A new study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports the number of Iraq soldiers seeking mental health treatment tripled from the moment they returned home to six months afterwards. The study, conducted among 88,235 soldiers, showed 4.4 percent of soldiers immediately sought treatment, while 11.7 percent did within six months after leaving Iraq.

Researchers attribute the initial low number to the euphoria--a honeymoon period--of coming home, and not thinking too much about the war they'd just experienced. Then as time goes on the troubles begin to sink in.  As the Army Times reports:

"When you come back ... you’re feeling great,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen Jones, the U.S. Army Medical Command’s assistant surgeon general. “You’re almost euphoric. And you don’t have any problems in the world. You’re just glad to be home. And then over the next three to four weeks, you get home, you re-establish the relationships with your family, and the normal stress that everybody feels when they return home starts to surface.”

Of particular note: 20 percent of active-Army soldiers sought or were referred for mental health care, as opposed to 40 percent of reservists and National Guard. Are soldiers among the latter more susceptible to having mental health issues? It's possible. The study also cited reservists moving on in civilian life without a strong military support community, as reasons for the high percentage.

Still, the Army reports some different reasoning for why the reservist numbers are much higher:

...Army officials believe much of that rise stems from the perception that their healthcare coverage will expire sooner than that of active-duty soldiers. So, even though reservists' medical coverage continues after their return, they are more likely to report problems during the second assessment, Army officials speculate.

The Washington Post highlighted the issue of substance abuse taken up by the JAMA study:

Another troubling finding is that while soldiers frequently reported abusing alcohol -- nearly 12 percent of active-duty soldiers and 15 percent of reservists -- less than 1 percent in each category was referred for substance-abuse treatment. One reason may be that such treatment is not confidential and triggers the involvement of commanders, the study says.

Here's a recent CBS News interview with a veterans activist taking a look at the state of mental health issues in the military: