America’s Medicated Army

About 20,000 troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq were given antidepressant medications in fall of 2007. The two most common medications prescribed were Prozac and Zoloft. Sleeping pills such as Ambien were given to soldiers with sleep problems. The rate of antidepressant use has gone up considerably in the general population, therefore rising in occurrence in American troops.

The benefit of using these antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills, and prescription sleeping aids is that these drugs do take away some of the debilitating effects of stress and mood disorders. These medications keep soldiers on the battle field, and are repeatedly returned to combat with little rest time in between deployment. PTSD is a common disorder among veterans now. The more a soldier is deployed, the greater the chance of needing long-term mental health care.

Over 164 American soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq and Afghanistan since the start of the war.  There are correlations between antidepressant use and suicide yet there is no real substantial proof that one causes the other.

Before admitting antidepressants into the mental health regimen of the army there was really no treatment for soldiers. Supporters say that if these problems exist, and are easily helped by antidepressants, why not use them instead of honorable discharging perfectly good soldiers. Yet side effects from these medications can cause problems for soldiers such as drowsiness and dizziness. These side effects can be debilitating to a soldiers performance in the battle field.

I believe that it is beneficial for soldiers to be permitted to use SSRIs but not sleep aids. I understand that less severe depression symptoms could easily be helped by the use of antidepressants. Since the safety of SSRIs has become much improved since its original release I approve the use of it by the troops. I do not agree with the use of sleeping aids though. They have caused many deaths and are dangerous when working with heavy machinery, which is common for a soldier. Operation of weaponry means being mentally sharp and I do not believe that the use of sleeping aids such as Ambien is beneficial for our troops. Why are we mistreating our troops and why is this happeneing in the first place?