Gates: Obama is more analytical than Bush

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Jiro said:
Point is - VA hospitals are available for them. We cannot tell them to use it. The doors are always open for them. About your last few sentences - that's why I asked if vets prefer military shrinks with some combat experience.
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See my post above. VA hospitals may be available, but not everyone has access to them. If this were the case, Obama wouldn't be undertaking new measures to improve health services for vets. As for your last sentence, that's why I answered your question the way I did. :cool2: I would think your question is difficult to answer since the majority of vets who suffer from PTSD or depression do not seek psychiatric services due to denial or believing that if they could survive combat, they can survive these illnesses without outside help as well.
 
Hear Again said:
That's easier said than done. What if they have young children and no one to take care of them? What if they are living from paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to take time off of their job to drive however many miles it takes to reach a VA hospital? What if they are physically disabled or blind and can't drive? What if they are newly deaf and don't know sign? How do they communicate with a psychiatrist even if they are able to attend a VA hospital? It's always easier to tell someone else what they can and can't do when you aren't the one wearing their shoes.
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Understandable but we can't cater to every single problem. Point still remains that VA hospitals are available to them at anytime. It's up to them to use it. If they have a problem with it - they can get privatized care for themselves. This applies to every Americans.

If you don't like what government offers you, get your own. But if you can't, suck it up. You're free to move to any country with universal/socialist health care. Maybe try Cuba
 
Jiro said:
Understandable but we can't cater to every single problem. Point still remains that VA hospitals are available to them at anytime. It's up to them to use it. If they have a problem with it - they can get privatized care for themselves. This applies to every Americans.

If you don't like what government offers you, get your own. But if you can't, suck it up. You're free to move to any country with universal/socialist health care. Maybe try Cuba
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Move to Cuba or a country with universal health care? :laugh2: Are you not familiar with Europe and the extremely poor level of service offered by the NHS? God forbid a vet be in need of psychiatric services due to suicidal ideation and must wait 6 months or more to see a psychiatrist.
 
Jiro said:
Understandable but we can't cater to every single problem. Point still remains that VA hospitals are available to them at anytime. It's up to them to use it. If they have a problem with it - they can get privatized care for themselves. This applies to every Americans.

If you don't like what government offers you, get your own. But if you can't, suck it up. You're free to move to any country with universal/socialist health care. Maybe try Cuba
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or Canada.
 
Hear Again said:
Move to Cuba or a country with universal health care? :laugh2: Are you not familiar with Europe and the extremely poor level of service offered by the NHS? God forbid a vet be in need of psychiatric services due to suicidal thoughts and must wait 6 months to see a psychiatrist.
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exactly... that's why you shouldn't complain because despite of high medical cost in here - it's still better than those. Anyhow - you can either take an opportunity to use what government offers you (for free) or get your own. :cool2:
 
Hear Again said:
See my post above. VA hospitals may be available, but not everyone has access to them. If this were the case, Obama wouldn't be undertaking new measures to improve health services for vets. As for your last sentence, that's why I answered your question the way I did. :cool2: I would think your question is difficult to answer since the majority of vets who suffer from PTSD or depression do not seek psychiatric services due to denial or believing that if they could survive combat, they can survive these illnesses without outside help as well.
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About your last few sentences - well that is still up to them to receive psychiatric service or not. Nobody's telling them to see a shrink. btw - Reba explained about this quite a while back. A popular notion about not seeing shrink is that you would be viewed as weak. :)
 
I'm amused at how everyone seems to have a solution for mental health issues as they concern vets when they don't even have a full understanding of the complexities involved when it comes to providing psychiatric care. :laugh2:
 
Hear Again said:
I'm amused at how everyone seems to have a solution for mental health issues as they concern vets when they don't even have a full understanding of the complexities involved when it comes to providing psychiatric care. :laugh2:
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I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Who is everyone? Are you saying that VA hospitals hardly offer mental health care services for vets?
 
Jiro said:
About your last few sentences - well that is still up to them to receive psychiatric service or not. Nobody's telling them to see a shrink. btw - Reba explained about this quite a while back. A popular notion about not seeing shrink is that you would be viewed as weak. :)
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This is why we need to provide nationwide programs to help educate the general public about PTSD, depression, bipolar, etc. as they apply to vets. Unfortunately, all of these illnesses/conditions have a stigma that we won't break through until we start to let others know that there is nothing wrong with having a mental illness.
 
Hear Again said:
Canada's health care system isn't any better than ours.
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It's better than nothing.

You could go to public hospital in US if you are uninsured or unable to afford to go to private health care.
 
Jiro said:
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Who is everyone? Are you saying that VA hospitals hardly offer mental health care services for vets?
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I'm referring to you and Foxrac. I'm saying that not all vets have access to VA hospitals, so the fact that they provide psychiatric care is moot for those individuals.
 
Foxrac said:
You could go to public hospital in US if you are uninsured or unable to afford to go to private health care.
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You could, but the services provided at a county hospital are less than satisfactory. I can tell you that from my own personal experience of attending a county hospital for inpatient psychiatric services. Compared to the private hospital I attended last year and recently, the quality of services was like night and day.
 
We are straying way off topic, so I have nothing more to say about vets and mental health care.
 
Hear Again said:
You could, but the services provided at a county hospital are less than satisfactory. I can tell you that from my own personal experience of attending a county hospital for inpatient psychiatric services. Compared to the private hospital I attended last year and recently, the quality of services was like night and day.
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that's why.... the vets can always get their own private care just like my vet friend. :)

we're all stuck with the same police force. if we don't like their level of security and protection they provide for us, the solution is simple - get your own security. if you cannot afford it - then stfu and suck it up. if you don't mind paying more tax for better police force, then pay up! Do you see where I'm coming from on this issue?
 
Hear Again said:
This is why we need to provide nationwide programs to help educate the general public about PTSD, depression, bipolar, etc. as they apply to vets.
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understandable but not realistic because we also need to provide nationwide programs to help educate the general public about blind, deaf, and thousand other issues. :)

Hear Again said:
Unfortunately, all of these illnesses/conditions have a stigma that we won't break through until we start to educate others that there is nothing wrong with having a mental illness.
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they already are :). Point still remains that service is readily available for vets for free and it's up to them to use it.
 
Hear Again said:
We are straying way off topic, so I have nothing more to say about vets and mental health care.
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ouch you're right. thanks for redirection. back to subject! :cool2:
 
Jiro said:
understandable but not realistic because we also need to provide nationwide programs to help educate the general public about blind, deaf, and thousand other issues. :)
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One last point before I no longer comment.

I believe it is realistic since the general public understands more about Deaf Culture and ASL as a whole than they do mental illness. I've been in the mental health system for the past 19 years and you'd be surprised at what kind of stigmas still exist.

For exanple, even though bipolar has been around since the 1950s, I still hear people who tell me it's a character flaw or something a person caused on their own.

With that, I have nothing more to say for fear of being accused of turning this thread into a discussion about mental illness. :)
 
Mod's note:

Since this thread has gone offtopic, I'm locking this up for review. :locked:
 
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