Veterans

Veteran substance abuse and the need for veterans rehab are prevalent for many reasons, all of which overlap.

Stress

Firstly, active duty endures daily stress beyond what others have to contend with. Regardless of branch, active duty military have to struggle with knowing they have given up many of their personal liberties and rights in exchange for becoming government property.

This means a lot of chafing against boundaries that you may not have realized you put on yourself.

For example, when most people in the private sector have a boss who doesn’t pay attention, ignores the rules, breaks the law, is incompetent, or is taking out a personal vendetta against an employee who reminds them of the stepfather from their youth, that person can quit.

In the military, that option doesn’t exist.

As a result, workplace stress is significantly higher because there is never an option of just quitting when things get too severe. There’s not really an option for changing departments or reporting someone to HR.

There’s the additional stress of knowing that every year or two, you and your family will be completely uprooted and move somewhere else, not to mention regularly getting orders for deployment. At any given moment, orders could drop that say you have to leave your family immediately for an unknown length of time or six months, missing critical milestones within your family and friend groups.

Trauma

Whether in your everyday job or on deployment, there’s a high risk of trauma and a severe need for veterans’ treatment in South Florida. Trauma can be something you experienced personally, something you witness directly or hear about indirectly, or something a friend or family member with whom you are close experiences.

That trauma can come from:

• War
• Violence
• Torture
• Car accidents
• Losing loved ones
• Divorce
• Assault
• Suicide
• Natural disasters

PTSD

PTSD happens when that trauma is left untreated. As trauma worsens and the symptoms increase, it’s too common for military members to self-medicate, especially with alcohol. And this requires veteran drug and alcohol rehab to overcome.

Anxiety and Depressive Disorders

Trauma and PTSD can lead to anxiety and depressive disorders. Workplace stress, when left unchecked, results in a high rate of anxiety and depressive disorders, especially among younger enlisted who don’t feel like they are being heard or that they matter to the people above them.

Self-medicating with drugs and alcohol can often exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders and even lead to the development of these disorders and people who may not have had them beforehand. 

Sleep Disorders

Almost all of the struggles dealt with by veterans overlap, and sleep disorders represent one of the central components of the Venn diagram of why veterans’ substance abuse is so prevalent.

Veterans have stress at work, which results in sleep disorders. They endure trauma and PTSD, which leads to more sleep disorders. So they self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, which leads to sleep disorders. Then they get injured because they’re tired, so they self-medicate more, leading to more injuries and sleep disorders.

Injuries

Injuries are a serious risk on the job during training exercises, TDYs, or deployments. Despite the comprehensive medical insurance that is often an appealing benefit to joining the military, in many situations, individuals can’t get the treatment they need for a physical or mental health condition because there’s a risk of losing their security clearance and ultimately their job.

So, veterans turn to self-medication. Drug and alcohol abuse can eventually necessitate veterans’ treatment in South Florida for drugs and alcohol and mental health conditions accompanying it.

Let Prevail Recovery help you get drug treatment for veterans and take back control of your life with our Florida addiction treatment programs.