Many veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related trauma self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs, so therapists need to be aware of the need to treat both addiction and trauma simultaneously, addiction specialists say.

The Newport News Daily Press reported March 31 that self-medication is especially prevalent among active military because soldiers are reluctant to seek mental-health counseling, fearing the it could hurt their careers.

Addiction specialist Larry Ashley, a Vietnam War veteran, said that combat veterans have unique needs that civilian counselors often are unequipped to deal with. Veterans "give out the trauma, by the very nature of what they do, and receive the trauma," said Ashley at a recent meeting of the Virginia Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. "In combat, your job is to kill. Knowing you've inflicted trauma, or killed someone, can be just as damaging as facing a life-threatening event."

Community-based addiction specialists expect to encounter more war veterans in their work; Newport News Drug Court administrator John Haywood said it typically takes about two years before returning veterans seek help dealing with trauma, either by choice or because they are forced to do so.

Patricia Greer, president of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, warned Congress about the problem in recent testimony. "Some experts estimate that about 40 percent of veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan will experience a mental health problem and that of those ... 60 percent will have a substance use disorder," she said.