The heading above may raise many
eyebrows. But considering the numbers below, it is only fair to raise this
question. ‘Service before Self’ or ‘Mental Health Before Service’?
An article published in 2021
quotes that in the last decade, the Indian Army has
witnessed about 1,100 suicides. The numbers are tragic. 90 per cent of
personnel who committed suicide were below officer ranks. And alarming since about 62 per cent of the personnel
ending their life are between 25-30 years of age! According to a recent study by the tri-service
think tank, United Services Institution (USI), over half of the 1.3 million
Army personnel are under severe psychological stress. In the past, the Ministry
of Defence in their study, claimed that the personnel committing suicides have
personal issues such as land related disputes back home and apathy shown by
civil authorities towards such problems.
The Indian Armed Forces is the
third largest military force in the world. In our days of rigorous training and
preparation, each cadet internalizes the motto “Service before self” which
translates to ‘My Nation before me’. We are groomed to adopt this as our life
motto and this does promote a sense of belonging and camaraderie within the
troops. But as each soldier leaves home to serve the nation, they are
accompanied by many expectations-of the society, their seniors, their
batchmates, their families, and their own. Carrying these expectations can
become heavy, and that too carrying them with a smile on their face and courage
in their hearts; It is not something that anybody can do! But well, that’s what
they signed up for, right?
Yes, absolutely, they did! But
is it fair to expect them to do so while neglecting their mental health? While
service before self is what the soldiers live by, the construct of ‘self’ may
often get lost in the many roles they have to adorn. Putting themselves first,
or more precisely, their mental health first, may be looked down upon, possibly
seen as selfish. There is a notion attached to being weak, not “man enough”,
“damaged”, or “unfit”. But is any of that true?
The screening of cadets is
thorough enough, to only choose the best of the best, the strongest of all,
both physically and psychologically. However, the screening happens before they
are enrolled, and the stress starts soon after. Following a unique method of
training, the cadets are broken down only to build them back up, stronger and
more resilient than ever. However, when faced with the circumstances and
situations that they are in, any person could break, emotionally speaking, and
the fact that our soldiers have to face it for prolonged periods, severely
affects their mental health. Research findings have stated that soldiers often
report issues of trauma, anxiety, depression, night terrors, lifetime use of
alcohol and even risk of suicide.
The current trend of mental
wellbeing is taking over all workplaces, education institutes, and more, but
the Army is still relying on building resilience and grit in their soldiers.
What they need is a lot more. Having internalized putting everyone before
themselves, the men and women in uniform, often forget to even think about
their own needs and fears, and this continues even after they have retired from
the forces. In a study conducted on army personnel, it was found that some of
the threats and weaknesses reported by the personnel were reduced help-seeking
behaviour, sense of isolation (from family), and increased susceptibility to
mental health and physical disorders. The causes of their distress are not
limited only to their job role, but organisational factors have a major part to
play including poor leadership, excessive commitments, insufficient resources,
frequent relocations, a lack of fairness and transparency in postings and
promotions, inadequate housing, and non-grant of leaves (Chandani, 2021).
Another USI report suggests prolonged exposure
of Indian Army personnel to Counter Insurgency (CI) / Counter Terrorism (CT)
has been one of the major contributory factors for increased stress levels.
However, a soldier once trained well for combat and
combat related roles, with resolute leadership can withstand pressures of tasks
given at regular frequencies at different geographies. It is also part of man
management to ensure that soldiers are not moved from one field posting to
another with little time for recuperating. Resolute leadership or command of
troops assumes critical dimensions in such a volatile, uncertain, complex, and
ambiguous times. The officers must be more intimately involved in the daily
routine of the men under their command. The adage, ‘know your men’ cannot be
truer today and more complicated.
Quoted in an article, Colonel K.
C. Dixit (Retd), a researcher at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence
Studies and Analysis (MP-IDSA) explains that the suicides and fratricides are
not a sudden scenario but has several warning signals such as poor motivation
after returning from home, sudden mood changes, high irritability and at times
drug addiction or alcohol dependency. “Such signs are accompanied by sleep
disorders and growing pessimism. These lead to problems with spouses or
superiors and then total dysfunction. Depression then worsens into panic, anger,
and rage.”
Armed Forces personnel are our Bravehearts,
they are our heroes, but they are humans too! Emotions and feelings are
experienced by them as much as they are by everyone else. While the country
expresses appreciation and gratitude for all that the Armed Forces do, there is
a dire need to identify what can be done for them. A few broad pointers
that come to the mind are: -
- Enhancing mental health
awareness within the organization.
- Removing the stigma
from mental health issues and reduce discrimination in treatment.
- Identifying early signs
of stress and trauma.
- Providing intervention
where necessary.
- Solutions to
administrative issues like delay in granting leaves and promotions.
- Workload management.
All the above are functions of command at
various levels and need to be understood with all sincerity and commitment.
Mental health issues must be accorded their rightful place, acknowledged and
addressed in the right earnest in the Armed Forces since it has an impact on
the operational efficiency.
I am grateful to my daughter Anoushka who is a licensed Clinical Psychologist for her insights and helping me put my thoughts
on paper. The tone of the article may appear to be from my point of view, since
it is from my point of view based on my experience, observations and anecdotal.
Therefore, open to interpretations, differences and bashing.