Anxiety

[razzell]

Hi guys

I am thinking of joining the army but on my medical records it states that i had anxiety symptoms from when i was 18 (i am now 24) and they stopped last year after taking 2-3 months of meds i am now working full time and i have no problems with anxiety what so ever. But when i asked my dr about this he said that its on my records but it was never a diagnosis will this be a permernant bar on my enrolement?.

Thanks

[Tab]

I think that they would look very carefully at you, as it can get quite stressful in the army

[razzell]

well when my anxiety was delt with the first job i got was door supervisor, i got bottled the first night but i still love the job i know its not as stressful as being in the army but dealing with 300 people on your own and not loseing your cool im sure they would see that as a positive.

[Tab]

It can become quite stressful when some one is trying to kill you, or you are being sent into an attack. This is why I said that they would look at you very carefully

[ofens]

Also the basic training situation is a long, ongoing stressful situation.
The fact that it is almost constant over a long time soon wears away at you and any niggles or issues will soon surface.
Hopefully you are AOK but do not think that training is easy, whatever job choice you have in mind.
Military training is there to break and rebuild you.

[razzell]

so having anxiety for such a long time isn't a permanant bar?

[ofens]

No you've missed the point there.
What I was trying to say is that if you have stress/anxiety/depression type issues, then a military training situation is probably the worst place for you to be.
You will be under pressure and provoked and stressed out a lot.
It will bring your problems to the surface. People who haven't had issues before sometimes freak out.
However I hope that you are OK and that your problems are resolved.

[razzell]

tbh i work really well under pressure my anxiety was because i used to get bullied at school and college because of what my weight used to be, as i am now a slim jim hehe i dont have these issues anymore

[Tab]

You never know what is going to hit a person, we had a lad in our unit who was a fantastic boxer, he never took a step back, and could duck and roll with punches and hit like a steam hammer. We thought he would be great to have beside you but when we went into action we found that he was terrified of the dark and when sent forward on his own for sentry duty at night and all those strange creatures start to move around, then he got the screaming ad-dabs. He died shortly afterwards when he drove his vehicle off a cliff one night as the night can come quickly in some parts of the world and he stayed out to long before getting back to base.

[razzell]

so even tho i have had these issues in the past would they still allow me to join?

[Tab]

You don't know what they will say, all you can do us try and see what happens, but don't get to upset if they turn you down.

[sportbilly42]

We're not doctors on here so don't take anything we say as absolute gospel. All we can do is give our opinion based on previous experience and all you can do is fill out the forms and see what happens...

However.. For my two penn'orth I'd say you will likely be told your medical history would prevent you being considered. Failing that I suspect you may be told that you would have to be 'symptom free' for a couple of years before you can re-apply. (And that's symptom free without meds....)

.... on my medical records it states that i had anxiety symptoms from when i was 18 (i am now 24) and they stopped last year after taking 2-3 months of meds

On your own admission you've suffered for a few years and you've only been 'cured' for about a year. Basic Military Training itself is a 'maximum stress environment'. They need people that can cope with changing situations and not fold into the foetal position whenever someone shouts at them... If there's any risk of putting someone in a position where previous medical problems re-emerge then you won't be considered... It's your long term welfare the selectors have to consider as well....

.....when i asked my dr about this he said that its on my records but it was never a diagnosis.......

My daughter had a 'wheezey chest' one summer when living in Germany. She was in her early teens, it was a really hot summer with high pollen count and all sorts of other smog and air quality problems in the place we lived. The 'wheezey chest' bit went on her records. No diagnosis as such. Tried getting in the RAF a few years later but because of the wheeze was told to come back in a few years with proof of no further symptoms...

One mucho pissed off girl....

[Tunni]

Hi,

I am currently going through an appeal for the army rejecting me because of anxiety issues. I've only suffered from it on 1 occasion and it was very minor. I actually sought professional treatment to help me through it instead of being told I need treatment but it still went on my record and the army has jumped on that with a big no. No matter how good my scores have been lately, a perfect score wouldn't even work if there are anxiety issues in your medical history.

My GP reckons I stand a good chance of getting through the appeal with success but its in the army's hands now. Should know in the next week at least. so will keep this updated.