Psychosomatic Problems of Military Retirement

Abstract

• Well over 600,000 military personnel will be on governmental roles by 1970. Approximately 50,000 new military retirees enter civilian life each year. Recently military physicians have recognized many social and interpersonal retirement difficulties associated with somatic complaints in this large population. The more severe problems of adjustment often occur only after the individual is discharged from the service. The majority of retirees will make appropriate adjustment to their new life, but those who do find the new life overpowering are numerous. The treatment of emotional conflicts of these men will fall largely to civilian physicians as the retiree integrates with civilian society. Overt psychic conflict with a concomitant affective state is relatively easy to diagnose, but emotional conflict which is somatisized may not be recognized and may prolong initial diagnosis. In the particular age group under discussion organic disease commonly may be found in civilian and military populations alike, but on occasion those somatic complaints which are bizarre, complicated, or are particularly hard to diagnose may be purely psychic manifestations of emotional conflict. If recognized early the retiree's adjustment problems often can be effectively handled with psychotherapy in the form of brief counseling.