Help needed for children of soldiers
I appreciate the editorial below, and I understand the need for publicity on this matter. I still can’t help but want to scream when I see these headlines. The other day I walked into a local grocery store and the Wall Street Journal had a headline that read something like “Soldiers children feel the toll of war!” What drives me insane about these headlines is I have to wonder how many non-military American citizens stop to think about the full ramifications of war. We need headlines to declare what should be painfully obvious. We also need advocacy to get what should be entitled to military families — mental health support as needed.
The editorial takes a good stab at some of the reasons for the mental stress. I don’t agree about the economy being a huge stress and strain, because I feel that we are a tad less affected and we are more resilient than that. Forget the economy…. who needs to blame our stresses on that when: 1. We get very little time to truly recover in between deployments. 2. The media LOVES reporting bad news from the front lines and they love doing it as much as possible. 3. Our Country is divided so on any given day we may hear our soldier called a horrible name, and then 10-minutes later get a “thank you” for his service. 4. He comes home wore out, stressed out, and needing mental health care that he may or may not feel safe seeking. 5. We bury more friends and comfort more widows than most Americans will ever know about. 6. Our children know other children who have lost a father or a mother in the war… and now their daddy or mommy is heading over next. Oh, the list could go on and on.
Help needed for children of soldiers
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 09, 2009
EXCERPT
Much has been written about the psychological stress plaguing U.S. soldiers cycling in and out of war zones, but now comes news of an alarming spike in depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among children of active-duty military families.
The findings have grave implications in Hawaii, where many spouses and children remain while their active-duty loved ones are repeatedly deployed to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For some families, being based so far from extended family elsewhere in the United States compounds the stress and sense of isolation.
A concentrated effort to provide a range of services is strongly encouraged.
Internal Pentagon documents show that children of U.S. military troops sought outpatient mental health care 2 million times last year, double the number at the start of the Iraq war. The number of military kids actually hospitalized for mental health reasons also sharply increased.
The number of children and spouses of active-duty personnel and Guard and Reserve troops seeking mental health care steadily increased over the past few years, but the reasons are not clear from the documents, according to the Associated Press.
Last year’s increase in child hospitalizations coincided with the “surge” of tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Iraq to stabilize the country, but military families have coped for years now with their loved ones serving repeated tours in war zones.
The severe economic recession that has affected most American families could be a factor, as could the fact that the military has urged families not to avoid seeking help, encouragement that might reveal mental health issues unrelated to the stress of deployment. READ ON
Kiz
July 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pmThere are some medical consultation that are available for children these days. Parents must take advantage on this consultation for the sake of their children.