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Edition 8 - June 2004

"Soldiers train, work and play hard"

Decline & discharge

James*, a peacekeeper veteran in his mid-thirties, is proud of his 13 years of army service but still feels bitter about his discharge. Looking back, James links his gradual decline and eventual medical discharge to his heavy drinking.

'I lived by the motto, 'soldiers train hard, work hard and play hard', but that was just an excuse. I can see now that I drank to avoid taking on my problems," James said.

The tough times

James started drinking heavily because he thought it would help him to sleep and cope with the nightmares about his experiences from Rwanda.

"But I can see now that my problems really began when I started drinking too much," James said.

"I don't blame my operational experience. I just didn't know how else to cope with the tough times. Drinking was my crutch, an easy way out."

Getting help

The heavy drinking had an impact on his marriage and young kids, but James fooled himself that he did not have a problem. Everything started to fall apart at work after the suicide of a close friend and James was discharged. Some mates encouraged him to get help and an Army Padre referred him to the VVCS - Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service.

Helping yourself

"My counsellor nagged me about all the pitfalls of drinking, but I really identified with the little silver Right Mix book. Parts of it were all about me, especially the stuff on PTSD and drinking. I even went to the website to check out my drinking, just to see for myself," James said.

Back on his feet

With the help of counselling and the Veterans Vocational and Rehabilitation Scheme, James is back on his feet again. He still misses the army life, but is working towards his future and the things he now realises he values - self-worth, family, career.

*Names in this story have been changed for privacy reasons.

Need help?

If you would like to do something about your drinking:

• Click on this link to assess your drinking - it's free and confidential and only takes a few minutes www.therightmix.gov.au/assess.asp
• Get a copy of Changing the Mix: A Guide to Low-Risk Drinking www.therightmix.gov.au/veteran.asp
• Talk to your doctor or other health professional
• Contact VVCS** on:

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Coming soon! New Resources for Health Practitioners

The Right Mix team is working on new materials that will be available soon including:

Training and Resource Manual for Alcohol Intervention
A complete alcohol intervention and training manual for health practitioners working with veterans.

Alcohol Practice Guidelines
For practitioners helping veterans with alcohol problems. Guideline topics will include:

• Screening and assessment
• Withdrawal and detox
• Problem drinking
• Relapse prevention
• Alcohol and PTSD treatment.

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Call DVA: 133 254

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