Queensland has the highest number of Defence Force personnel in the nation treated for mental health issues, new figures show.
The Defence Force said in the last financial year, 813 personnel underwent rehabilitation after being diagnosed with a mental health problem.
Of those, 308 people were from Queensland, and the majority were from the Army.
Nearly half of those men and women returned to work afterwards.
Senior psychologist from the veterans’ charity Mates4Mates, Janice Johnston, said it was a sign more soldiers were seeking help.
She said mental health experts had to deal with a number of challenges when treating Defence personnel suffering from mental health issues.
“It’s not a simple condition, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) often comes with other things attached to it that make it much harder to treat,” she said.
Stigma around mental health disorders
Afghanistan veteran Matthew Campbell was injured by an improvised explosive device in 2011 and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It initially developed while I was in the Army,” he said.
“I thought I had some pretty crazy anger issues. I guess I realised something else was going on.”
Mr Campbell said there is still stigma around mental health issues in the Defence Force, preventing many people from seeking help.
He urged others to come forward.
“Don’t think you’re alone because you’re not,” he said.
“I would hazard the guess that [there] are thousands of people now that are struggling in the darkness by themselves.”
Ms Johnston said the while situation had improved, there was still a long way to go.
“Talking a bit more about it does help to reduce the stigma but there’s still a lot of stigma involved in saying you’ve got a mental health problem,” she said.
“If the doctor told you to take the nasty chemotherapy or drink the green smoothie then you’d do that, but one of the problems with PTSD is avoidance disorder.
“So people don’t engage with services designed to support them because they’re highly anxious.
“That’s a hard barrier for people to get past.
“But once you get the bum on the seat, they’re very thankful.”
The Defence Force said personnel are being provided with high quality care which includes occupational rehabilitation.