Defence Forces and antidepressants

Kirby42

Does anyone know what the army policy is on antidepressants? Would an applicant who was on them or currently still is have their application barred or affected on anyway. I emailed the recruitment section but they said that you would just have to deal with the medical officer on the day. Does anyone have any further knowledge?

Thanks.

folbotcar

What does your instincts tell you? I think you know the answer.

Kirby42

folbotcar wrote: »

What does your instincts tell you? I think you know the answer.

I don't know the answer hence why I'm asking. I was on a relatively light dose for a short period of time. No self harm, no suicide attempts. I understand and appreciate that only the medical officers could answer definitively, but I want to see if anyone has seen or experienced such scenarios.

deckycoop

nooo chance in hell are they goin to hire you.. i know that there are a few tings the army dont want. 1 is back trouble and 2 is depression..

wildfowler94

Kirby42 wrote: »

Does anyone know what the army policy is on antidepressants? Would an applicant who was on them or currently still is have their application barred or affected on anyway. I emailed the recruitment section but they said that you would just have to deal with the medical officer on the day. Does anyone have any further knowledge?

Thanks.

Forget about it.

salthilljourno

What they dont know , and what you never tell them will ensure that there isnt an issue ,
I was in the reserves for years in Galway and was on a cocktail of stuff and got away with it .

Its only when you stop taking the tabs that the trouble starts .


Dave.

Frosty McSnowballs

salthilljourno wrote: »

What they dont know , and what you never tell them...
Dave.

Maybe, but not many people want to be around a guy with a gun that needs antidepressants.

salthilljourno

Guys I was with didnt have a problem , It was those up the ladder that caused my problems .

topcatcbr

Senor Fancy Pants wrote: »

Maybe, but not many people want to be around a guy with a gun that needs antidepressants.

There are many serving that are on them.

OP The medical will be thorough with an extensive questionnaire and bloods. Also I think if your suffering from depression now I'm not sure joining is a great idea. The demands of the job are Lilkely to make things worse.

Frosty McSnowballs

salthilljourno wrote: »

Guys I was with didnt have a problem , It was those up the ladder that caused my problems .

Yeah but you weren't overseas with then. Some lads act a bit stranger once you add homsickness, fatigue, monotony, stress and other tabs into the equation.

Frosty McSnowballs

topcatcbr wrote: »

There are many serving that are on them.

That's true but so is the fact that some lads don't want to be around an armed guy on antidepressants.

More of a stigma thing I'm sure. I'd rather be around a guy on them if he needs them....than not on them if he needs them, obviously.

singledad80

The Defense forces Mo should deal with it as a medical problem from your pass if you on them now than yes I say they would not pass your medical, but if your clear for along time it should not affect you but I say your better off not telling them in the first place.

Savage93

salthilljourno wrote: »

What they dont know , and what you never tell them will ensure that there isnt an issue ,
I was in the reserves for years in Galway and was on a cocktail of stuff and got away with it .

Its only when you stop taking the tabs that the trouble starts .


Dave.

Dave, or should I say Hopperdavy or Investment or whatever other characters are in your head, I don't think you should ever have stopped taking the medication. You are a seriously deluded individual with obvious mental issues.

OP, for god's sake don't take advice from this muppet

salthilljourno

I can understand your aggression towards me , Just because I have mental health issues
I clealry resent your assertion that I am a deluded person ,, Im not , get over it .

even though Im on medication , I still function in my job , In no way does it interfere with my obsession for aviation accidents , photography and being a source of information for all things military and air corps .

Frosty McSnowballs

"...a source of information for all things military and air corps"

Sorry but that's hilarious

arybvtcw0eolkf

Some of this thread sounds like escapee's from Ward III St.Bricins (some of the older sweats will know what I mean).

wildfowler94

During your medical they ask are you on medication and also test your blood and urine so you lie and well.....

tac foley

salthilljourno wrote: »

I can understand your aggression towards me , Just because I have mental health issues
I clealry resent your assertion that I am a deluded person ,, Im not , get over it .

even though Im on medication , I still function in my job , In no way does it interfere with my obsession for aviation accidents , photography and being a source of information for all things military and air corps .

That's ALL we need in anybody's army - a person who admits to having a serious mental health issue and has been on medication for depression and is obsessed with aviation accidents.

Back a while, on a detachment up the way, one of my troops - a first class soldier in most every respect [except for a great love of pies] came to me just after morning prayers and told me that he'd just been put on a course of anti-depressants. He was back home in England that evening.

Depression and firearms are not closely linked, that is, until AFTER the massacre has happened.

tac

arybvtcw0eolkf

Im not involving myself in this discussion too much except to say to the casual reader of this thread/forum that the DF and those of us who serve in it don't ridicule or finger point at people with mental health issues as none of us here are perfect.

We all have periods of stress and other related mental health problems brought on by the likes of financial worries, relationship break ups etc etc so we're not gobsh*ts and we do have empathy.

But it makes perfect sense that those who do suffer bad enough to have gone for medial treatment be taken away from armed duties ~ there is no longer a stigma attached, you're ill, you'll get better someday but right now you need treatment and thats how its treated.

I just wanted to get that out there in case the casual reader of the forum took the wrong impression from the discussion.

The_Gatsby

Don't take the "what they don't know won't hurt them" advice. They're sure to find out if you've been prescribed anything and how siht will that be when you think you're in only for them to come along and boot you out. If it was a past prescription then I'm sure there are medical appeals etc where you can plea your case but don't lie because you WILL get found out/it's a sihtty thing to do

Lemming

Out of curiosity - and more addressed to tac & Makikomi for their respective armed forces experiences than anyone else - for someone who is already serving and ends up on a course of anti-depressants or such, like what tac described happening to that lad under his command, what happens after they come off the prescribed course? Is that them canned* from soldiering duties forever more, or a case-by-case evaluation of being fit for duty by the MO? Whilst I can see how being on such a prescription prior to ever having signed up could really p1ss on your chances given the fierce competition for entry these days, reading the comments by Makikomi & tac has just popped that idle question into my head as to what happens to those already serving.


* I don't mean "canned" as in gone, but just not allowed near anything firearms related

tac foley

It's extremely difficult NOT to have any connection with firearms in the British Army. Obviously, I can't speak for what other nations get up to, but trying to qualify every six months with the personal weapon and undergoing routine military training without coming into contact with a firearm is totally impossible.

A soldier who can't soldier is, frankly, no use in ANY Army. In the case of our soldier, he was put on light duties - that is to say, useless stuff as far as his primary role was concerned, assessed after a suitable period of time, found wanting with regard to his state of mind, and eventually 'let go' as SNLR - services no longer required. No blame or stigma, just a note in his records as being no longer medically fit for military service. Last I heard he was running a successful small boat repair business in New Zealand.

Harking back to your original question, think about this for a moment.

How would YOU like to have lived in Northern Ireland at that time, when unknown to you, one of the soldiers you may have seen every day, armed with all kinds of metallic nasties including a semi-automatic service rifle with pointy add-ons as he walked around your streets, was -

a. A sociopath operating solely under the influence of mind-altering drugs?

b. Suffering from a wide-spectrum mental health issue that might have ended up violently for anybody who just happened to piss him off more than usual.

I'm not going to mention that he might also have been obsessed with gruesome aviation accidents, since the person who posted that seems to be unececessarily sensitive in that regard.

tac

arybvtcw0eolkf

Lemming its really hard to say because unless an individual is straight with the lads as to why they're excused weapons duties and put on light duties its anyone's guess as to whats going on.

Needless to say it would be crazy to let anyone whether they're a soldier or civilian handle weapons if they're being treated for depression.

As with Tac's experience with the BA and weapons the same applies to the Irish defense forces, it its very hard to serve and not come into contact with weapons, and over the medium to long time if you haven't done your annual range practice because of a medical problem you're likely to be found to be below army medical standards and your contract will not be renewed.

All that said, there is a LOT of help (and understanding) for people experiencing any sort of mental health problems and mechanisms for early intervention should the soldier require.

Oversea's, if you're treated for any mental health problems you'll be immediately medically repatriated to home with a medical escort.

Kirby42

It's a difficult pill to swallow (excuse the pun), as joining the army has been a boyhood dream. My mental health comes first though so I guess I'll just focus my energy onto other things. Thanks for the advice.

tac foley

That's a great positive attitude to take.

I wish you luck in whatever you do.

tac