Fearing Stigma, US soldiers hide mental problems: Study

A majority of US soldiers who have done tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan say they suffer from stress-related troubles linked to their deployments, a study showed Wednesday.
But most keep their psychological problems to themselves for fear of being stigmatized or seeing their careers take a nose-dive, the study conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Psychiatric Association (APA) showed.
Nearly six in 10 US military members said their deployment in a war zone has caused them to suffer from "negative experiences" associated with stress.
But a mere 10 percent have sought treatment for mental health concerns, according to the study, which surveyed 347 members of the US military and their spouses.
Just over 60 percent said they avoided seeking help for mental health problems because they feared doing so would impact negatively on their career.
Fifty-three percent said they felt others would think less of them if they were to seek help for psychological troubles resulting from their deployment.
Two-thirds of military members said they rarely, if ever, talk about their mental health with family and friends.
Nearly half (48 percent) of the soldiers said they had difficulty sleeping, half reported feeling depressed, and one-third reported a lack of interest in daily activities, the study showed.
All of those problems are symptomatic of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which, along with major depression and traumatic brain injury, afflict nearly one in five of the 1.6 million US soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a separate study released by the RAND Corporation earlier this month.
In the APA study, around two-thirds of military spouses said running a home alone while their partner was deployed caused them stress, and more than half reported stress related to being a single parent while the soldier-spouse was at war.
Nearly twice as many poll respondents -- 65 percent -- said they were unfamiliar with the warning signs of mental health problems that might result from being in a war zone as those who said they knew what to look for -- 35 percent.
The mental injuries US soldiers are bringing back from Iraq and Afghanistan have been dubbed the "invisible wounds" of war.
The RAND Corporation study estimated the cost of treating soldiers diagnosed with PTSD or depression in the first two years following their return from Iraq or Afghanistan at up to 6.2 billion dollars.

Is your anger reactive or active?

Anger is a natural and normal emotion that each of us has. At times I will meet someone that says that they have never gotten angry. That is usually not the case. We as human beings simply display our anger in different ways. Usually we learn how to handle our anger from our parents. It is a learned behavior.

There are several ways that anger is displayed differently. To make it in the simplest form anger can be turned outward or anger can be turned inward. For example, someone who tends to usually turn anger outward may have dominating personality, will verbalize their anger, show hostility, swear, and may damage property. An example of someone that usually turns anger inward will feel upset (but not talk about it), have low self-esteem, feel depressed, and have issues with substance abuse.

Developing a pattern of internalizing and not expressing your anger may actually lead to explosive outbursts of violence, like a pressure cooker effect. Unexpressed anger can create problems that lead to unhealthy expressions of anger such as getting back at people indirectly, without telling them why, rather than confronting them in person or appearing hostile and cynical. People who are constantly criticizing everything and making negative comments have not learned how to constructively expressed their anger. Not surprisingly, those people are not likely to have many successful relationships.

Internalizing anger can be damaging to your health. It can raise your blood pressure and lead to substance abuse issues. These are only a couple of ways that internalized anger can damage your health. In addition, mental health issues can also arise with higher rates of depression as well as other personality disorders.

Learning to communicate effectively can reduce the anger and help you become more constructive in solving the problem. Consider asking yourself next time your angry some of these questions; Why does this bother me so much?, What need do I have that is not being met?, What principles of mine have been violated?, etc. Next look at your options simply being aware that you have many options and that you can decide to pick the best one helps reduce the anger. This technique can help you with taking an “active role” in solving the problem instead of a “reactive” approach to the anger.

For more information on improving your anger and communication please visit our website at http://www.positivesolutions.org/ we offer weekly classes, one on one anger management coaching, and workshops.

Karina Narduzzi B.A., C.A.M.F.
Positive Solutions Anger Management and Executive Coaching

Executive Coaching?? What is it?

I get many people asking me exactly what is Executive Coaching. Some wonder if it is only for “Executives.” Executive Coaching through Positive Solutions Anger Management and Executive Coaching is one on one delivery of coaching that deals with the four areas of the curriculum we utilize, Communication, Anger Management, Stress Management, and Emotional Intelligence.

Our Executive Coaching program is beneficial for professionals or high-profile persons that may be having angry outbursts at work. Our regular group program may not be suitable for them due to confidentiality concerns. We can provide this coaching at our office location or at another location. Our fees will include travel expenses if we are required to travel to another location. Our Executive Coaching sessions require a one-time fee for registration and starts at $100.00 per hour.

Our Executive Coaching sessions include pre and post computerized assessments that map out the client’s current skills in communication, managing stress, empathy, and managing their anger. This will help us determine which areas that the individual needs the most assistance and giving the individual areas of training to help them succeed.

We recommend that the client make a commitment of at least 12 hours of training with a follow up class of 5-10 more hours. Executive Coaching can be for as little as a one-hour session or as much as 6-8 hours at a time.

Please call us direct for more information about our Executive Coaching sessions 661-303-5669.

Weekly Class Schedule Update

Happy Spring! We have a schedule change for our weekly classes. Please note that we have moved our Adult Classes to Thursday evenings and our Adolescent Classes to Wednesday evenings. For all of our current class information please visit our website at http://www.positivesolutions.org/

Karina Narduzzi B.A., C.A.M.F.
Positive Solutions Anger Management and Executive Coaching
661-303-5669