Apr 10 2009
The other day I read this article about some questionable practices in military mental treatment centers. In short, the military discourages Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnoses in favor of other, less severe disorders which require less intensive treatment. The piece hit home for me especially because one of my goats came home from a tour in Iraq with PTSD. His case was severe enough for him to be diagnosed properly, and after pumping him full of a variety of drugs, the Army sent him home. That particular goat is in pretty bad shape, despite the support he received. I can only imagine how difficult it is for the soldiers who do not get treatment due to intentional misdiagnosis.
I talked about this with another goat in my field, one who holds a graduate degree in psychology. She was the one who told me about the alternative diagnosis of “adjustment disorder;” on the surface it seems appropriate because it manifests itself after trauma, yet fades over time. It would be very easy to justify an adjustment disorder diagnosis for a man or woman who recently returned from a combat zone because enough time would not have passed to truly diagnose PTSD. However, there are plenty of soldiers out there who resist seeking treatment until their symptoms are almost unmanageable because of the stigma attached to mental illness. After being trained to be “Army strong,” it’s hard to go to someone and confess a mental illness.
It’s hard to prove the exact extent of a mental illness. I understand this. I also understand that what the government is doing to these brave men and women is wrong. I have a problem with a mentality which refuses treatment to some and causes damage to more: “every dollar the Army spends on a soldier’s benefits is a dollar lost for bullets, bombs or the soldier’s incoming replacement.” Essentially, the Army and the VA are telling people that soldiers are another expendable resource, one that is less important than money to be spent on creating more war-torn minds.
In the end, the Army will protect itself: “after the Army became aware of the tape [exposing the order to military psychologists to avoid diagnosing PTSD], the Senate Armed Services Committee declined to investigate its implications, despite prodding from a senator who is not on the committee. The Army then conducted its own internal investigation — and cleared itself of any wrongdoing.” The people who are wronging these sick individuals are hiding behind a veil of plausible deniability by claiming that the condition is too hard to prove or that the symptoms are indicative of other disorders. There is uncertainty in medicine and diagnostics, but no other doctor would be able to intentionally misdiagnose a large number of patients without answering to a malpractice suit.
My rant here is not a tear on the military in general or the Army in particular. While I oppose this particular conflict, I support the troops, and I believe that the United States needs an armed force to protect its citizens. I also believe that the United States should take care of that armed force as best it can, especially when its soldiers are injured in the line of duty.
