many troops returning课文
Many Returning Troops Struggle To Reconnect
From a distance, the more than 11 ,000 state residents who have returned from war in the past five years have disappeared amlessly into the Connecticut landscape一back to colleges, spous, civilian or military jobs.
But up clo, the transition has not been so smooth.
A first-ever survey of returning state troops shows that at least one-quarter of them meet the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, while many cite problems with a spou or partner and difficulties "connecting emotionally with family" as major concerns.
A state mental health hot line has fielded more than 300 calls for assistance from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members in the past nine months. Recently, the state veterans' affairs commissioner has begun working with the courts to ensure that increasing numbers of recently returned troops who are arrested for domestic violence, dr
unken driving or other offens are flagged and referred to counling programs.
"There's a lot of real high risks here一not only for the military members themlves, but for their families," said Linda Schwartz, commissioner of the state Department of Veterans' Affairs. "We have people in almost every town in our state who have rved deployments, and the VA is just not going to be able to get to them all. We have to do more to reach out to them ... to catch them when they fall." Preliminary findings of a survey nt to 1,000 Connecticut troops who rved in Iraq and Afghanistan一more than half in the National Guard or rerves一found that about 19 percent met criteria indicating they are at risk of traumatic brain injury, while at least 24 percent met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
Schwartz said the percentage of troops who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD is likely higher than the rate captured in the survey, which ud strict criteria.
The study also suggests that troops are reluctant to ek counling from mental health professionals,with a large proportion of respondents saying they have sought psychologic
al help from primary care doctors or emergency rooms. About half reported that their general health was "much wor" or "somewhat wor" than before they were deployed to war.
The state-funded study - - conducted by Central Connecticut State University's Center for Public Policy and Social Rearch, with assistance from the Yale School of Medicine - identified veral key areas of concern among the returning troops, among them: a n of being disconnected from their community; trouble communicating with everyone except fellow veterans; feelings of being "tightly wound" or "aggressive"; and a reluctance to ek psychological help, for fear of being stigmatized or perceived as weak.
"When we look at the data regarding both family and peer relationships, we e that a sizable proportion of veterans report difficulties in the areas," the study's authors wrote in a draft report. "The problems are undoubtedly exacerbated by the symptomology of PTSD, with nearly a quarter of respondents exceeding the diagnostic threshold."
The experiences of Connecticut veterans mirror their counterparts nationally, with data cit
ed in a 2007 report by a Defen Department task force indicating that about 38 percent of soldiers reported mental health concerns in the months after their return. Among "citizen-soldiers" rving in the National Guard, the figure ris to 49 percent. The task force recommended sweeping improvements in psychological rvices to Guard and rerve members and their families.
