Mental Illness In The Military Continues To Be A Growing Problem

US soldiers at the Bagram airfield north of Kabul (Reuters/Ahmad Masood)

Mental Health Leading Cause Of Military Hospital Stays -- USA Today

Through 2012, mental illness in the military took up more days for hospitalization than any other mental or physical problems, including war wounds, accidents, illness or pregnancies.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental illnesses accounted for more days spent by troops in the hospital than any other medical condition in the military in 2012, including war wounds, injuries and illness, according to Pentagon data.

The numbers show how years of exposure to combat trauma created a core of servicemembers with severe mental health problems — about 20,000 last year — who accounted for more lost workdays than those with any other health issue.

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My Comment: These statistics are sobering ..... mental illness in the military took up more days for hospitalization than any other mental or physical problems, including war wounds, accidents, illness or pregnancies.