Soldiers Battle Stress Alongside Insurgents
There is a disorder dedicated to stress from serving in the Armed Forces. We know it as PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. It's one of the toughest enemies faced by our fighting forces in Afghanistan, but it's nothing new. Stress has been one of the most lethal enemies our men and women in uniform ever have to deal with, after their tour of duty is over, as well as during their tour.
Many of them don't realize that there is help available while on active duty, even in a warzone. Lt. Col Thomas Stokes, a social worker from Glenshaw, Pa., job in the military is to head up a team to assist soldiers with the stress of combat and increase their efficacy on the battlefield. "My objective is to maintain the fighting strength," said Stokes.
Stokes and his team realize that there are a multitude of different stressors in the battlefield, based on where each particular soldier is in their deployment. Anything from the stress of basic training, to the stress of day to day insurgency suppression, to adapting to a new environment away from family and the comforts of home. On the other side of that, there is also re-adapting to their environment when they return home.
Stokes admits that treatment is not always easy, but he prefers to take a proactive approach to stress. "The key to what we do in combat stress is to be proactive," said Stokes. "We take our services to the Soldiers." One of the ways Stokes and his team do this is by working side by side with the Chaplains, in order to help soldiers get healthier on the mental and spiritual side of things.
The goal is to meet stress head on and dispel some of the falsehoods about seeking treatment for mental problems, especially in the military. Seeking help cannot damage your career in the military, but those who do not seek help can damage their career, and affect the lives of others.
"If you are feeling overwhelmed and you don't seek assistance, your actions may have an adverse affect on your career," Stokes said.
Military personnel should know that if they are going through combat stress, they should not hold it in and suffer. Stress is a normal, human reaction to traumatic events - especially war. It should also be noted, as this is a major reason for soldiers not seeking help, is that asking for help is not a sign of weakness at all. Not getting that help is.
Source: U.S. Central Command
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