Suicide after Combat in the Military - Research Paper Example

Suicide after Combat in the Military Introduction The US military takes part in several activities across the world ranging from peacekeeping mission to war activities. According to the Heritage foundation comprehensive time series data relating to the US military troops, more than 125,900,725 military service members have been deployed worldwide since 1950. Presently, an approximate of 3million Americans make the US military forces. Following the terrorist attacks in September 11, 2001, operation enduring freedom and operation Iraq freedom military operations were launched; October 2001 and March 2003 respectively; this saw an increase in the military deployments from one deployment to multiple deployments and for longer periods of time. The effects of this on the military personnel’s psychological well being has been adverse and contributed greatly to the military suicides since the inception of the missions. Discussion Military deployment negatively affects the lives of the military personnel and their respective families - their family life is altered forever- as it entails four distinct phases; pre-deployment, deployment, reunion and post deployment. The events in these phases affect the military official mentally as they have to deal with issues related to the changes occurring in their lives; they are shifting from their normal life schedules to others they have no idea how they are likely to turn out and if they would actually be back to their families or not. Pre-deployment issues include dealing with the separation from the social support network they are used to, dealing with the increased workload and the shift in daily duties. In the deployment, they may encounter issues like physical injuries, exposure to traumatic events and lack of communication with their loved ones among others. The re-union and post deployment phases pose their own challenges as the individuals strive to readjust to their old lifestyles and social networks as well as deal with the reality of their experiences during the deployment (Hoge, 2006). The effect of the entire deployment experience is can be devastating and the individual is unable to effectively fit into the society and options of suicide make more sense to appease their conscience. Why does this happen? The deployment experience has negative impact on the military official’s mental health. Stressors and experiences related to the post-deployment, deployment, and post deployment experiences together put the service member at a risk of mental health problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, depression and drug and substance abuse. The experience in one way or the other impairs the service members quality of life; a decrease in the emotional well being, social functioning and the general health of the concerned individual. According to military surveillance data, mental health related concerns and behavioral health among the service members rise 3-6 months after deployment and sometimes it exerts a lasting effect on the military personnel. Other than the experience in the military deployment and combat, mental health is triggered by the interpersonal concerns and stressors throughput the four phases of the deployment. A study conducted on the 2008 OIF veterans showed that mental health was impacted by the post-deployment social support. The study participants reported not getting the desired family and friends emotional and instrumental support they desired during and after the deployment. The respective families experienced financial difficulties, spousal arguments, physical aggression and sometimes abuse of a spouse and child abuse during the post deployment period. Long deployment periods increase the service a member distress levels and shows more psychiatric and physical health symptoms compared to the short deployments, however, the effect of the location and duration of deployment on the peoples’ mental health of depends on the types and severities of the stressors. For example, the OEF and OIF veterans in both Iraq and Afghanistan expressed depression and anxiety from the traumatic exposures. The traumatic exposures during the deployment period may include various forms of injury and illness, non combat related sickness and combat related injuries. The military troops in the two nations experienced health issues like diarrhea, chest and breathing problems, non-combat injuries and leishmaniasis and such illnesses were enough to cause the individual depression and stress especially due to the fact that they are away from their loved ones. The physical injuries especially close to the head often resulted to mental illness in the affected individual. Other traumatizing exposures is the participation in the combat operations, the mere experience of handling human remains, the experience of being fired on and the witness of the death of close workmates. The individual’s exposure to extreme violence during the deployment impacts their mental health as the images torment their thinking process and affects interactions with other people in the society (Kolkow, 2007). The above described events combined form a strong basis for a suicide undertaking by a military official. When the exposure and the stressing factors lead to adverse effects on the individual’s mental health, he or she may opt to commit suicide on the belief that it would deliver the peace of mind and relief. In the 2008, the missions by Afghanistan and Iraq army reported 17% suicides while the Marine Corps 25% and 18% respectively, and during the mission also, so many evacuations were conducted in regards to psychiatric issues of service men attempting suicide in the line of duty. A recent review of the Iraq and Afghanistan case showed that about 1264 medical evacuations related to psychiatric health conditions between 2001 and 2004. Many others also committed suicide in the events of carrying out their mission activities. The study also indicated that the evacuations took place in the first six months of deployment (McNulty, 2005). The increased risks of suicide were associated with the deployment related issues like the length of deployment, location of the deployment, the number of the deployments and the degree of exposure to injury, illness and traumatic events. Others include perceived threats, problem solving and skills to cope with the new environment and interpersonal problems. These events lead to suicide during the deployment period among the service men when the pressure exceeds their capability. On the return from deployment, the individuals are usually very sensitive and have a high risk of committing suicide (Kang, 2008). The post deployment adjustment factors including the onset of the psychiatric symptoms, medical injuries or pain, moral injury, guilt feeling or shame, interpersonal problems and lack of the perceived social support increase the chances of committing suicide. All this situations lead to increased mental pressure on the individuals and many of the suicides result if they do not seek medical care in good time for medication and counseling. The human mind has its own capacity of the pressure it can handle and when exceeded, the individual expresses the symptoms of abnormal psychology which include the attempts to commit suicide. The social factors related to the post-deployment factors including the family and interpersonal relations play a significant role in increasing the chances of committing suicide among the return servicemen. These include issues like financial problems in the family, relationship difficulties and social isolation. Considering the traumatic experience the individual is going through and the trouble of fitting into the society again, an addition of family problems pushes the service man to the edge. The feeling of inadequacy is exaggerated and the individual may decide to look for a way out of the situation he is dealing with; sometimes it leads to extreme cases of mental disorder. The soldiers with bodily injuries and experiencing chronic pain have high chances of committing suicide. Issues like the intensity of the pain, helplessness and hopelessness, insomnia and many others fuel the desire to commit suicide. In addition, depending on the impact of the injury on the individuals physic and other bodily changes facilitate suicide because the individuals cannot stand their new selves hence choose death to living as dependents (Tang & Crane, 2006). Conclusion It is realizable that suicide is the main death cause among the Afghanistan and Iraq military service personnel. This is more about the deployed personnel and it is due to the psychological factors experienced before, during and after the deployment experience. The individuals experience mental health issues and when they cannot bear the situation opt for death other than seeking medical assistance from the associated bodies. The Afghanistan and Iraq missions had the highest suicide cases for the US military men and especially in the marine. References Hoge, C. W. (2006). Mental health problems, use of mental health services, and attrition from military service after returning from deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. Journal of the American Medical Association, 295, 1023-1032. Kang, H. K. (2008). Suicide Among US Veterans After Returning From the Iraq or Afghanistan War Zones. JAMA, 300(6), 652-653. Kolkow, T. T. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in health care providers returning from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Military Medicine , 172, 451-455.. McNulty, P. A. (2005). Reported stressors and health care needs of active duty Navy personnel during three phases of deployment in support of the war in Iraq. Military Medicine, 170, 530-535. Tang, N. K., & Crane, C. (2006). Suicidal in chronic pain: A review of the prevalence, risk factors, and psychological links. Psychological Medicine, 36, 575-586. Read More