When it comes to seeking help for substance abuse or mental health issues, the stigma associated with it is proven to be one of the main deterrent factors, even in the general population. The matter becomes even more delicate among particularly susceptible groups – those exposed to higher stress levels or certain societal norms and expectations that could be highly detrimental to individuals already struggling with emotional or psychological difficulties.1

Military veterans are certainly one such group. They’ve chosen a calling that carries a great deal of responsibility and, in turn, a great deal of stress. Combined with the military culture ideals that emphasize strength and perseverance, it’s not surprising that so many veterans don’t feel comfortable sharing their mental health issues, particularly if they feel isolated from communities other than the military one.2

Unfortunately, statistics are alarming. Various reports show that military veterans are at a higher risk of developing mental health illnesses like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that failing to address them in a healthy way often leads to self-medicating attempts by overusing alcohol and illicit or prescription drugs, which could aggravate the symptoms they were trying to ease, creating a vicious cycle.2

Statistics Of Veterans With SUD And Mental Illness

As the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 2020 report found, more than 3 million veterans reported having mental health issues, and more than 830.000 of them were found to be severe. Regarding substance abuse, it was reported by around 1.3 million veterans; about 80% of veterans admitted excessive alcohol use, while illicit drug use was reported by 25% of veterans.3

These are, of course, only the official statistics. The real numbers are usually much higher since, as mentioned above, many veterans tend to keep their issues secret until they become too obvious or cause severe consequences to their health, career, or relationships with loved ones.2

That’s why only about 50% of veterans suffering from any type of mental health condition end up receiving treatment. For example, less than 15% of those suffering from substance abuse disorders (SUDs) get treatment, which is particularly alarming since it means that about 85% never get any help. These statistics are certainly a cause for great concern, so dealing with underlying causes and the stigma associated with mental health issues among the military personnel is critical for the well-being of veterans themselves, their families, and the US military.3

What Is Stigma?

Stigma can be described as a negative belief or prejudice that groups of people or an entire society have about something. Negative attitudes that result from stigma cause prejudice based on wrong and unfair perceptions and discrimination of people at the center of it. These inflexible attitudes are particularly evident in rigorous environments like the military. The military culture can be quite unfavorable for individuals battling mental health illness or addiction, causing them to feel shame and hide their problems instead of seeking help.4, 5

Understanding and recognizing various stigmas is essential to raising awareness and encouraging military veterans to seek help. The usual types of stigmas that affect all people, not only military veterans, are:4, 6

  • Public stigma or general perception present in society about people or groups of people according to certain preconceived notions. Public stigma is usually the result of misinformation and can cause harmful effects like discrimination and prejudice. As a result, individuals can be isolated or rejected from social groups, like their peers or professional environment.
  • Anticipated stigma is the result of one’s fear caused by anticipation of how others will react to them or their condition. It can make people feel anxiety, self-doubt, and intense fear of rejection, causing them to withdraw from social interactions.
  • Self-stigma is the internalization of all the negative stereotypes that an individual accepts as accurate and starts applying them to their perception of themselves or their self-image.

The stigmas that exist in society and persevere for extended periods can be based on many distinctive characteristics. Some of the most common ones are based on sex/gender and sexual orientation, while others can be based on religion, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic or educational status. Whatever the case is in a particular situation, being stigmatized or discriminated against can cause and worsen multiple mental health problems and often lead to substance abuse to cope with unpleasant emotions and experiences stigmatization can lead to.7

Dealing with the everyday challenges of mental health issues is hard enough in itself. Being stigmatized for it can severely aggravate these conditions and might cause or worsen distressing feelings like shame, guilt, isolation, and the need to keep one’s issues secret. Secrecy is particularly dangerous because it prevents people from getting the help they need.6, 8

The numerous negative consequences of stigmas are detrimental to the mental health of the individual exposed to them. Among the most severe impacts are stereotyping, discrimination, isolation, and oppression in most severe cases. Coping with prejudice and its consequences is hard enough, even for people without mental health issues. It’s common to experience feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and even anger. If left unaddressed, these emotions can lead to anxiety, depression, and complete self-isolation from any kind of social setting.9

Where Does Stigma Come From?

Stigma is as old as society, so pinpointing the exact root cause can be difficult. It’s clear, however, that it stems from prejudice, fear, and discrimination. In addition, the prominent use of negative labeling and deprecating language that spread through certain groups or even entire societies can cause the negative images and stigma to be passed down through generations and even become commonly present in the media, which is particularly dangerous as it strongly influences public opinion.10

How Does Stigma Affect Veterans?

The effects of stigma on veterans are multiple. However, most of them can lead to severe consequences by causing or aggravating mental health or substance abuse issues or preventing veterans battling alcohol or drug dependence from acknowledging their problems and seeking appropriate help.7

When deconstructing the impact of stigma on mental health, we must start with the immensely demanding nature of their job and the environment they function in. Many experience highly stressful life events like injuries, being held captive, deaths of friends and colleagues, or lasting disability. These events can lead to feelings of survivor’s guilt and severe depression.9

Any kind of vulnerable emotional state directly conflicts with all the stereotypes of military culture. They might feel that by being anything other than strong and capable of dealing with any hardships that come their way, they’d be falling short of expectations imposed by the military culture. The impact of stigma on mental illness can be severely damaging to veterans’ return to civilian life.9

Mental Health and Addiction Stigma

The main reason and causes behind widespread mental health and substance abuse issues among veterans include the nature of their job and all the related events, experiences, and challenges they’re exposed to. Those experiences can include:5

  • Sleep deprivation.
  • Sudden attacks and air raids.
  • Explosions.
  • Witnessing the death or injury of fellow soldiers.
  • Taking care of injured soldiers.
  • Taking someone’s life in the line of duty.
  • A sense of helplessness in life-threatening situations.
  • Long-term deployment.

If left untreated, all these experiences and resulting mental health issues and behavioral changes might become increasingly pronounced and cause people to view such behavior as erratic, emotionally unstable, moody, or even “crazy.” Unfortunately, these sorts of attitudes only make it harder for veterans to come to terms with the challenges they’re facing and reach out to professionals for help.11

Stigma can take many forms, and of them is described using the term “sanism.” This word is usually used to express discrimination or oppression of people with any cognitive or mental health disorder or impairment. It’s an irrational prejudice against people with mental illnesses, health issues, or substance abuse disorders.12

When it comes to veterans and their experience with sanism, experiencing various types of microaggressions or verbal and even physical hostility can be quite common. As mentioned earlier, this could easily lead to self-stigma and discourage them from addressing their issues and seeking appropriate help.12

How Does Mental Health and Drug Addiction Stigma Affect Treatment in Veterans?

When it comes to acknowledging and deciding to address mental health and substance abuse challenges, veterans need accurate information and guidance. This means stepping out of the military environment bubble and talking to mental health specialists and substance abuse experts to get a correct diagnosis and ease the common fears preventing them from getting treatment.13

Mental health stigma, as one of the main barriers preventing veterans from getting help for their emotional and psychological issues, has been increasingly researched in recent years. One such study found that about 60% of military personnel never seek help for the mental health issues they experience. Studies also suggest that:14

  • They’re being treated differently by both their unit and leaders (more than 44% of responders).
  • Almost 43% believe that they’d be perceived as weak.
  • More than 40% of responders fear that members of their unit would lose trust in them.
  • About 33% of respondents think it would harm their military career.
  • More than 25% of those questioned think they would be blamed for their mental health issues by their peers and superiors.

All these fears may cause them to avoid reaching out for help or resulting in:15

  • Missing appointments.
  • Worrying that treatment won’t work.
  • Worrying about potential career obstacles.
  • Not following recovery treatment plans.

How To Overcome the Stigma of Mental Illness?

Overcoming the fear of mental health stigma is undoubtedly challenging but not impossible with proper guidance. Even though most veterans have similar experiences and fears concerning stigma and mental health treatment, they’re still individuals and are treated as such when they enter treatment. Both substance abuse and mental health treatment are individually tailored to each patient’s needs. However, as members of a particularly vulnerable population group, veterans can approach their distressing feelings by:15, 16

  • Getting accurate information and learning about their condition.
  • Exploring possible treatment options for.
  • Connecting with supportive people who respect the willingness to get help and can assist in finding appropriate treatment.
  • Learning to recognize misinformation and try to ignore false beliefs, perceptions, and judgmental people.
  • Never forgetting that hardships do not define an individual, and that it’s possible to overcome mental health stigma and conditions with the right kind of help and evidence-based treatment.

Veteran-Specific Addiction Treatment at American Addiction Centers

If you don’t know where to start, the first step for any veteran battling mental health or substance abuse disorders is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They can direct you to appropriate specialists and offer insurance coverage if you meet their eligibility criteria. In addition, you can call their crisis line by dialing 988 and then pressing 1, or use the VA’s confidential online chat.17

To get the most reliable information about licensed treatment facilities near you, you can use SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator. You can also reach out to American Addiction Centers (AAC), one of the nation’s most reliable networks of substance abuse facilities. With rehab facilities across the U.S., you can easily find the right one for yourself. Get all the necessary information by calling a free and confidential 24-hour addiction helpline and contacting one of the highly trained admissions navigators.

They can answer all your questions about excessive alcohol use, as well as different types of addiction treatment programs. You can find out how alcohol detoxification works and what are the subsequent phases of treatment. Admission navigators can check your insurance coverage and direct you to suitable rehab centers. If you don’t feel comfortable talking on the phone, you can fill out and submit a verification of benefits form online.

AAC’s Specialized Treatment Programs for Veterans

As an extensive network of top-notch rehab facilities, AAC is also one of the community care providers that work with the VA to offer specialized alcohol and drug rehab programs for veterans. Some of the best facilities offering veteran-specific programs are:

  • Recovery First treatment center in Hollywood, Florida. Like all AAC facilities, it offers evidence-based addiction treatment programs, co-occurring treatment for accompanying mental health disorders, group and family therapy, and aftercare planning.
  • Desert Hope is a treatment center located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It offers personally tailored treatment programs, from medically monitored detoxification programs, inpatient and outpatient therapy, from month-long short-term programs to long-term programs lasting up to a year. It also offers co-occurring disorder therapy and maintenance support after the selected rehab program is completed.

These specifically designed programs focus on the most critical areas for addressing issues and challenges most military veterans experience. Those areas commonly include:13

  • Military culture and its specificities.
  • Family and relationships, as some veterans tend to become disconnected from any other community other than the military one, and this can severely damage their personal relationships.
  • Post-traumatic responses. Since many veterans suffer from stress-related mental health issues, most commonly anxiety disorders or PTSD, their response to everyday stress can be heightened and inappropriate for objective circumstances.
  • Character and values present a significant part of military culture. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon that while some traits that can be highly beneficial, even lifesaving in combat, the same ones could prove to be the opposite in everyday civilian life.