Military Depression, Positive Psychology, and Biblical Worldview

Introduction

The military provides an opportunity for men and women to serve their country. However, in the conduct of that service there are certain risks that can damage the mental health of military servicemen. Those risks can be associated with PTSD incurred from combat situations, abuse, drug addiction, or a lack of a positive value system—leaving a soldier to deteriorate from within, having nothing beyond duty to give him meaning or to sustain him through long months and years of service. Some servicemen go to their doctors for assistance and end up being overprescribed medications that only exacerbate their issues and further the decline of their mental health (Snow & Wynn, 2018). If left untreated, service-related depression can lead to suicide—and as Kang et al. (2015) show, suicide risk among veterans returning from the Middle East has been increasing exponentially in recent years.

One way that leaders have been trained to deal with military service-related depression is through the use of positive psychology and resiliency training (Reivich, Seligman & McBride, 2011). This paper discusses a more constructive approach to treating mental health issues such as service-related depression among military servicemen, including a discussion of positive psychology theories as well as spiritual factors from a biblical worldview.

Service-Related Depression in the Military

Service-related depression is common among servicemen in today's military, in spite of the core values and vision that military leaders promote and teach to new recruits and soldiers (Bonde et al., 2016). One of the major reasons for this is that soldiers lack resilience—that is, the ability to bounce back from adversity. Instead of absorbing a mental or emotional hit and recovering, they stay down and develop depression, mired in a pit of self-doubt, negative thoughts and feelings, and isolation (Reivich et al., 2011). Depression is particularly dangerous in the military because servicemen tend to seek ways to self-medicate, whether through prescription drugs provided by military doctors or through alcohol. This creates a recipe for a downward spiral that can cause further mental health problems.

The key to treating depression in the military is to acknowledge and understand what is causing it. For that reason, the Army has developed the Master Resiliency Training program (MRT), which focuses on key capacities that soldiers must develop in order to maintain a positive frame of mind and increase their ability to bounce back when adversity strikes (Griffith & West, 2013). The MRT program is rooted in the theory of positive psychology put forward by Seligman: positive psychology focuses essentially on the art of human flourishing—on that which makes life worth living (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).

One of the central problems among soldiers in the military is that many have no sense of how to flourish as human beings. They have no deep reason to live, no sense of why life is worth living, and no appreciation for the value of life. In many ways they are like emptied-out vessels still operating and going through the motions, yet mentally and emotionally dried up. In such a state, it is no surprise that so many servicemen become depressed during their time in the military: they are devoting themselves to service, which necessarily entails a degree of self-sacrifice, yet they do not understand the noble ideal or value in that service. When they fail to find a mental or emotional stimulus or reward for their work—when they enter into what might be called the "dark night of the soul"—they end up in a state of depression with no visible way out.

The spiritual factors of depression can include a loss of hope, a loss of faith, or a loss of a sense of charity or love—that is, the sense of or value in showing empathy, sympathy, or care to other persons (Bonelli, Dew, Koenig, Rosmarin & Vasegh, 2012). Faith, hope, and charity are also known as theological virtues, meaning they are ultimately related to the essence of God. Faith is rooted in memory and based on reason: one hears the message of salvation and responds by believing. Hope is rooted in desire and motivates the will, which is where love is rooted. Love is an act of the will and depends upon hope—as opposed to despair—which is to say it depends upon the conviction that something good awaits the faithful in the life to come. These three spiritual virtues help to keep people from becoming wholly materialistic and seeing life as meaningless (Bonelli et al., 2012). Through the cultivation of these spiritual factors, one can refrain from falling into the pit of depression.

However, even awareness of spirituality is no guarantee against struggling with depression. Some people may have a melancholic personality or disposition, tending to focus on their feelings and thoughts more than people of other temperaments—such as the phlegmatic, sanguine, or choleric. Too much melancholia can be harmful to the mind and heart, and a soldier with a melancholic temperament may quickly find himself struggling with depression and unable to escape it. This is one reason melancholic personalities are often drawn to sanguine personalities: sanguine people are outgoing and typically full of mirth, providing a natural complement to the melancholic temperament. The former helps to draw the latter out of himself, while the latter helps to keep the former from flying away into too much levity. In any case, personality types should be considered when addressing depression—especially when a depressed soldier begins seeking support. If that support comes from someone whose personality is ill-suited to the need, it could send the individual spiraling even further down.

Theoretical Perspectives on Treatment

Positive psychology is the idea that healing can begin by discovering ordinary human strengths and virtues. It is consistent with the idea of having a spiritual life in the sense that those with a spiritual life tend to focus on higher, transcendent goals rather than on immediate, earthly concerns—which is precisely where depressed people often remain fixed. The depressed person is frequently too caught up in everyday struggles, thoughts, and feelings, allowing them to dominate his mood, viewpoint, and motivation. There is no regulation of the emotions, and yet even if the cause of the depression is unknown, the suffering individual can find a way forward through the use of positive psychology. Focusing on positive emotions can make a significant difference in the life of a depressed person (Dolphin, Steinhardt & Cance, 2015).

Other approaches can also be effective. Zoteyeva, Forbes, and Rickard (2016) show, for example, that music-based regulation of the emotions can help military servicemen and veterans manage their mental health issues more effectively. This technique uses music as a means of elevating the patient out of his own thoughts and negative feelings, and employs that elevated moment as a teaching tool for how to regulate one's emotions and prevent oneself from remaining in a negative mental state. In this theory of music-based emotion regulation, music serves as the conduit by which the self is awakened and the rational side is given the opportunity to exert influence over the emotional side. In cases of depression, it is typically the case that the emotional side has gained control of the mind and body while the rational, logical side has been displaced and has no way of reasserting itself.

For this reason, an emotional cue or trigger is often needed in order for a person to break free from the grip that negative emotions have on him. That emotional trigger can come through music, according to Zoteyeva et al.'s (2016) theory, or it can come through communication with another person and the building of a social support system. The social support system approach necessitates having another person or persons to talk with, which is why the Army has invested in developing leaders trained in MRT who can offer that kind of support to soldiers undergoing depression.

Through MRT, "the Army is leveraging the science of psychology in order to improve our force's resilience" (Casey, 2011, p. 1). MRT focuses on strengthening a person's self-awareness, self-regulation, optimism, mental agility, character strengths, and social connections. The key to this training is to help people understand their potential, get them socializing and relating to others so that they are not so consumed with themselves, and assist them in identifying and addressing their own biases, which prevent meaningful engagement with others. MRT has seen a number of positive outcomes when implemented and is therefore recommended as a suitable approach for helping with depression stemming from military service (Reivich et al., 2011).

Another theoretical perspective useful for understanding military depression is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which stipulates that every person has a hierarchy of needs that must be met before the person can attain self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). According to Maslow's theory, motivating people requires first ensuring that their physiological, safety, social, and esteem needs are satisfied in that order. People need food, shelter, safety, security, companionship, affection, and self-esteem—and once their confidence is established they can become self-motivated and self-actualized. Such people are rarely undone by depression because they have mastery over themselves, can engage in self-regulation, and are highly resilient. Maslow's theory aligns well with positive psychology and with the theory of using music to elevate a person's mood, giving the logical side a chance to regain some control over the individual's behavior.

Conclusion

Depression can be a serious affliction for soldiers in the military. Many soldiers and veterans returning from service in the Middle East suffer from serious mental health issues. For some this stems from trauma; for others it stems from a lack of faith, hope, and charity—that is, a religious conviction that a greater good exists and that God watches over them in spite of all the suffering they may feel each day. Treating depression is important because, if left untreated, it can cause a person to slip into isolation and even into suicidal behavior. Positive psychology theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs are two approaches that many find helpful in treating depression. The Army itself has incorporated positive psychology into its MRT training programs to help soldiers become more resilient. From a biblical perspective, nothing is more helpful than a strong faith in Christ.

References

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