Many U.S. Veterans Returning From Iraq Report Mental Distress
Posted on: Thursday, 2 March 2006, 12:00 CST
Many U.S. veterans returning from Iraq report mental distress
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than one in three U.S. soldiers having served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Accounts of more than 300,000 soldiers and Marines returning from several theaters found those returning from Iraq consistently reported more psychic distress than those returning from Afghanistan and other conflicts, such as those in Kosovo or Bosnia, the report quoted an investigation by Army experts as saying.
Iraq veterans are far more likely to have witnessed people getting wounded or killed, to have experienced combat, and to have had aggressive or suicidal thoughts, the Army report said.
Nearly twice as many as those returning from Iraq reported having a mental health problem or were hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder, compared with troops returning from Afghanistan.
Earlier research has suggested that 12 to 20 percent of combat veterans develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which produces flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts that disrupt work and home life, the Post report said.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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