Joey Pantoliano: Our Soldiers and Their Families Deserve Better

I am growing increasingly concerned about the trauma of war and its affects on the men and women in the military as well as their immediate and extended families. For the first time in U.S. military history, psychological and psychiatric services are being offered to our combat soldiers and veterans whereas, previously, they were encouraged to talk to their chaplain or to one another in a foxhole.

A major issue remains, however, and that is how to care for the families of our military, who are not being offered the same psychological services but yet who are also suffering due to the stress of deployment and extended separation as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Civilian parents are not equipped with the necessary skills and tools to explain to young children, how and why their other parent suffers from PTSD, lost a limb or their life while in combat.

Mental illness carries a tremendous stigma in civilian life. In the military, stigma, barriers to access and negative attitudes about mental health care treatment often prevent a lot of people from seeking help.This extends to the family, which is increasingly in crisis. Our military and their families deserve better mental health care treatment. They deserve access to child psychologists. They deserve our help.

I look forward to the day when the brain has the same "First Amendment" rights as the kidney or the heart. I look forward to the day when a biopolar diagnosis is as accepted as an asthma diagnosis. I look forward to the day when a husband or wife celebrates finding the right therapy for schizophrenia or a cure for Alzheimer's, or autism.

Mental illness does not discriminate. Mental illness is a bi-partisan, equal rights issue and concern. One of the reasons that our Congressional leaders are so passionate about mental health parity is that they can admit that mental illness is somewhere in their lives.

The entertainment industry leaders are the same.

Celebrities live their personal highs and their personal lows in the spotlight. Their struggles, particularly those with drug and alcohol, are demonized when help is what's needed. And the same is true for mentally ill people, most of whom do not live their lives in the public eye. For every celebrity whose life ends prematurely by a drug overdose or suicide, there are thousands more tragedies that go unreported. And this is why No Kidding, Me Too! is so important. We can help educate that people who suffer from mental illness have real choices and can live full and productive lives once they receive proper care and treatment. We need to broaden suicide prevention measures to encompass drug and homicide prevention before it's too late.

For more from Emmy Award-winning actor Joey Pantoliano, be sure to check out his earlier post on his efforts to battle clinical depression and raise greater social awareness about mental health issues in American society.

Joey Pantoliano: Our Soldiers and Their Families Deserve Better

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