TCHN Report // 17 Dec 2023
Some veterans struggle with mental health during the holiday season
Approximately 1.4 million veterans call Texas home, and the holidays can be particularly difficult for some.
Crowded shopping locations and large family gatherings can trigger trauma related symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, according to Dr. Daniel Steinberg, clinical psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs - South Texas.
“Our veteran population experiencing trauma-related symptoms might engage in avoidance and like not going out and not doing things,” Steinberg said. “That’s actually keeping them stuck in a place where they’re not recovering from trauma.”
Families of veterans should look for certain symptoms and signs such as restlessness, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating and overeating, said Steinberg. Managing expectations, setting healthy boundaries, and finding balance in the high to low stress environments is important for their mental health, according to Steinberg.
Army Staff Sgt. Robbie Casas has served in the United States Army National Guard for 12 years. He said veterans struggle with feeling outcast when seeing family during the holidays.
“A lot of families don’t understand the struggles that they went through, like the heartaches and the trainings,” said Casas. “Whenever they get to spend time with their family or to see their family, those stresses come back.”
After two suicides in Casa’s unit, he pushed for mental health advocacy and reached out to his soldiers outside of work. Preventing veteran suicide starts with taking care of them while they are in and making services known, Casas said.
“We’re all trying to work through it together because you are not alone,” said Casas. “That’s my job. It’s to make sure they’re set up for success.”
Gabriella Alcorta is a journalism major at Texas State University and an intern for Texas Community Health News, a collaboration between the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the university's Translational Health Research Center. TCHN stories, reports and data visualizations are provided free to Texas newsrooms.