AUGUST 29, 2025 – U.S. Veterans may be relieved to be home safe after a tour in a war zone, but that doesn’t always mean their battles have ended. When service members return home from war, they face many difficult new realities.
Reintegrating into the community is daunting. Some soldiers have been in foreign places fighting in wars for a long time. It’s not easy walking back into civilian life with all of its mundane tasks.
Trauma, mental health struggles, renewing previous relationships, and reintegrating back into the community may all contribute to rising rates of mental health and substance use struggles. According to the Veterans Administration (VA), Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans have an 11-20% rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is also a major contributing factor to substance use and addiction.
The Connection Between Military Life and Addiction
War is brutal, and veterans with long deployments face unusually high-stress environments. Combat veterans often face inhumane and desperate conditions and have sometimes seen and done things that create moral and emotional injuries to themselves.
It’s not unusual for a veteran to have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from an explosion, war mishap, or loss of consciousness. TBIs can cause neurological deficits, loss of memory, headaches, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and many other long-term neurological, physical, and mental health challenges.
Many soldiers turn to alcohol or other substances as a coping mechanism to help numb emotions or memories. They may also turn to substances to self-medicate unwanted symptoms from injuries, especially pain.
Additionally, some service members may be prescribed medications, including opioids, for pain from injuries. Unfortunately, this leads to opioid addiction for many people who are unable to stop taking the medications on their own.
Mental Health in the Ranks
Veterans commonly suffer from anxiety, depression, and PTSD. These issues may be compounded by difficulty returning to civilian life. When service members come back from war, they’re often surrounded by people who have no concept of the trauma they’ve suffered. Service members often keep their experiences to themselves, which may add to their mental health challenges.
Culturally, mental health disorders have been stigmatized in the past, and it’s often been worse for military members. Service members may hesitate to reach out for fear of being seen as weak. They may be concerned that seeking mental health treatment will risk their military careers. A lack of trust in the system, shame, and cultural biases all contribute to keeping many veterans from reaching out for help.
Fear for their careers only adds to the stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues they’re having. If a military member is afraid to reach out, this only compounds their mental health challenges.
The risk of self-medication rises as veterans fail to seek help. Unfortunately, individuals who self-medicate often end up addicted to drugs. Opioids are especially dangerous and come with a high risk of overdose and death.
The Ripple Effect on Families
Untreated mental health conditions and addiction affect individuals’ spouses, children, and other family members. Addiction is considered a family disease because it affects more than the addicted person. Addiction affects everyone associated with the addicted individual.
Family members often feel helpless in the face of their loved one’s addiction. Many people with substance use disorder (SUD) aren’t in the right head space to accept help. People with substance addiction typically have difficulty emotionally connecting, and this can cause mental health issues for their spouses and children.
Individuals with addiction often fear the idea of withdrawal and not having the drug to lean on. However, withdrawal doesn’t have to be scary. There are FDA approved medications that help people move through the detoxification phase without the uncomfortable symptoms commonly associated with withdrawal.
There are many methadone treatment centers where individuals can safely detox from opioids, alcohol, and other substances they’ve been using to self-medicate. These detox medications not only make withdrawal more comfortable, but also reduce the risk of overdose deaths.
Resources and Recovery Options
It’s important for veterans and active military members to be aware of the state of their mental and physical health. The VA and Department of Defense (DOD) offer resources to help military members and veterans dealing with SUD and addiction.
All VA hospitals and clinics offer mental health and addiction treatment. Most will see you on a same-day basis and you may not even need to be signed up for your veterans benefits yet. If you’re a veteran struggling with your mental health or SUD, the nearest VA facility should be able to offer assistance.
There are also community resources and nonprofits that focus on treatment specifically for service members, especially veterans. Many nonprofit organizations are set up to help veterans and service members with mental health and substance use issues.
Most people don’t hesitate to take care of their physical health when they have a problem. It’s important to break the stigma pertaining to mental health issues and treatment.
Our mental health is as important as our physical health, and it’s crucial to get help if you have a problem. Early intervention can reduce health problems and even death, so don’t wait to get treatment for yourself or a loved one.
Get Help Today
If you’re in the military and feel yourself turning inward and relying on substances to medicate physical or emotional pain, that should serve as a wake up call to seek help. Addiction and mental health problems can strip you of everything you hold dear, so don’t wait to reach out. Getting help for mental health challenges like PTSD, as well as addiction, may be the single most important thing you ever do for you, your family, your children, and your loved ones.
Any veteran experiencing a crisis can text 988 and then press 1 or text 838255. You’ll be connected to the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential assistance 24/7. The counselors will be able to connect you to the most immediate and beneficial help. Don’t wait. Reach out today.