Through the nose
Why do you
think so many American soldiers are depressed/suicidal? Is this something unique to them, or
something common among military personnel no matter what country they are
from? What can be done to prevent
depression and suicide among service members?
What can be done for soldiers and the families of soldiers who are
depressive or have suicidal thoughts?
Are chemicals a good solution or does the problem lie elsewhere?
Depression rates have been going up in the last couple of years not just in the army. However, like the article states, the rates in the army are especially high. I think that this is quite natural, as the profession requires a person to face death and think about it. Also, the popularity of armed forces is much lower than it used to be, so a soldier might feel like his effort is not appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI think that this type of illness should not be only treated by drugs, but by a combination of therapy and a lower dose of medicine. However, as the article states, the state does not have enough money for counseling and caring for the mental state of soldiers. I have many friends that are strictly against any drug-based treatment, but I think that if the state does not have money for therapy, it should at least develop a drug that works. If the solution invented by Dr. Kubek will really work, then it seems like the best solution. The state should offer some kind of compensation for the risks of the profession.
In my opinion the way the Americans are attempting to tackle this problem is wrong. I believe that the doctors or psychiatrists that are spending time on this problem should rather focus on finding out what it is that is causing these soldiers to commit suicide in first place and not try. What’s worse is, that the way this problem is being addressed is just the same way of thinking as what the members of the army applied, causing the soldiers to commit suicide in first place.
ReplyDeleteWhat I also found troubling is that the article mentions that some of the soldiers that killed themselves were already retired. I found it hard to think of a reason why they would do this, but eventually I came to two possible options. One reason could have been that the people were feeling guilty after having committed crimes such as having killed a person that on second thought needn’t have died, which is something that happens fairly often in the army. An event like this probably stays with a person for his whole life, especially if he is feeble minded and tends to look back at what he’s done. One other reason is that the person cannot adapt to his surroundings. This could be either a rookie solder getting “bullied” upon entering the army, or a veteran that cant get back into normal life when he returns back home from whichever war-ridden country he’s been stationed at for a large, crucial part of his life.
Overall, these are problems that can be avoided and inventing more anti-depression drugs is not the way. That brings to mind the $2 billion dollars that were mentioned as being put into keeping the soldiers mentally fit. How do you waste $2 billion and still have people committing suicide? Only the US army knows. To sum up both sides of the argument, I think that the people just need to treat the soldiers better and not pour endless hundreds of billions into weapon research, as has been the trend for a large part of the 20th and the whole 21st century.
The fact that soldiers are committing suicides is saddening. However, these suicides have an even greater mental impact on the fellow comrades of the soldiers and their morale. Suicides might not necessarily be limited to just the US military but, it is possible that the US has a substantially higher rate, this might be due to the fact that the US has numerous open frontlines all around the world of which some are active combat zones, this is what distinguishes the US from other major countries as other countries assist instead of being the leading force.
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that if this spray is to be used on depressed soldiers then it has to be done in a non compulsory manner, that being said, the soldiers would chose whether or not to use the anti-depressant. I also firmly believe that depression is natural in a soldier’s line of work, it is a very tough job which challenges people physically and mentally. As a result, some soldiers can’t cope with the stress and pressure the job applies to them and become depressed. I couldn’t possibly imagine what some soldiers experience during their deployment in combat zones to force them to commit a suicide.
Some people could object by claiming that the anti-depressants might have side-effects like slower reaction time, unclear thoughts and other similar unwanted aftereffects and therefore, like I mentioned before, it should be a soldier’s free choice. Another reason why the use of this anti-depressant should be non compulsory is that some people are capable of solving their depression over time without the use of any chemicals, which is the most desired solution to this problem.
I do not really agree with Andy, because I am not absolutely sure whether the spray should be used noncompulsory. Sometimes when people are depressed they do not admit it, and they try to pretend that they are strong and that they do not need any help. That can be similar with the American soldiers. They may seem to be fine and refuse to use the anti-depressant, but deep inside he is just suppressing his sadness. Therefore my suggestion is that a proper professional psychologist would examine all of the soldiers and he would decide whether they should take the anti-depressants or not.
DeleteHowever, Andy is right about the side effects which anti-depressants might cause. Since there is not any other medicine or a way how to make the suicidal rates decrease, using the anti-depressant nasal spray is probably the best option. Because there is not enough money to provide psychologists for the soldiers, we need to try all possibilities we have.
It is proven in many studies that the depression rates are rapidly increasing. People are depressed not just in the army, but everywhere all over the world. We can see according to this article, that the depression rates in the army are evidently very high. For me it is not very surprising, because these people have to fight every single day. They have to be prepared for anything. It must be horrible to live a life when you know that tomorrow you could be dead. I mean there is a much higher chance to die than when you are crossing the street. These people have to be separated from their families, friends, parents, children, wives or girlfriends. If I would have to be separated from all the people I love I would probably be depressed all the time.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really agree with using drugs as the only treatment. I would suggest some mental help from psychologists, but apparently there are not enough money sources for that. Therefore the drug invented by Dr. Kubek is probably the best option the state can offer right now. However I think that the state should invest much more into the army, and I do not mean into weapons, but into soldiers themselves. They do such self-sacrificing service for the country. I think that the state doesn’t realize their value.