There are

about 18 million veterans

in the United States. It’s estimated that about

20 percent

of them may have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression,
significantly more than the general population (at about four percent).
These conditions, if left untreated, can have long-lasting negative effects
on work, relationships, and overall quality of life.

In addition,

about 20 veterans die each day by suicide, and veterans are at a

57 percent higher risk of suicide

than those who have not served.

Challenges to Veterans’ Mental Health

For veterans, mental health issues can develop for a variety of reasons.
Spending long stretches of time away from friends and family can be a
challenge. In addition, soldiers face the stressors of combat, witnessing
and participating in traumatic events, and making emotionally difficult
decisions in the field. The most common mental health diagnoses are:

• PTSD, in which a person may experience flashbacks, nightmares, or severe
anxiety. The onset of PTSD can be immediate or can occur years after a given
event.

• Depression, a mood disorder resulting in persistent feelings of sadness. It can
present as loss of interest or pleasure in activities, tiredness, or even
feelings of guilt.

• Anxiety, which is excessive worry about everyday situations. It can manifest itself
as feeling nervous, experiencing an increased sense of danger, having
trouble sleeping, avoiding things that may trigger anxiety, and, sometimes,
panic attacks.

For some, serving in the military can cause

moral injury

because their actions conflict with their personal core values, especially
in combat. Values such as justice, fairness, and loyalty can be challenged
on the field, causing feelings of guilt and shame and leading to mental
health difficulties when returning to civilian life.

Robert McMahon, mayor of Media Borough in Delaware County, is a Vietnam War
veteran who has spent the past 20 years supporting fellow veterans. “I came
home from an unpopular war in 1969, and there were not many resources
available then. It was a challenge because I had nobody to talk to — so I
did my best to build a life. I supported myself by getting involved with my
community through coaching softball, getting on [borough] council, and
supporting my family, but outside support was hard to come by,” McMahon
says.

In 2021, Sherman Gillums, Jr., former chief strategy officer of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), was

interviewed about veteran mental health. Drawing on his 12 years of service in the U.S. Marines, Gillums shared,
“The losses veterans experience aren’t just physical ones, like missing
limbs or broken bodies; there is an emotional loss as well. There is also a
cost to families who are impacted. There is a cost to children who grow up
with a parent who hasn’t adjusted well to returning to the civilian sphere.
There is a cost to their children’s children as trauma is passed down. Hope
is born from seeing previous generations make it through and heal.”

For many veterans, mental illness carries a

stigma

that can keep them from seeking support. They might fear that treatment
might not work, that they might be perceived as weak, or even that the
treatment process might be too challenging.

Understanding how their mental health needs may differ from those of the
general population is important to ensuring that veterans receive treatment
and support.

Ways to Support Veterans

If a loved one in your life is a veteran, it’s important to understand that
their experiences on active duty may have been traumatic. Give them time to
process those experiences, but

gently encourage them to seek professional help

if they’re struggling.

Other ways to support veterans include:

• Sending a personalized card to a veteran to thank them for their service.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) website

enables visitors to choose a design and message, which the VFW then prints
and delivers to a hospitalized veteran.

• Volunteering for an organization that provides veterans with
job training, basic needs, or opportunities to interact with other veterans.

• Donating your car to

Vehicles for Veterans, or donating clothes and household items to organizations like

Purple Heart

or

Green Drop

that support veterans and their families.

• Educating yourself

about the signs of PTSD, depression, and anxiety so you can be prepared to
encourage a friend or loved one to get the care they need.

“Many of our veterans experience a lost sense of purpose when they leave the
military,” says Gillums in his interview. “To help combat suicide and
provide hope, we need to remind them that the military is not their whole
identity, and they have many reasons to live outside of their service.”

Mayor McMahon has made it his mission in recent years to not only support
veterans, but to make sure they know about the resources available. “I
started going to the VA for care about a year ago, and since then I have
learned about all the resources and services available to me. I am just
scratching the surface, but every veteran, no matter their service, needs to
know that the VA is a place they can go. Veterans need support, and we need
to encourage each other when we can,” McMahon says.

Veterans can get support through organizations like:

• Philadelphia Regional Office of Veteran Affairs
• Purple Heart Foundation
• Veterans Multi-Service Center
• Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
• Green Drop

If You Need Help

If you or someone you know needs support, call the 24-Hour Crisis
Intervention Service Helpline at 215-686-4420 or call or text

the new 988. For more information about mental health and where to find help, visit

ibx.com/knowyourmind.

This content was originally published on

IBX Insights.