PTSD doubles among Canadian military

The Globe and Mail reports;

The increase in PTSD rates is “not that surprising after 10 years of being involved in a very heavy combat mission,” said Colonel Rakesh Jetly, a senior psychiatrist and mental-health adviser to the Canadian Forces surgeon-general.

The 2013 survey asked soldiers, sailors and airmen and airwomen whether they had experienced one of the following six conditions in the past year: Depression, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.

A total of 16.5 per cent of soldiers reported experiencing at least one. Of those conditions, three were examined in the same way in the 2002 survey. (The official definitions of the others changed in the interim, making an apples-to-apples comparison difficult, Mr. Dale said.)

Along with PTSD, rates of panic disorder among soldiers rose from 2 per cent in 2002 to 3.4 per cent in 2013.

Explanation @zurichtimes​;

Canadian soldiers were involved in heavy fighting in AfPak? Really? Never heard that one before. Canadians were sent there mainly to train the Police and other uniformed personnel. That is what they have done in Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and in Kurdish controlled areas.

The news from Canada made people wonder why anyone would immigrate there if Trump was elected?

Ignorance of facts and sailing down the Nile were options, but not very informed ones.

Sources:

• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/one-in-six-military-members-have-mental-health-problems-statscan-says/article19990160/
• http://www.globalresearch.ca/afpak-war-on-two-fronts/15685
• http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-military-to-train-kurdish-special-forces-battalion-top-general-says