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The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings

Common mental disorders, such as depression and alcohol abuse, are the top psychological problems amongst British troops coming home from combat.

Since the beginning of the Iraq war, over 100,000 British troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women are at increased risk of mental health problems.

A study conducted by Dr. Amy Iversen and colleagues from the King’s Centre for Military Health Research and the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, says that alcohol abuse is the most common mental health disorder among returning troops. Depression and anxiety are also seen in those returning home.

The research surveyed 821 people. They found that the prevalence of all common mental health disorders was 27.2 percent, with alcohol abuse at 18 percent and depression and anxiety at 13.5 percent. The information showed that reservists who deployed to Iraq are at a greater risk of psychiatric injury than regular personnel.

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

In Russia, where the government has called alcoholism a “national disaster,” men have an average life expectancy of 60 years of age, one of the lowest in Europe. Life expectancy for Russian men is well below that of western European countries like Germany, where men have an average life span of 77 years, according to the World Health Organization.

The life expectancy for men has remained stagnant due to high levels of alcohol consumption. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, alcohol and tobacco use have risen, as Russians have struggled to adapt to economic and cultural change.

Research suggests that those most vulnerable to alcoholism tend to be men with the lowest education and the unemployed. Alcoholism is less of a problem among Russian women. They have a higher life expectancy of 73 years of age.

Silence is a source of great strength. ~Lao Tzu

A new study has found evidence that the amount and timing of alcohol consumption in pregnancy affects child behavior in different ways.

The Australian study randomly sampled more than 2000 mothers who answered questions three months after the baby’s birth, and then again when the child was 2, 5 and 8 years of age.

“Mothers who reported what we would classify as heavy drinking in the first trimester of pregnancy were nearly three times as likely to report that their child suffered with anxiety and/or depression or somatic complaints,” said lead study author Colleen O’Leary.

“Those who drank moderately during that first trimester were twice as likely to report those types of behavioral issues for their child. Exposure to moderate or heavy levels of alcohol in late pregnancy increased the risk of aggressive types of behaviors in the child.”