Adjustment is rough for returning combat vets
July 2, 2010 A study from the Minneapolis VA, finds anger, substance abuse, social difficulty, shows the need to treat behaviors as much as symptoms.
A study by Minneapolis VA researchers finds that as many as 56 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans report readjustment problems ranging from dangerous driving to increased alcohol, drug use and anger problems.
The national study of 754 veterans, most of whom have been discharged for at least three years, is one of the first to look at how combat veterans fare once they return home, resume civilian work and attempt to reenter society. The lead researcher of the study says the results show a need for more community-and family-based programming to address the adjustment issues.
Left unattended, the study warns, the problems could affect not only veterans, but also their families and communities. Also, VA mental health providers could be swamped by surging demands for services. Continued
As many of us Vietnam Vets say DeJa-Vu all over again, told before, the years since, and continuing as we help this new generation with the same, some four decades of the, battles at home!
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