It is not just highly driven health care professionals, corporate executives, or even artists and performers who experience stress and anxiety. As part of a military family, you know firsthand that stress and anxiety are physical, emotional and psychological problems that can have a negative impact on your marriage. As a culture, we need to pay more attention to the enormous stress and anxiety that you face, and I want to share this information with you so that you can pass it along to your extended families and friends and get the support you need.

The home front battle can seem at times as tough as the battlefield.

We have learned the hard way from past wars how prone to emotional and psychological distress our soldiers can face. Sometimes friends and families forget about the battles that take place on the home front—in many ways this can be as equally painful as the suffering that the families of those killed or wounded experience. It’s not easy to measure the stress and anxiety that military families experience. There are no “body counts” or daily expenditures to quantify back home. Rather, there are the long workdays (and nights), the short and long stints served away from home and of course the tearful farewells during the send-off.

What you need to know about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Army reports reveal that there are thousands of cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) suffered by U.S. Service Members who have and who are returning home—another element that impacts the family and marriage. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder experienced by individuals who have undergone a very traumatic incident. Those who suffer PTSD deal with various symptoms, including flashbacks, nightmares, anger or rage, emotional detachment, memory loss, hyper-vigilance, and depression. Understanding how to recognize and get support for your family member or spouses who suffers this is critical.

While caring for Service Members diagnosed with PTSD has been a priority for the U.S. Department of Defense, stress management programs for military families who are being affected by PTSD is not always on top of the list in terms of funding.   Many organizations formed by spouses and family members of military personnel have had to raise funds for therapy sessions for their support groups.  The challenges faced by many military families are often daunting and demands a lot of commitment.

Aside from the stress and anxiety brought about by long periods of separation from their loved ones deployed in conflict areas, military families also have to adjust to living under a single parent home, or learn how to care for a returning family member that has been diagnosed with PTSD after serving in places where U.S. troops are deployed.

What’s more, in many cases, military doctors and psychiatrists have had to prescribe anti-depressant prescriptions for use by returning military personnel and those with PTSD.   It is also not uncommon for some military spouses and children to request for psychiatric help and drugs to alleviate their depression, especially if they have lost a loved one due to their military service.

Both the U.S. Department of Defense and military family associations have made headway in bringing the issue of combat-related stress to the forefront.  Government funds have been allotted to run therapy programs such as the Army Combat Stress Control and the Operational Stress Control and Readiness in the Navy and the Marines. You can learn more about those efforts by clicking on the highlighted links above.

More than just the actual outcome of the war, the impact of combat operations should be closely monitored to help many military personnel and their families to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives, and in the process, get treatment for emotional and psychological disorders. I strongly advocate efforts to help American military personnel and their loved ones to win the war both at home and abroad.  I hope that my sharing this information with you will help you, your friends and your family gain the strength and support needed to make progress in getting on to living the “abundant life” God desires for you.