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Leslie Orozco

Professor Nelson

English 1302

1 December 2021

Mental Health Stigma Present in Veterans

Stigma is one of the barriers that prevent veterans from seeking mental health treatment.

Stigma is like prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination but stigma is a more general negative

approach (Goode et al. 335). There are plenty of factors that affect the decision-making of

veterans regarding mental health services. The Department of Veteran Affairs has tried to reduce

stigma by introducing mental health services to primary care but what they did was increase

access (Wray et al.405). Making mental health services accessible is a great step but there is so

much more to resolve than just the lack of access. The social perception, the masculinity norms,

and overall, the reputation are some of the things that prevent treatment. The different factors

that have been identified so far must be addressed when there are attempts to help veterans seek

treatment.

Military service individuals have a high possibility of developing mental health disorders.

According to Stecker et al.,” likelihood of military veterans experiencing mental health

symptoms increases post-deployment, particularly for those who have combat-related

experiences.” A veteran was exposed to several traumatic experiences and their way of

functioning changes and adapts to their new environment of war and violence. It is the reason

why they struggle and many of them on their own. The hardships that veterans face upon

returning the part that we do not see.

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Coming back from service can be tough and can take a toll on a veteran in different

ways. For example, the way that the people see them is of importance. According to Sripada et

al, “social support was closely connected to mental health.” Research shows the link between

social support and mental health which proves that it affects veterans. Many factors can impact

the veterans that are diagnosed with a mental disorder and have negative views towards mental

health treatment. Certain things can cause negative views from a veteran. A person with a mental

health disorder can be seen as unstable, dangerous, and unpredictable (Kulesza et al. 231). The

way that society views something and the way that it judges something influences the way we

think.

When a veteran returns from service it might be hard to get used to civilian life once

again. They will try to socialize and make friends, but their social skills have changed so much.

Similarly, Garcia et al. states,” similarities between stigma related to help-seeking and

masculinity norms within the military.” We can see that masculinity is one of the things that can

affect this the way that they are seen. It is important for them how society perceives them and so

the way that mental health treatment is perceived impacts their decision. The lack of social

support might be due to negative community response to war or service members, difficulty

adjusting, and the feeling of being unable to share moments with others (Stripada et al., 1374).

Stripada points out once again the importance of how the individual is perceived. Researchers

agree that seeking mental health care is notably affected by stigma (Segal et al., 304). Stigma is

one of the most common topics when researching barriers for mental health services.

Barriers to seeking mental health can be classified into three categories; from the three

stigmas is one with the least focus and attention (Wray et al.405). Research has been done to find

better ways to decrease stigma towards mental health. Staying in contact with fellow veterans of
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their unit may be creating a support group to encourage normality of these treatments and

seeking help. A family member is the 56% of the social network of a veteran, the 55% listed a

spouse, 55% listed a friend and 26% of 1448 soldiers listed a unit member in their social group

(Sripada et al. 1371). Making sure that the veteran has the support of the community, and their

families is another way in which they can help.

It is common perception that veterans are strong individuals that can take on anything and

deal with anything a hero. Participants pointed out that military related media portrays the

emotional toughness of an individual of service (Wray et al. 410). Unfortunately, the way that we

see them sets an expectation we have of them that they feel obligated to meet. The expectation

we have of them might affect their judgment of seeking treatment. According to Garcia et al,

“believe that coming to treatment means they are weak, that they should be able to handle

problems on their own.” It is mainly about how it is viewed by society. Of course, other factors

affect the mental health service utilization such as access in their location, time availability,

transportation, or they simply cannot afford the treatment. Mental health for our veterans is

expensive when it is something that is important and might be even necessary for some. Not only

the way that their community views veterans affect their decision of treatment but their military

companions. Depending on the era’s veterans are closer to their service, they are more probable

to keep following military values and norms which in turn might affect their treatment attitudes

(Garcia et al., 275). Indeed, being in the military environment for a long time gets you used to

the norms that must be followed and you might keep following them even after returning to

civilian life. An individual in service is taught to be strong, follow rules, and orders; this makes

you strict with yourself. Once again expecting them to be strong and seeking treatment might be

seen as a sign of weakness. Veterans feel an obligation to maintain norms. It is also possible that
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what veterans are taught in the military affects these kinds of decisions making an impact

increasing stigma as well.

The causes of stigma within the veteran groups are clear. The way they are viewed by the

community, social support, social networks, and military attitudes. These are some of the reasons

why there is a stigma concerning mental health treatment and services. The VA as a department

is made to help veterans and they have taken initiatives to improve access (Wray et al., 405).

Unfortunately, access to mental health is not the only problem.

The VA can improve their health care program. According to the VA, “When you apply

for VA health care, we’ll assign you to 1 of 8 priority groups.” The VA has 8 groups each one

has a rating, and they make the decision based on honorariums and other qualifications such as if

you need immediate care that qualifies you as disabled. It just needs to have a different system of

evaluation, a better one. It can be asked, where does mental health come in that qualification of

groups? It is hard to find any information on their site about mental health services. Supporting

my point that it needs to improve to show that it is a common thing to want to seek mental health

services. The VA should create programs in which besides encouraging veterans to seek

treatment make it more available to the ones who live in more rural areas. There should be

transportation available for them or even make mental health services more affordable because

they are veterans. Other things to consider could be that the VA makes it a requirement to go to

mental health treatment for certain months or a year for those who were diagnosed with a

disorder. This can be done by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and having it be a

requirement might make it seem more common or normal between the veterans. Having a

disorder can encourage a person to treat that disorder but it may not be so specific for others.

According to Barrera et al.,” the need for enhanced diagnostic and referral practices in these
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settings is highlighted by these findings.” Settings such as primary care need improvement on

their approach to mental health services. Things like these should be considered more when

looking to decrease stigma.

In conclusion, improvement needs to be made in programs and support in order to see

changes in mental health services utilization. The veterans are an important part of our society,

and they too need to be supported. Mental health has to be prioritized as much as other health

services. Intervention to encourage veterans to seek services should aim to their cognitive factors

to motivate them (Stecker at al. 45). The goal is to prevent veterans from suffering alone or from

doing something to end their problems. Mental health must be encouraged more to help them

have a better life and better functioning.

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Works Cited

Barrera, Terri L.,et. al. “Diagnostic specificity and mental health service utilization among

veterans with newly diagnosed anxiety disorders.” General Hospital Psychiatry,

vol. 36, 192-198, March-April 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2013.10.013

Garcia, Hector A.,et. al. “A Survey of Perceived Barriers and Attitudes Toward Mental Health

Care Among OEF/OIF Veterans at VA Outpatient Mental Health Clinics.”

Military Medicine, vol. 176, 273-278, March 2014.

Goode, Jonathan, and Joshua K. Swift. “An empirical examination of stigma toward mental

health problems and psychotherapy use in Veterans and active-duty service

members.” Military Psychology, vol. 31, 335-345, June 2019. An empirical examination

of stigma

Kulesza, Magdalena., et. al. “Help-Seeking Stigma and Mental Health Treatment Seeking

Among Young Adult Veterans.” Military Behavioral Health, vol. 3, 230-239, July 2015.

Help Seeking Stigma

Segal, Andrea G., et. al. “Social Problem Solving as a Predictor of Attitudes Toward Seeking

Mental Health Care and Medical Care Among Veterans.” Military Behavioral

Health, vol. 2, 304-315, November 2014. Social Problem Solving

Stecker, Tracy., et. al. “Engagement in mental health treatment among veterans returning from

Iraq.” Dove Press, vol. 4, 45-49, March 2010.

Sripada, Rebecca K., et. al. “Social networks, mental health problems, and mental health service

utilization in OEF/OIF National Guard veterans.” Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr

Epidemiol, vol. 50, 1367- 1378, May 2015. DOI 10.1007/s00127-015-1078-2

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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Health Care. October 2021.

https://www.va.gov/health-care/

Wray, Laura O., et. al. “Veterans’ Mental Health Beliefs: Facilitators and Barriers to Primary

Care Mental Health Use.” Families, Systems, and Health, vol. 34, 404-413,

August 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000231