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MISSOURI CONFERENCE ON SOLDIERS' MENTAL HEALTH
--
For many troops, the battle with mental health
can
make their homecoming bittersweet.
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Story below:
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Conference on Soldiers' Mental Health
COLUMBIA - For many troops, the battle with
mental health can make their homecoming bittersweet.
The seminar, “Mental Health Needs of Returning Soldiers and Their
Families,” was mostly attended by doctors and healthcare workers, but a
few families wanted to know how to help their loved ones. They say the
military devotes a lot more time to preparing troops for duty, than
looking after them when they're done.
In the conference today, it was discussed that thirty-five percent of
people who return from Iraq seek mental help within the first year.
Numbers can be sobering, but they came as no surprise to Barbara
Schneider, the mother of a Marine.
"You know, I'm excited, I'm glad they're home. The expectation would be
that you go back to your normal life, and going back to doing things as
they were done before, and have the same relationships. And that's just
not the case,"said Schneider.
Schneider's son Stephen has seen two tours of duty with the Marine
Corps. After his first homecoming, everyday events had the potential to
take Stephen by surprise.
"We walked into a restaurant which had a buffet set up. And he just
stopped. He stopped in the doorway of the restaraunt and just looked and
was just amazed with the array of food that was on the buffet," said
Schneider.
Even something as simple as driving under an overpass can be a challenge
for a soldier who's been away for months or even years on tour. It's
easy to see an enemy in anything. A car driving by might be an IED, or
an innocent bystander could be waiting to hurl a grenade. Doctors
gathered to learn from each other how best to treat post traumatic
stress disorder, and other problems facing veterans.
"VA Hospital has programs. Military has programs. University has
programs. Other agencies have programs," said Dr. Arshad Husain,
conference director.
Even without the options families have available, Schneider knows from
experience that nothing could outweigh the joy of having Stephen home.
"I think we were a strong family before, but the bonds that are created
are so tremendously strong from having gone through something like this
together, that we'll always be close," said Schneider.
Schneider says the Columbia Military Family Support Group has been a
great help in understanding her son's life in the Marines. The Columbia
Military Family Support Group meets the second Wednesday and fourth
Monday of every month. E-mail Pat Wilson for details at
p.m.wilson@att.net
Reported by: Field Sutton
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Larry Scott --
