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Kevlar for the Mind: Dealing with the stresses of your life

Editor’s note: With this issue, we roll out a new biweekly column written by Bret A. Moore, a clinical psychologist and former active-duty Army officer who deployed twice to Iraq. The column is designed to focus on the many psychological stresses unique to military life. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions.

Being a service member has many challenges and problems that would psychologically immobilize the average civilian.

As such, I’d like to use the debut column of Kevlar for the Mind to focus on the problems that service members face as a consequence of their jobs. In my experience, those who live the military life every day sometimes tend to forget just how tough that life can be.

Of course, one of the biggest sources of stress right now is deployments and their impact on psychological health.

A recent study by the Rand Corp. found that nearly 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans reported symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. With more than 1.6 million troops deployed since the initial invasion of Afghanistan, this translates to about 300,000 veterans dealing with significant emotional problems. Even more report some degree of traumatic brain injury.

If that isn’t enough, troops also deal with a variety of other mental health problems, such as anxiety and substance abuse.

Family life is another area in which the high operational tempo causes problems. Maintaining a happy marriage and being a successful parent is tough enough without deployments. Many of you have deployed three, four or even five times in recent years. That takes a toll. Some of you have had to deal with broken marriages, resentful and angry children, and a home life that can only be described as unsatisfying.

There are also stressors not directly related to deployments. Most service members are required to maintain a blistering pace at work, particularly in the months preceding deployment.

Combined with crack-of-dawn physical training, field training exercises, permanent change-of-station moves that are anything but permanent, and dealing with the occasional senior enlisted person or officer who seems to find only fault in your work creates a virtual perfect storm for psychological burnout.

You have a tough job. But most of you love what you do and can’t imagine doing anything else.

As a former active-duty psychologist who spent a total of 27 months deployed to Iraq, I appreciate the unique challenges you face. As such, I want Kevlar for the Mind to be a forum for the typical service member who maintains that blistering pace and feels the everyday stress of being in the military.

I’ll cover a range of topics related to the psychological well-being of men and women in the military — PTSD, depression, financial problems, marital and work conflicts, and myriad other issues. But I want this column to address your concerns, so don’t hesitate to e-mail me questions and comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

Bret A. Moore, Psy.D., is a board-certified clinical psychologist and a former active-duty psychologist who served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. E-mail him at kevlarforthemind@militarytimes.com.

This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to convey specific psychological or medical guidance. A response to a question does not constitute a psychotherapy or counseling relationship and does not substitute for professional mental health evaluation and/or treatment. Readers should see a mental health professional or physician for mental health problems.