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Substance Abuse

If there’s a problem, you look for a solution, right? So, what is the solution to nightmares and confusion and anger that won’t quit?

It’s easy to think the answer is in a bottle or a pill. It’s easy to just keep taking the painkillers a doctor prescribed for an old injury. It’s easy to have a drink before doing just about anything. It’s numbing. It feels better than being sober.

Many combat vets self medicate with alcohol or drugs to deal with the pain of readjustment. They are 63 percent more likely to drink heavily than other vets, a Pentagon survey says. It’s a common way of coping. But there’s nothing noble about blacking out, turning your back on friends, picking pointless fights, sleeping through work, losing your dignity. It’s a road that can lead nowhere good: alienation, violence, crime, suicide.

Substance abuse is a battle. Sometimes in battle you need reinforcements. Fighting it is easier if you surround yourself with people who know where you’re coming from, find outlets that don’t involve sitting at a bar, and ask for help.

Learn more by reading the New York Times story on substance abuse among Veterans.

Get Help:

• Visit the National Veteran’s Foundation
• Contact your health care professional
• Find your nearest VA hospital by calling 877-222-VETS
• Check out the Vet Center Readjustment Services
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Call Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647 for confidential information
• Call the VFW or American Legion for soldier support services
• Join our private, vets only online community

• Back to Invisible Injuries