The engagement in war and combat life exposes soldiers to risks of psychological disorientation. The post-World War 1 and World War 11 periods witnessed a substantial cases mental breakdown in most of the soldiers who participated in the wars. Psychiatric disorders in the military continue to wreck the mental health of many noble officers serving in the armies. Though some of the causes of mental disorders in the military might have evolved with time, various mental disorders are dominant in the contemporary militaries. However, the number of soldiers seeking mental health care is low due to fear of stigmatization. Soldiers also consider seeking help such as attending therapy as a sign of weakness, thus contributing to the high rates of unsolved military mental problems. To address the stressing situations and trauma from work pressure and loss of life, most soldiers have turned to drug and alcohol abuse. The following research paper shall explore the specific causes of mental disorders in the military besides their forms of manifestation and the possible interventions to the stated problem using credible literature critic.
History of Mental Disorders in the Military
The serious cases of mental disorders in the military date back to 1981 during the post-World War 1. The various soldiers who reported back from war manifested signs of mental illnesses. Besides, the serving members the early military continued to express signs of mental disorientation and stress (Stein et al., 2019, p. 467). The issue of mental disorders in the military has continued to revolutionize with time through the various world wars to the contemporary world. In the present-day military, various diagnosis depicts significant cases of mental illnesses. However, there are still issues with access to mental health care among the military men as well as fear of stigmatization by the society as a weakness, affecting the number of soldiers willing to seek help.
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Common Mental Disorders in the Military
Various mental disorders are common in the military from the historical accounts to the present day. One of the illnesses is bipolar disorder. The disease is common among the military officers during the training and services lives of the officers. The disorder manifests in the form of mood changes among the officers (Cancio, 2020, p, 50). The officers can sometimes depict extremes high and low moods towards various social and military activities. Bipolar disorder has been dominant among military officers since the historical world wars.
Another mental disorder manifesting among military personnel is anxiety. The various victims of the disease would, at times, depict signs of over distressing and undue agitation to perform activities. Most of the military personnel suffering from the disorder exhibit cases of prolonged fatigue and they are likely to have reduced concertation levels to various activities (Weir et al., 2019, p. 650). The anxious military usually has difficulties with sleep, or their sleep could be dominated by frightening and taunting nightmares.
Moreover, Major depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) also continues to dominate among the mental illnesses that are exhibited among most members of the military. The disorder is also known as a unipolar disorder. The various military officers who suffer from the disorder express extreme and persistent feelings of sadness and withdraw feeling from commonly exciting activities. The various victims have reduced speeches and prefer a monologue type of communication other than dialogues or lengthy statements (Stein et al., 2019, p. 466). Although a number of military trainees suffer from major depression disorder, this type of disease is common among the ex-military officers. PTSD results from the trauma experienced in the war fields, with soldiers witnessing loss of life and colleagues dying.
The Effects of Mental Disorders in the Military
Mental disorders could have severe consequences if they are not addressed well. They effects are felt by the soldiers, families and the community. Mental disorders among military officers’ lead to drug abuse and drug dependency. Most of the various victims of mental illnesses in the military are not aware that they are sick. Rather, they seek a solution to the absurd mental feelings from the abuse of drugs. The mentally ill officers perceive drug usage as a remedy or solution to the mental feeling they undergo (Weir et al., 2019, p. 650). The various victims usually fall prey to hard drugs and alcohol.
Mental disorders among military personnel could also result in psychosis conditions. The condition refers to a state were the specific officers become obsessed with various activities. Psychosis among people with a mental health condition is manifested through overdoing, or excess passion towards particular engagements. Such military officers are dangerous as they are commonly prone to unnecessary violence. Mental disorders among military officers usually result in suicide cases. These victims are often suicidal, and they mostly like to take others along as collateral damage (Elbogen, 2019). Various cases depict that mentally ill military officers would hurt or kill close members of their close families in the process of committing suicide.
Another effect of mental illness is poor performance on duty. Mentally sick officers usually perform poorly at work, and they have reduced concentration levels. The officers have a minimized memory, which jeopardizes their effectiveness in military expeditions (Elbogen, 2019). Concertation and the ability to memorize information are key elements in good performance of military duties. Mental disorders affect the efficiency of the officers' memories capacities, and concertation.
Mental disorders among military officers usually result in family breakups. The family breakup cases are normally based on violent conduct or misappropriation of funds. The families of the various sick officers normally suffer from brutal conduct. The various marriages end up in divorce or in extreme cases, suicidal murder could occur (Elbogen, 2019). Besides, mentally sick military officers are usually disoriented from the rest of society. The various sick officers do not prefer participating in community events whenever they get the opportunity. The officers have a reduced sense of social life, and they normally prefer to isolate themselves from the rest of the community members. Mental illness among military officers could result in psychopathology conditions. At this stage, the officers depict total mental insanity. The burden to the community is enlarged with increased cost of treating mental illness.
Causes of Mental Disorders among Military Officers
One of the most significant causes of mental disorders among the troops is the extraneous military training. Military training involves certain practices and exercises that could expose specific individuals to mental disorientation. The various army trainees who are incompatible with the military drills during the training could find themselves at the exposure of mental disorientation (Stein et al., 2019, p. 467). The military training exposes trainees to a sudden change of environment, and such a phenomenon could result in extreme cases of culture shock as trainees struggle to adjust to the extraneous yet noble military training.
Another cause of mental disorders among military personnel is exposure to extreme cases of violence. Violence can disorient an individual's psychological situation. The military life exposes the various servicing in the military to high levels of violence and brutality. Right from the training the service, military lifestyle is graced with violence and combative engagement (Stein et al., 2019, p. 466). Violence causes anxiety and tension among military officers, and a phenomenon could easily result in mental disorientation.
Another cause of mental disorders among the military personnel is torture. During the war, officers could be compromised and seized as captives. Military captives are usually undertaken through torture and severe punishments. Torture causes the brain to function in skipped lapse because of reduced oxygen supply. Besides, military training centers usually practice controlled torture as a way of punishing uncooperative trainees. Such a phenomenon is dangerous because varying levels of torture could have effects on the brain of an individual Torture could also impair the cognitive capability of an individual. Such a scenario would easily make one loss of sense of self and recognition.
Mental disorders among military officers are also caused by exposure to killings and murder. The act of killing during military expeditions normally results in extreme mental disturbances (Cancio, 2020, p, 55). The killing could be necessitated during war or combat, and such acts normally haunt certain members of the military who are not are to handle such cruelty. The trauma of witnessing people get killed, especially colleagues is responsible for mental breakdown.
The witnessing of great destruction and loss of property during warfare usually triggers undesired mental disturbances. The exposure of military officers to destructive military mission's results to development of mental disturbances in the post war life. The various victims of mental disorders usually give accounts of certain ugly scenes that they witnessed on the battlefields. Besides, the sight of great destruction usually causes the military officer to have a reduced concept of life and its worthiness (Reinhard et al, 2019, p. 308). They begin perceiving everything as just vanity. Most of the mentally ill officers usually have a low sense of property ownership. Such mental disorientations during warfare case the development of mental illnesses among military officers.
Mental illness among military officers could also result from physical injuries during training sessions or during military missions. Physical injuries on the head could easily result in the development of mental disorders. Besides, combat during military expeditions could lead to severe head injuries. During the violent conduct in the line of duty, military officers are very likely to acquire head injuries, which could result in the devilment of mental disorders (Reinhard et al, 2019, p. 308). Also, the loud bangs made by military ammunitions could have serious effects on the ability of an officer to concentrate. Thunderous voices such as gunshots and bomb bangs cause mental disorientation among various members of the military.
Possible Interventions to the Problem of Mental Disorders in the Military
Various solutions could be implemented to address the issues of mental disorder among military officers. One of the interventions is the introduction of orientation forums for ex-war veterans. The various jurisdiction in the world should consider introducing orientation programs for soldiers who return from war. Such programs would help to integrate the veteran soldiers with the rest of the society (Reinhard et al, 2019, p. 309). Military life alienates service members from social communities during military missions. The initiative of orienting the officers back to society will ensure that they do not suffer culture shock. Besides, the effective orientation of the officers into society would help them to deal with stress issues effectively.
Another intervention that could address the issue of mental illnesses among military officers is the introduction of guidance and counseling sessions on stress management during the training of military officers. Military officers should be exposed to various strategies that they could deploy to ensure that they deal with stress (Reinhard et al, 2019, p. 309). Stress management is a crucial issue in avoiding mental disorders because stress plays a significant role in the development of mental illnesses among military officers. The counseling sessions should enlighten the officers on the various strategies to deploy in handling shock from disturbing scenes.
Moreover, mental illnesses in the military could be eliminated through credible recruitment of officers based on the mental ability of an individual in handling military activities. Most of the various military trainees join the training with undesired qualifications. The qualifications of a military officer should be based on the natural and professional ability of the persons to handle the complexities that are involved in military life (Reinhard et al, 2019, p. 310). I would suggest that the recruitment exercise for military persons to focus on the individual's natural ability to adapt to the military lifestyle.
Moreover, I recommend the elimination of torture as part of the punishment, which is subscribed to the uncooperative military officers. Torture during training programs exposes trainees at the risk of developing serious mental problems. I would recommend the military trainers to device another equally punishing measure other than the use of torture (Burns, 2020). The contemporary military training colleges should design updated punishment measures to deflective military officers other than the use of the draconian method of torture and the use of pain as a form of correction.
The administration of frequent diagnosis on military officers as a way of preventing the development of mental disorders which will be done through compulsory therapy sessions. Various mental disorders are easily curable when detected early. Frequent diagnosis of officers will improve the chance of identifying the manifestations of such disorders (Burns, 2020). The essence of frequent diagnosis of mental disorders is to ensure that the correct treatment plan is administered in time. Although critics might perceive frequent diagnosis of mental illnesses as infringe to personal privacy space, the exercise has the advantage of addressing mental disorders among officers before they develop into unmanageable conditions.
Military officers should be accorded a significant amount of time for rest and off duty. Military officers should be given opportunities to relax their minds and catch up with their families and friends. Such intervention is relevant in ensuring that the officers manage their stress effectively (Weir et al., 2019, p. 653). Besides, such a phenomenon will also allow the officers to balance between military work and their social life entirely.
Conclusion
The exposure to military life exposés many military officers to high-level risks of developing severe mental disorders. Early cases of mental illnesses among military officers manifested in the post-World War I and II. Bipolar disorder and anxiety are among the major mental illnesses among military officers. Military officers who suffer from post-trauma stress exhibit feelings of sadness and withdrawal from social activities. Mental disorders in the military could be caused by exposure to violence and extraneous military training. The witnessing of destruction during warfare causes mental disorientation among members of the military.
Physical injuries incurred during military training and military operation could lead to the development of mental disorders among military officers. The introduction of guidance and counseling on methods of handling stress is essential in addressing the problem of mental disorders in the military. Besides, the introduction of orientation programs for ex-soldiers is a credible method of ensuring the officers integrate with society effectively and that they manage stress properly. The administration of frequent diagnoses on the officers will increase the chances of early diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Recruitment of the right military personnel, depending on the natural ability to adapt to military life, is a practical approach in averting the manifestation of mental disorders among military officers. Family members should be involved in therapy sessions to help soldiers overcome depression, stress and associated mental conditions.
References
Burns, J. L. (2020). The Role of Military Skills and Strengths in Determining Successful Reintegration in Military Veterans (Doctoral dissertation, Alliant International University).
Cancio, R. (2020). Military Cohorts, Substance Use, and Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence. Violence Against Women, 1077801219893475.
Elbogen, E. B. (2019). Homelessness and money management in military Veterans.
Reinhard, M. J., Prisco, M. K., Lezama, N. G., & Ritchie, E. C. (2019). Military Environmental Exposures and Mental Health. In Veteran Psychiatry in the US (pp. 299-313). Springer, Cham.
Stein, M. B., Kessler, R. C., & Ursano, R. J. (2019). Reframing the suicide prevention message for military personnel. JAMA psychiatry, 76(5), 466-468.
Weir, B., Cunningham, M., Abraham, L., & Allanson-Oddy, C. (2019). Military veteran engagement with mental health and well-being services: a qualitative study of the role of the peer support worker. Journal of Mental Health, 28(6), 647-653.
