Mental health disorders are on the rise among the servicemen and women of the armed forces --- a new survey by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed recently!

Going by the figures put forth by the MoD, almost 4,000 armed forces service personnel were diagnosed with mental health disorders in 2010, marking a notable increase from the year before figures of 3,103.

Specifically speaking, the Army reported nearly 2,553 mental health cases in 2010, the RAF 965, the Navy 366, and the Royal Marines 58.

There were 249 post-traumatic stress disorder cases after men and women had been in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the ones that suffered the most being women, the young and personnel in lower ranks. In fact, psychiatric problems happened to be the reason behind the evacuation of 30 service personnel from Afghanistan.

The survey also revealed that 293 mental health cases related to alcohol; and 835 cases of depression. It was also found that women were two times more likely to suffer mental health problems as compared to men; while officers had a 50 percent lower chance of suffering from such problems than other ranks. The most susceptible age-group in terms of mental health was the 20-24 years group.

Noting that the mental health of the armed forces was a top priority, an MoD spokesman said: “We recognise that the stigma associated with mental health disorders can be a huge barrier to personnel coming forward for treatment and addressing it is every commander's responsibility”!