: cognitive behavioral treatments, medications to treat symptoms of PTSD, depression, and substance use disorder, and other varying therapies (like holistic, group and familly therapy, talk therapy, and other forms of creative therapy). Protecting veterans from the development of co-morbid illnesses begins with awareness: providing psychological care alongside substance use disorder treatment is a great step toward making sure our veterans get the kind of post-combat care they deserve.
