#veterans-mental-health

#veterans-mental-health

During the troop surge in Iraq, I learned to constantly scan for threats, how to distinguish the sharp crack of a gunshot pointed in my direction from one outgoing toward an enemy, and the myriad ways that explosives can be hidden on a roadside. I learned that hypervigilance can be the difference between life and death. What I didn't learn was how to turn it off. Now, I take three psychiatric medications every day, and I go to therapy every week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill to fast-track the study of psychedelic drugs, which a coalition of veterans say hold enormous potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. More veterans die from suicide in America on a daily basis than average daily combat deaths in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined, according to data collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs. A growing number of former service members are now turning to psychedelics to treat the mental health conditions caused by wartime trauma and traumatic brain injury.