AUSTIN, Texas — November is recognized as National Veterans and Military Families Month. And with Veterans Day this Saturday, health officials are stressing the importance of reaching out for help if you're in need.
Serving in the military can cause men and women to be exposed to different traumatic events than everyday people. Someone who knows about that firsthand is Dr. Christopher Hansen, a clinical supervisor and psychotherapist for Thriveworks. Hansen served 24 years in the Navy and is a retired veteran with disabilities.
Hansen said transitioning out of the military can bring challenges, including difficulties finding employment, social connections and readjusting to a new way of life.
While in active duty, some may be used to being in charge for a long time or having a lot of responsibility. When they're out, they don't have that status anymore.
"You don't have that horsepower anymore, you don't have that influence or affluence anymore. So, sometimes, that's a hard struggle for somebody, for a lot of people to transition. You know, you may be older – for example, if you're a retiree like me – and you go back into the workforce and you're just another person in the workforce again, you may be working for someone that is considerably younger or with less experience," Hansen said.
Women veterans also tend to face some very specific challenges compared to their male counterparts, including military sexual trauma and bias. Hansen said things have gotten better over the years, but there's still work to be done.
"The Center for Women's Veterans actually have females at every region that are women's veterans representatives that are there specifically to deal with women's issues. There's a lot of individual help out there for people that are seeking services outside of the military after they transition," Hansen said.
Hansen said there's still a huge stigma out there regarding mental health in the military. He's said that's because it's been known in the military that if you have mental health problems, you're risking your career.
"I still get people that come and pay me out of pocket because they don't want to use the military mental health system because of HIPAA. I can't say anything to anybody unless they've harmed themselves or someone else. Whereas a lot of people don't realize that HIPAA doesn't exactly apply the same way in the military," Hansen said.
Hansen said if you're in the military and having mental health problems, your commanding officer has a right to know.
"So there's a lot of fear there. In the military, it's all about deploying and doing the mission. You don't want to let your team down. So you suck it up and you don't go get help, and you suffer in silence," Hansen said.
Thriveworks is a mental health company in Austin with over 40 locations throughout Texas and online services. Hansen encourages anyone who is suffering to reach out for help.
Other military support groups include the Purple Heart Foundation and the Texas Veterans Commission.