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Combating deployment stress on front lines

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Francesca Popp
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq --  Stress comes in all forms and people deal with it differently. While deployed, people can have more stressors and if left untreated could lead to something more serious.

"All of us pay the price when we're deployed," said Maj. (Dr.) Bryan Davidson, officer in charge of the Combat Stress Control Clinic here. "People who've had multiple deployments are seeing more stress, and it can take its toll."

Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects as many as one in six servicemembers, according to a Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program study released in February 2008.

PTSD results from an inability to process a traumatic or potentially traumatic event. Davidson said symptoms include being easily startled, reliving the event through things like nightmares, disturbing thoughts about the trauma and avoiding things that remind someone of that event.

Once military members return home, they can seek out local mental health specialists for help with PTSD, but finding help while deployed has sometimes proven more difficult.

"We want people to know that if they are continuing to have problems, there is help," Davidson said.

The Combat Stress Control Team here is available to talk to servicemembers having a difficult time while deployed and to ensure Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors can complete their wartime missions. Davidson noted that people who have experienced trauma are not guaranteed to have PTSD.

"We are a force multiplier," said Maj. (Dr.) L. Lynn Pauley, 732nd ESS Combat Stress Control Detachment commander, whose team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and mental health technicians provides mental health care services throughout Southern Iraq. "By reaching out to troops, we can sometimes prevent stress reactions from becoming more serious psychiatric disorders. In our clinics, we can treat 98 percent of personnel and return them to duty."

PTSD differs from combat stress in duration and severity. Davidson, also a psychologist, said it is normal for people to have many symptoms of anxiety following something similar to a life-threatening event.

"Part of our job is to remind them that their reactions are to be expected. In combat stress, most people who experience traumatic events do just fine over time," he said.

However, there are a few who may be diagnosed with PTSD, and who after months or years have symptoms that are still severe enough to cause continued impairment in their daily lives, he said.

Combat stress is any stress associated with a deployment, not just stress associated with actual combat, said Davidson, who is deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "In some ways, it might be better to reword our title to deployment stress control, especially now that we're seeing less action."

Pauley, a psychologist by trade, said prevention is half of the mission here, while the other half is outreach. A servicemember can visit the clinic to receive a personal assessment and counseling to help treat his symptoms. The outreach portion allows providers and technicians - Army and Air Force - to go to units for morale visits and give open-forum classes such as sleep enhancement and anger management.

"Our goal is to improve the quality of life for the (service members) here," Davidson said. Lack of sleep is a very big problem, whether it's adjusting to the mission or just getting boots on the ground and adjusting to the environment.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Chauncey Simms, an aviation boatswain mate (fuels specialist) at Camp Cedar, Iraq, said he and his co-workers know the impact of combat stress and participate in the classes offered when the team visits.

"When we sit through the courses, I notice a difference in how we interact with each other," said the Sailor, who is deployed from Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, N.J. "Considering where we are and the mission we're doing, I notice a big difference in their attitude and how they carry themselves. It was pretty bleak in the beginning, but now there's a better outlook on everything overall."

Simms said he's noticed a difference in himself, too.

"I wasn't really good at dealing with stress before, but now it's a lot easier to sit and work on things instead of beating myself up," said Simms. "The combat stress team taught me ways of trying to get rid of that stress."

Pauley said people should not be afraid to seek help if they are facing challenges while deployed. She said a false "stigma" is sometimes created for those who see a professional.

"It keeps people from coming to see us and creates bigger problems in the long run. Plus, it blocks us from fully accomplishing our mission," said Pauley, who is deployed from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. "The only ramification is when a troop waits too long to get help and shows up here ready to harm themselves or harm someone else."

If a servicemember thinks he shows signs of combat stress, such as trouble sleeping, irritability, anger or anxiety, Pauley said her team is available to assist anytime.