Noteboom The Law Firm

Veterans With Mental Illness More Likely To Abuse Substances

The stories of veterans returning from deployment, separating from the military, and beginning to abuse substances are legion. It happens so much, unfortunately, it is to the point where a majority of the population simply accepts this as matter-of-fact and disregards it. Many do not understand the underlying issues that contribute to this significant social problem.

According to a recently published study, there is a direct correlation between mental health and substance abuse. That is, those veterans suffering from mental health issues are more likely to have higher levels of substance abuse problems.

Information supplied to researchers came from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national administrative data. This data is compiled from VA investigations into the amount of substance abuse within the group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illness and psychological issues.

Of the more than 1 million VA patients who were determined to suffer from 1 of 6 mental disorders, 21-35% demonstrated substance abuse problems. Those veterans suffering from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the highest rates of substance abuse.

The information is important for planning for the substance abuse therapy programs for veterans from different conflicts. The study seemed to suggest there may be different types of substance abuse tied to different generations of veterans.