Duane France 

In an effort to bridge the gap between the mental health needs of veterans and the services that are available, I’ve written to veterans about an often overlooked aspect of their transition out of the military: their mental health needs.

Consider what it was like when you first realized that you were part of something bigger than yourself. Maybe it was a team in school, or arriving for your first day at College. It’s daunting, it’s overwhelming, it’s exhilarating. Maybe it’s the first time you visit a Civil War or Revolutionary War battlefield, or step inside a church that is centuries old.

In a continued effort to expand the topic of veteran mental health beyond PTSD and TBI, I thought that I’d give a deeper look into the mindset of the former military service member by looking at how veterans meet their needs according to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

As part of this series of articles that explores the psychological impact of a veteran’s military service that goes beyond PTSD and TBI, the concept of Learned Helplessness is a significant factor in veteran mental health. While many veterans are resilient and adaptive, often the constant barrage of negative experiences can wear down even the most hardy of service members.

In a previous post, I discussed how veterans experience more challenges than just PTSD and TBI, the primary conditions that most community members are aware of. In order to provide some deeper context, I’d like to expand on some of these other challenges.