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Dealing with suspected Depression at USNA
- Thread starter MidsGirl
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I'm going to preface this by saying I have no experience in this field whatsoever... But if I may ask....
Does he have a history of depression (prior to the academy)?
If the answer is no, then it could just be the 'suckyness' of the situation getting to him. There was a time at OCS when I was 'depressed'. I was stuck in holding company by myself (long story but everyone got shipped out of the command) for 3 weeks. I went crazy... I had zero contact with anyone, and had NOTHING to do. It was like prison, and it took a harsh toll on me mentally at the time.
The reason I say this, is because depression meds aren't the route I think you'd want to go for this... If it's his plebe year (which others can talk to you more about), he may just be hating life because of 'the suck' that is supposedly plebe year.
As an OCS guy, I can tell you that parts of military training are tough as nails, and meant to push officer candidates to their limits, and even their breaking points.. This is normal and expected. I've never seen more grown men cry in my life than in OCS.
IF this is it, then I can tell you nothing helps more than an abundance of thoughtful letters, pictures, and care packages (depending on the phase of training) to let him know that you are behind him 100%. Nothing can put more stress on someone in a harsh, confined training environment than things being shaky at home or with the girlfriend (not that this is at all the case).
Now if he has a history of depression, or is talking about doing something stupid or scary on top of this 'normal' stuff that I talked about, then it needs to be immediately brought to his superiors and he needs medical attention.
As to the meds and the effect on the career, that is for the doctors/boards to ultimately decide...
My point being, is that if he is just hating life because the training sucks, I don't think Prozac is the route he wants to take.
Does he have a history of depression (prior to the academy)?
If the answer is no, then it could just be the 'suckyness' of the situation getting to him. There was a time at OCS when I was 'depressed'. I was stuck in holding company by myself (long story but everyone got shipped out of the command) for 3 weeks. I went crazy... I had zero contact with anyone, and had NOTHING to do. It was like prison, and it took a harsh toll on me mentally at the time.
The reason I say this, is because depression meds aren't the route I think you'd want to go for this... If it's his plebe year (which others can talk to you more about), he may just be hating life because of 'the suck' that is supposedly plebe year.
As an OCS guy, I can tell you that parts of military training are tough as nails, and meant to push officer candidates to their limits, and even their breaking points.. This is normal and expected. I've never seen more grown men cry in my life than in OCS.
IF this is it, then I can tell you nothing helps more than an abundance of thoughtful letters, pictures, and care packages (depending on the phase of training) to let him know that you are behind him 100%. Nothing can put more stress on someone in a harsh, confined training environment than things being shaky at home or with the girlfriend (not that this is at all the case).
Now if he has a history of depression, or is talking about doing something stupid or scary on top of this 'normal' stuff that I talked about, then it needs to be immediately brought to his superiors and he needs medical attention.
As to the meds and the effect on the career, that is for the doctors/boards to ultimately decide...
My point being, is that if he is just hating life because the training sucks, I don't think Prozac is the route he wants to take.
I'll echo what Chief and Schnugg said. Waiting/hiding buys you nothing and can make the problem worse. It might be wise to start with a counselor. There is a difference between situational distress / adjustment disorder and clinical depression. (As Godspeed said, there can be a large amount of psychosocial stressors associated with military training.) Counselors and psychologists are better trained at perceiving the differences than general practitioners, which may lead to a reduced chance of him receiving unnecessary medication.
Yes, the Academy has a staff of mental health professionals (or used to). They were in the basement of Luce hall.
Mental health counseling is generally confidential in the Navy, and self seeking it will usually not have any negative effect on his career, especially if treated at the Academy.
Yea, what he said. The Chief and Schnugg are both right. Take care of it now before it gets any bigger.
Tell him to go to MIDN Development Center, which is in 8th Wing. He'll know, at the very least, what 8th Wing is. They have confidential counselors from what I understand.
By the way - what class is your boyfriend in?
As a side note - I had to attend a lecture that was with one of the Navy's leading mental health Doctor's and this is a real issue facing America's armed forces, mostly resulting from the conflicts we're in and it can affect both people downrange and people behind the lines. Tell him to get help NOW.
By the way - what class is your boyfriend in?
As a side note - I had to attend a lecture that was with one of the Navy's leading mental health Doctor's and this is a real issue facing America's armed forces, mostly resulting from the conflicts we're in and it can affect both people downrange and people behind the lines. Tell him to get help NOW.
Major Depression is a big deal. Gotta stop it before it starts.
What he is going through should not be major depression. Not meaning to trivialize what he is going through, but, my instinct says he just needs to find the right motivation .... counseling .... to work things out.
What he is going through should not be major depression. Not meaning to trivialize what he is going through, but, my instinct says he just needs to find the right motivation .... counseling .... to work things out.
I found the chaplains to be a GREAT resource at the Academy---and I'm not religious in the slightest bit. I had a couple of issues that I felt I couldn't trust to the counselors and/or the docs in Brigade Medical, so I ended up talking to a chaplain. It was an excellent experience.
I'll throw in a plug for the counselors in the midshipmen development center (MDC). Great bunch of people who are willing to do anything they can to help, and its all kept confidential too, even his chain of command won't be informed about his visits (unless he's a suicide risk). They helped me get through some family issues when I was at the Academy. Same with the Chaplains, although a chaplain might refer him to MDC because of the depression issues. He definitely isn't the first mid to struggle through depression, and MDC is the first place he should go.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
Just a side note: I have seen a couple friends "temporarily" go on anti-depressents. The withdrawel from those things is not pretty -- they all got worse once they stopped the treatment, and one person who got suicidal AFTER going on the medication and then stopping. Upon further discussion with my mother, a licensed psychologist, anti-depressent drugs are designed to fix chemical imbalances in the brain, and they're designed to be taken for the rest of your life. Ie, they are meant as a permanent fix to a genetic, physiological condition. You don't take them because you're upset that your dog died (or traumatized from the embarrassment of not being able to hop off a 10m platform). Unfortunately, in today's world of medicine, all you gotta do is ask the doc for some drug that you've seen on TV and they'll usually write the script, but if said drugs are a 1-way ticket out of the Navy I doubt he's going to get them very easily.
Sounds like the quickest fix for his problem is for him to build up the cajones to jump off the darn platform.
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