The Combat Veterans Dilemma: Pills, Pot, & Booze

By Daniel R. Gaita, MA
1/10/16
Its 2016 and America faces a suicide crisis amongst her combat
veterans that seek refuge from the haunting recollections of all the
horror that war brings. Dreams of dead brothers placing blame, crystal
clear intrusive memories of events that often resulted in the death of a
fellow warrior(s) or an enemy fighter(s) whereby split second
decision(s) based on training to react leads to an eternity of reliving
the experience subconsciously as the mind seeks to justify the events
as normal.
But war is anything but normal and thus the eternity of the
warrior is forever shifted and bent around the horrifying memories that
never fade. Sure, the pharmaceutical industry touts efficacious
treatment modalities utilizing psychotropic compounds tested and
claimed to treat the symptom(s); via the blocking of or increase of
serotonin or norepinephrine into the brains pleasure centers. All the
while arguably interfering with the brains natural processes and
ultimately amplifying the symptoms rather than treating them, while
theoretically dumbing down the brains ability to correctly self regulate
these compounds naturally.
The result is often a non-supervised, self-medicating, subject that
knows something is just not right, that there has got to be a better
alternative to feeling like an emotionally regulated zombie that now
knows neither high, nor low, that rather, just is; like a zombie, void of
affect or any depth of emotion other than easily triggered rage.
Now lets mix in a little alcohol to dull the low and provide some
sort of temporary state of euphoria that is often accompanied with
states of aggression, and limited inhibitions leading to behavioral
consequences, health impairment, social dysfunction, destroyed
intimate relationships, employment challenges and in many cases,
criminal consequences at great financial cost.
Sprinkle in some cannabis (either medical or recreational),
cocaine, heroine, meth or other substance to ease the intensity of the
anxiety and you got yourself a cocktail of chemicals slowly and
simultaneously re-wiring the brain to compensate for the ever
changing substances being introduced through the production or lack
thereof of crucial neurotransmitters that had once been nearly
perfectly balanced to provide the optimum amount of happy and
sad based on the environmental cues primal instincts and our
genetic coding This my friends is the dilemma, or should I say, the
vortex plaguing the warrior that protects(ed) you and me while we
sleep in the comfort and safety of our homes.

Solution one: Pick one, but never all. The combination of

prescriptions, alcohol and drugs is deadly and systematically begins to
degrade the pleasure centers, robbing them of their own ability to
regulate and adapt to emotional stimuli being triggered by our memory
centers interaction with our psyche and parasympathetic nervous
system.
This is often a hard road to hoe by oneself as it requires the
honest feedback of a person of trust, while fully knowing the addictive
principals of chemical dependency will almost always direct the
individual away from help and back towards the substances the brain
is now convinced it requires to regulate emotion.
As a result, detox or focused substance abuse treatment is
needed. But such options are often the last alternative chosen as the
brain is now in conflict with the suggestion of cutting out the
substances. This tends to lead to isolation and engagement in
activities or friendships that seek to satisfy the chemical dependency.
Misery loves company.
Solution two: Queue up your life with activities that help others.
Altruistic acts increase the natural production of serotonin and enhance
mood without substances because helping others in need feels good. It
rewards the pleasure centers and rewards the spirit too. It tells the
brain I am needed, I am wanted, and I have worth It also facilitates
our humanistic need for social interaction, which is often depleted
while enduring chemical dependency. Not only is this type of activity
good for the soul and the brain, but also beneficial for humanity,
society, and the welfare of others. Id argue that it is one of the
most effective treatment for those suffering from the intrusive
memories of war. Why? Because it works to undo the cognitive
dissonance suffered as a result of having to kill, or watch others killed
in manners that are often times simply indescribable. In short, it not
only treats the symptom, but also the cause.
Solution Three: Psychotherapy. I know, I know, the last thing
you want to do is talk about the shit you are trying to forget about.
Well, I have great news for you. Not all psychotherapy is geared around
regurgitating your childhood or the acts of war committed. More recent
evidence based therapies utilize psychotherapy in as short a period as
12 weeks for only one hour per week. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) techniques work to address your reaction to things that piss
you off or ignite your aggression by determining the link between your
reaction and your perception of your reaction. In other words, it
teaches you to regulate your response to events in your life that now
tend to cause the greatest amounts of discomfort. Its guided, its fairly

easy (compared to what a combat vet has already endured) and it does
not give a crap about how your daddy or mommy held you as a child.
Do be aware that some CBT techniques such as Trauma Focused
Therapy (TFT) does require the individual retelling, in great detail, the
traumatic events. This is done to foster an understanding of how and
why those events impact our cognitions at the present time. These 6090 minute sessions are often times followed with a period of deep
sadness, depression, and nausea. The solution to which is often times a
really good (safe) workout, run, or other period of increased heart rate
based physical activity. This leads me to the fourth solution.
Solution Four: Exercise. Nothing, I repeat, nothing works better
at regulating positive emotional factors than 30-60 minutes of
sustained cardiovascular activity. Done 5-6 days a week, Id argue that
exercise is more effective than Drugs or Therapy combined, has no
negative side-effects, reduces health care costs, reduces all negative
symptoms associated with trauma, increases quality of sleep, sense of
self efficacy, and overall quality of life.