8 percent of US soldiers taking medication for psychological distress
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Many American soldiers are showing signs of psychological distress after spending years on the battlefield, and an increasing number are turning to prescription medication to ease their symptoms.
According to a 2008 Rand Corporation study, under 20 percent of soldiers reported some kind of psychological distress, ABC News reported.
Some of them committed suicide, and an increasing number, at least 8 percent, take pills to treat themselves. Some use antidepressants, like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil.
"We are sending soldiers into the field, into combat missions, who are suicidal," said former Air Force psychologist Jason Prinster. "And we are prescribing medication that has significant side effects."
Troops say the side effects can affect their combat readiness; some medications cause sluggishness and disorientation.
Prinster told ABC News that the Army's culture takes physical injuries more serious than psychological ones. "If your leg is broken, if you have a physical problem, you can stay inside the wire. If you are anxious, afraid, hopeless, it's not OK," he said.
[Source: ABC News]