The Transition Year: Why Leaving the Military Can Be the Hardest Stretch for Mood

The last day in uniform is often treated as a celebration. There is a ceremony, a handshake, sometimes a plaque. Then comes the first Monday with no formation, no chain of command and no one who needs you at 0600. For a lot of people, that is when the trouble starts.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, in its National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, has identified the period right after separation from service as a time of elevated suicide risk for veterans. The reasons are not mysterious. Service provides a schedule, a purpose, a paycheck and a group of people who notice when you are off. Transition can remove all four at once.

What it can look like

Depression in the transition year does not always look like sadness. Families and friends describe:

• Days that drift with no structure, followed by nights of poor sleep.
• Irritability with civilian coworkers who seem to care about the wrong things.
• Loss of interest in the job search, then shame about not having found work.
• Comments about not mattering anymore, or about having peaked.
• Heavier drinking framed as decompressing.

When those signs show up alongside talk of death, giving things away or researching ways to die, the situation has moved from adjustment to emergency.

What helps

Structure helps, even small structure: a regular wake-up time, a standing workout with another veteran, a weekly call with someone from the old unit. Connection helps more. Many veterans say the call they least wanted to make, to a battle buddy or a chaplain, turned out to matter the most.

Treatment helps too, and asking for it is not a failure of toughness. A primary care doctor, the VA or a community clinic can screen for depression and start care. If one or two antidepressants have not worked, doctors can review other options, which for some adults include esketamine nasal spray, Spravato, approved by the FDA with an oral antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression and for depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder with acute suicidal thoughts or behavior. It is given only in certified clinics under the Spravato REMS, with monitoring afterward. It has not been shown to prevent suicide or reduce suicidal behavior, and it does not replace emergency care.

For the people watching from nearby

Spouses, parents and friends are often the first to see the slide. Ask directly how he or she is doing, and if you are worried about suicide, ask that directly too. Then make the call together.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time. Veterans and service members can press 1 after dialing 988, or text 838255, to reach the Veterans Crisis Line. In an emergency, call 911.