Vets at High Risk of Depression and Stressed Relationships

According to a new study, veterans returning from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have a much higher risk of suffering from depression and relationship stresses.

The study found that there are two aspects of relationship stresses among vets. The first was uncertainty over the relationship upon returning back home, and the second was increased stress between partners as the veteran began to settle down reestablish a daily routine.

What’s worse is that many veterans are not prepared for these challenges when they return home. Many of them expect to be able to pick up their relationships where they left, and that, more often than not, does not happen. The researchers believe that veterans need to recognize relationship uncertainty, and should be counseled to address these issues head-on, instead of avoiding them.

Veterans Law Group can find that relationship stresses and depressive symptoms are intimately linked among veterans. A person who suffers from depressive symptoms is more likely to be dissatisfied, impacting his or her interpersonal relationships. Additionally, people who suffer from depressive symptoms are much more likely to question the certainty of their relationships. It’s also not surprising that returning veterans feel antagonized by interference from their partner. These partners have spent months getting used a certain kind of routine without the veteran, and it’s not easy to give up control.

The researchers did not find that relationship stresses were different for those who have been through multiple deployments. Additionally, the researchers found that these depressive symptoms and stresses affecting service members become even worse as the vet begins to settle into his new life.

Veterans Law Group has an explanation for this. This could merely be an end of the initial “honeymoon phase” immediately after a veteran returns from combat. For veterans and their spouses or partners, it can be a major disillusionment to find that the honeymoon period dissipates rather quickly.