U.S., Afghan Troops Begin Fight To Drive Taliban Out Of Kandahar

Troops Popping Anxiety, Depression Meds Like Never Before

An untold number of active-duty troops and recent veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with  mental health conditions inflicted during service — and their spouses and children are suffering too. Now, with solid data slowly emerging from the nearly decade-long wars, the severity of the crisis is starting to show. 

The use of psychiatric medications among 18 to 34-year-olds (both troops and their spouses) soared by 42 percent between 2005 and 2009, Army Times is reporting.

Antidepressants were the most commonly prescribed medication, but the use of anti-psychotic meds — like Seroquel, which is used off-label to treat nightmares and insomnia caused by PTSD — nearly doubled. And the use of anti-anxiety drugs, like Xanax, surged by 72 percent. 


 http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/troops-popping-anxiety-depression-meds-like-never-before/#ixzz0yy51G8ej
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