Substance Abuse Among Veterans

Substance Abuse and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Veterans Substance abuse among our veterans is much greater than our civilian populations. This is largely caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, associated from combat, and who have endured multiple deployments. In most cases, veterans who have turned to alcohol or drugs have a dual diagnosis. They not only have a problem with alcohol or drugs, but they also suffer from a mental or mood disorder that has a major impact on these issues. In most cases the mood disorder is post-traumatic disorder(PTSD), which results from being in combat. According to the Veterans Administration two out of ten veterans suffering from PTSD also suffer from Substance Abuse Disorder(SUD). PTSD can cause …show more content…
PhD 2005 234). This was not an isolated trend, and the fiscal crises at the state level also caused cutbacks in the Medicaid program, which led to severe cutbacks in mainstream substance abuse (SA) services (Richard Tessler. PhD 2005 234). Discerning the general population impact of the declining capacity of the VHA to treat substance use disorders is difficult because the large majority of veterans do not have substance use problems services (Richard Tessler. PhD 2005 238). Reduced access to services may not be a problem for the majority: however, declining availability of SA treatment may be no small matter for the minority with clinical needs (Richard Tessler. PhD 2005 238). The Veterans Administration does acknowledge this issue of the decline in getting substance abuse treatment for our veterans. This has been much more challenging in recent years due to the influx in disability claims from the wars in Iraq, and …show more content…
Petrakis, MD, Robert Rosenheck, MD, Rani Desai, PhD 2010 185). Many Veterans Battle Substance Abuse” and drawn attention to associated violence and legal problems among returning troops (Ismene L. Petrakis, MD, Robert Rosenheck, MD, Rani Desai, PhD 2010 185). They also suggest that substance use disorders may disproportionally affect veterans from the current conflicts, and especially those veterans who also have psychological problems (Ismene L. Petrakis, MD, Robert Rosenheck, MD, Rani Desai, PhD 2010 185). However, actual rates of substance use disorders among veterans with PTSD and other mental illnesses are not well documented and there are limited data comparing veterans of recent conflicts with those of earlier wars (Ismene L. Petrakis, MD, Robert Rosenheck, MD, Rani Desai, PhD 2010 185). (1) there are high rates of substance use disorders among those with mental illness, ranging from 21–35% across major diagnostic groups; (2) the highest rates of comorbidity occur among those with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; and (3) there are differences in rates of comorbidity in veterans of different war eras (Ismene L. Petrakis, MD, Robert Rosenheck, MD, Rani Desai, PhD 2010 188). One unexpected finding is the relatively lower rate of comorbidity among those with