Disability rates are higher among veterans; about 29 percent of recent veterans have some sort of service-related disability. Most common are missing limbs, burns, spinal cord injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, hearing loss and traumatic brain injuries.
Veterans develop PTSD more frequently than the general population because they are exposed to a range of traumatic experiences during their service. Everything from combat exposure to natural disasters can be traumatizing for veterans and leave them struggling to cope with the emotional pain.
What kinds of problems do they face after their return? Some of the most significant are health related. A considerable number of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), with about one in five experiencing a mild form of TBI commonly known as a concussion.
Every veteran is affected by service. They may face health problems, employment issues and struggles around accessing their benefits—immediately after service but also in the years to come. These are some of the most common issues they encounter and how DAV can help.
Some employers might not consider military experience as work experience and would consider service as a gap in a resume. Employers may also worry that the veteran may struggle readjusting, impacting their job performance.
Veterans may be at greater risk for money mismanagement due to lack of financial experience, targeted predatory loans, and service-related traumatic brain injury. The highest levels of financial stress were found in post 9/11 service members and those closest to retirement.
Physical or mental health issues.
Physical injuries or illnesses, as well as mental health disorders such as depression and PTSD can worsen feelings of isolation, or make it harder for veterans to reach out for help.
Veterans are more likely to struggle with debt or other financial problems. Often, their issues with money start when they're still in the military. A study from the Pew Research Center found that more than 30 percent of military veterans struggle to pay their bills.
When you serve in the military, you may be exposed to different types of traumas than civilians. The war you served in may also affect your risk because of the types of trauma that were common. War zone deployment, training accidents and military sexual trauma (or, MST) may lead to PTSD.
Stressful situations or traumatic events that sometimes occur in military life might be associated with depression in Veterans and Service members. Life events that may cause stress include: Death of a friend or family member. Traumatic events such as combat, injury, natural disasters, or physical or sexual abuse.
Post-9/11 veterans are dying at higher rates than Americans overall, particularly through accidents, suicide and homicide, new research has found. The numbers are even higher for veterans who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Some of the common challenges with transition include the following: Relating to people that have no idea how to understand or empathize what military personnel have experienced. Reconnecting with family and re-establishing a role in the family as new routines have been in place while the veteran was not at home.
Veterans may feel ashamed and embarrassed to seek treatment, perceive mental illness as a sign of a weakness, or feel that it is possible to “tough it out” on their own, without assistance.
Mental health, medical and family issues
The number is even higher (30%) for veterans who served in the Vietnam War. Other physical and mental health struggles such as loss of limbs, severe burns, limited mobility or traumatic brain injuries.
The sorrow and pain veterans carry can often erupt as anger, and they end up pushing people away because they no longer trust. For veterans with moral injury, the shift back to civilian society and values can become impossible because their moral conscience traps them in solitary mistrust and self-punishing agony.
Some Veterans develop severe anxiety following a trauma or a life-threatening experience. For others, stressful life events — such as the transition from military to civilian life or difficult work situations — can cause anxiety disorders. There are several types of anxiety disorders with a variety of symptoms.
Physiologist Karen Owoc, with Palo Alto Veterans Affairs, says loneliness by far is one of the biggest struggles for veterans, with nearly 44% reporting feeling lonely at least some of the time and just over 10% feeling that way a majority of the time.
Conclusions: Loneliness is highly prevalent in U.S. military veterans, with more than half endorsing feeling lonely sometimes or often, and 1-of-5 reporting feeling lonely often.
Veterans May Earn More Than Civilians in Post-Military Careers, Study Shows. In many ways, the United States military is one of the most successful middle-class jobs programs ever created.
Some employers see veterans as too rigid or formal. Other stereotypes include problems with anger management or post-traumatic stress. One way veterans can work to overcome the stereotype of rigidity is to prepare for interviews.
Veterans continue to struggle to gain employment because of culture gaps between civilian society and their military pasts, as well as a lack of seamless integration amongst Veteran care programs. Years ago companies and small businesses would give priority to veterans for work from their State's Unemployment Office.
Hiring managers believe military veterans just want to walk into a position equivalent to their job in the military. Military veterans are expected to start over and work their way up, with new, civilian experience. Civilian hiring managers have extreme difficulty understanding the military experience.