I had lined up a package about how pets can be helpful in relieving depression and anxiety, but I feel the need to write about all the veterans who suffer. I have two cousins in Iraq right now, and I think about them every day. Because I’m too anxious to venture out of my state, let alone defend our country on the other side of the world. My heart goes out to all these soldiers who suffer from mental illnesses. I know how hard I work at my sanity, and I have all the resources readily available: great doctors, insightful shrinks, meds, vitamins, rest, exercise, healing spots, and private corners to do lots of cognitive-behavioral therapy. We need to pray for those afflicted with mood disorders who don’t have such resources. We must remember them always.

Here are a few sobering statistics to consider on Veteran’s Day:

• Nearly 33 percent of those who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan will experience mental health issues.
• In 2007, the suicide rate among veterans who served in the US Army was at an all-time high.
• Approximately 40 percent of all homeless veterans live with mental illnesses.
• Nearly 57 percent of this aforementioned group are African American or Hispanic veterans.
• Approximately 30 percent of veterans treated in the Veterans health system experienced depressive symptoms, two to three times the rate of the general population.

NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) has just published an informative brochure on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. To view it, click here.