Question about mental health stigma at the Service Academies

[hopefulMid123]

I want to start off by saying attending one of these academies is my highest goal and a dream of mine, and I've been blessed enough to have been recently offered an appointment by one of them.

Recently, I've been struggling a lot with my mental health. It started back in my sophomore year of HS and has periodically ebbed and flowed since then, up to now, my senior year. As a result, I've been considering asking my doctor for antidepressant medication, since I think it would really improve my quality of life. However, I heard the academies don't allow this, because they think that officers that struggle mentally are potential liabilities. Is this true? Should I avoid having this conversation with my doctor?

Feedback would be insanely appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Capt MJ]

Your mental health comes first. Always. Do not delay care. Talking to someone and getting help is an important first step. Everything else has a way or working out the way it should.

It’s not a stigma so much as one of those health conditions that could be cause for a “not meets military standards” assessment during medical qualifications for officer commissioning programs.
It may or may not be waiverable. Military service is often conducted in harsh, unforgiving, remote environments far from advanced medical care, with sleep deprivation, stress, tension and other pressures that test the mental and physical health of everyone involved. People’s lives depend on people being at their best, so the military looks for people who are less likely to “break” in some way, whether physical or mental.

Take care of you in the here and now. Then you can assess next steps.

 

[Devil Doc]

They are not potentially a liability they are a liability. Putting that aside a minute let’s say someone is enjoying a good result with an antidepressant but the medication isn’t carried on their destroyer. One might say, I’ll just take enough medication to last during the underway period. That’s possible. Whoever wrote that for the officer without disqualifying them for sea duty could get in trouble. The IDC on said destroyer would be obligated to tell the CO. HIPAA doesn’t apply aboard ship when it comes to informing the CO of the health of the crew and wardroom.

You heard the academies don’t allow that. I’ll let somebody else talk about that.

 

[Capt MJ]

I am tagging @MullenLE because this thread is really a DoDMERB medical standards issue.

 

[MullenLE]

Google "DoDMERB;" Hot "Questions on the process;" If you meet the criteria in paragraphs 11-12...then 15-19 and 21 will apply.

NO ONE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE will endorse, recommend; concur; or do anything with a treatment plan. If they do, you can tell them I said they don't have a clue of what they're talking about!!! As Capt MJ said...YOUR HEALTH, mental and otherwise, is paramount. ALL decisions about YOUR health is between YOU and YOUR physician.

f. Depressive disorder if: (1) Outpatient care including counseling required for longer than 12 cumulative months; (2) Symptoms or treatment within the last 36 months; (3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility; (4) Any recurrence; or Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).

q. History of anxiety disorders if1) Outpatient care including counseling was required for longer than 12 cumulative months. (2) Symptomatic or treatment within the last 36 months.(3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility.(4) Any recurrence (5) Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).

 

[Kierkegaard]

Antidepressants can be prescribed to midshipmen, there’s at least a couple people that I know of on that. There’s also a counseling center within Bancroft Hall for midshipmen. Policies are different though depending on what stage of the process you’re in however. Once the Navy has invested money into training you they have an incentive to keep you on. In the Fleet you’d be given the most leeway, you get some at the Academy, and very little as a candidate. You should look up the list of disqualifying conditions for official information.

I can also say that what you’re going through is not uncommon here. Mental health issues have actually been on the rise at the Naval Academy. Anecdotally, a lot of midshipmen say that they’re depressed but they do not pursue treatment out of fear that it will negatively affect their careers. But really unless you’re suicidal and disclose it you’ll be fine, unless your dream is being a pilot, as aviation has more stringent medical requirements. You should certainly prioritize your personal health while weighing your decisions.

 

[Devil Doc]

This is what I’m referring to. The sea duty screening which is required prior to transferring to a ship or other operational command. BUMEDINST 1300.2 series applies
3. Sea/Operational Assignments
a. Certain medical conditions may carry a significantly higher risk for unsuccessful completion of a full operational tour, including but not limited to: knee problems; lower back pain; other bone, cartilage, or tendon ailments; cardio-respiratory ailments such as coronary insufficiency and asthma; pregnancy; and various psychological conditions.

 

[AFVetMom27]

Google "DoDMERB;" Hot "Questions on the process;" If you meet the criteria in paragraphs 11-12...then 15-19 and 21 will apply.

NO ONE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE will endorse, recommend; concur; or do anything with a treatment plan. If they do, you can tell them I said they don't have a clue of what they're talking about!!! As Capt MJ said...YOUR HEALTH, mental and otherwise, is paramount. ALL decisions about YOUR health is between YOU and YOUR physician.

f. Depressive disorder if: (1) Outpatient care including counseling required for longer than 12 cumulative months; (2) Symptoms or treatment within the last 36 months; (3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility; (4) Any recurrence; or Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).

q. History of anxiety disorders if1) Outpatient care including counseling was required for longer than 12 cumulative months. (2) Symptomatic or treatment within the last 36 months.(3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility.(4) Any recurrence (5) Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).

My DD was disqualified by DoDMERB because she sees a therapist to proactively manage stress/anxiety and learn healthy coping mechanisms when she starts to feel overwhelmed (started her Senior year). If you saw her CV, it is completely understandable how she can feel overwhelmed sometimes (especially during a global pandemic). I strongly believe she would have been a great SA candidate and she did receive a congressional nomination too. She isn't on meds and the stress doesn't interfere with her daily life. She wasn't even offered to pursue a waiver for it though. I guess she wasn't competitive enough? It does seem like she is being unfairly penalized for trying to be proactive about her mental health in her specific situation. Luckily, her fallback plans came through and she will be attending the Ohio State University in the chemical engineering program and trying to commission through Navy ROTC. She is only 10 hours away from earning her private pilot's license too. Either way, I am proud that she tried to attend a SA but disappointed in the DoDMERB medical review/waiver process. It seems lacking and full of human error, IMO.

 

[WolfPackGrunt]

My DD was disqualified by DoDMERB because she sees a therapist to proactively manage stress/anxiety and learn healthy coping mechanisms when she starts to feel overwhelmed (started her Senior year). If you saw her CV, it is completely understandable how she can feel overwhelmed sometimes (especially during a global pandemic). I strongly believe she would have been a great SA candidate and she did receive a congressional nomination too. She isn't on meds and the stress doesn't interfere with her daily life. She wasn't even offered to pursue a waiver for it though. I guess she wasn't competitive enough? It does seem like she is being unfairly penalized for trying to be proactive about her mental health in her specific situation. Luckily, her fallback plans came through and she will be attending the Ohio State University in the chemical engineering program and trying to commission through Navy ROTC. She is only 10 hours away from earning her private pilot's license too. Either way, I am proud that she tried to attend a SA but disappointed in the DoDMERB medical review/waiver process. It seems lacking and full of human error, IMO.

That's a tough situation, but I admire and congratulate her on a strong plan B. More recently in health care, providers and clinicians are encouraged to seek "resiliency" support through organizational depts that are staffed by professional therapists. It makes sense given the stress and burnout for these professions, the complexity of modern patient care, and the cost of attrition, unsat patient outcomes, and or medical mistakes. I realize that in a battlefield environment resiliency therapy is not likely available- and each individual and unit will need to toe the line. That being said, I am assuming in many military professions resiliency therapy is otherwise available (assumption- might be wrong). If I am wrong, it probably should be available based on the scientific evidence supporting the subject in industries such medicine, aviation, and nuclear. The DoDMERB requirements are pretty black and white, and you could have many conditions pre-commissioning/enlistment that disqualified entrance, while if the same condition develops post-entrance it is "effectively" dealt with in-service (and post-service if needed). It's certainly tough at a population level to effectively deal with these issues on an individual level- thus I assume how DoDMERB and the academies have to deal with it for admissions involving thousands of applications and hundreds of appointments.

 

[MullenLE]

AFVetMom27: Google "DoDMERB;" Hit "Questions on the process;" Read paragraph #4.

DD : Send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “AFVetMom27 - SAF = “Question about mental health stigma at the Service Academies"

 

[Cookiemom]

A SA is not the place for a person suffering from depression. Take care of yourself.

 

[AFVetMom27]

My DD was disqualified by DoDMERB because she sees a therapist to proactively manage stress/anxiety and learn healthy coping mechanisms when she starts to feel overwhelmed (started her Senior year). If you saw her CV, it is completely understandable how she can feel overwhelmed sometimes (especially during a global pandemic). I strongly believe she would have been a great SA candidate and she did receive a congressional nomination too. She isn't on meds and the stress doesn't interfere with her daily life. She wasn't even offered to pursue a waiver for it though. I guess she wasn't competitive enough? It does seem like she is being unfairly penalized for trying to be proactive about her mental health in her specific situation. Luckily, her fallback plans came through and she will be attending the Ohio State University in the chemical engineering program and trying to commission through Navy ROTC. She is only 10 hours away from earning her private pilot's license too. Either way, I am proud that she tried to attend a SA but disappointed in the DoDMERB medical review/waiver process. It seems lacking and full of human error, IMO.

AFVetMom27: Google "DoDMERB;" Hit "Questions on the process;" Read paragraph #4.

DD : Send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “AFVetMom27 - SAF = “Question about mental health stigma at the Service Academies"

Larry - guess who is still having issues with DoDMERB approval because of her personal decision to better herself through therapy? She has been in the NROTC program at OSU for two years with increasing responsibility each year and is performing at an exceptionally high level. They offered her a Room & Board Scholarship for next year, but her application for a National Scholarship has once again been flagged through DodMERB. I suggested she get in contact with you.

 

[StPaulDad]

Larry stepped away from SAF to tend to department knitting when the DoDMERB systems melted down last fall. He has not yet returned to our little corner of the internet.