RIP Stuart Langridge

I had to write to my local newspaper about this story because it's come up so many times in the news over the year and it's bothered me every time. Basically Langridge was a Canadian soldier, served in battle amd eventually developed mental health problems. Mainly PTSD, depression and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The military put him in a psychiatric hospital for just 30 days and then expected him to go back to work right away. Instead he killed himself. Now his parents are angry and calling inquiries into how the military handled his illnesses, saying they didn't do enough for him. That's definitely true. But the military insists all his problems come from using drugs and alcohol so it's not their responsibility. What?? That makes no sense, he deserved more treatment and therapy, no matter what caused it. They are insinuating that addiction isn't a 'real' mental illness like PTSD is. So here's what I wrote:
Re: "Soldier's suicide case extended" (Nov.3)
This case highlights the continuing stigma against mental illnesses, especially addiction. Why do the soldier's parents have to argue that he suffered from PTSD and the military insists that his problems come from alcohol and drug use? In reality, mental illnesses are inseparably intertwined with addiction when both are present in an individual. You can't say one or the other is more prevalent or important.  Often mental illness will leave one predisposed to addiction and then the ensuing drug and alcohol use make both illnesses worse. So why is it insinuated that PTSD deserves proper professional treatment, thus the military is to be blamed because they didn't provide enough of this but if it was just drug and alcohol use, it's not the military's problem? Addiction is also a mental illness which also deserves it's own professional treatment. It isn't simply a character defect or a lack of willpower, it is a bona fide disease of the brain. Just as eating highly saturated foods for years will eventually give you heart disease, years of chemically altering your brain and neural pathways will result in mental illness, specifically addiction and possibly more. So why don't we give the same respect we have for heart disease sufferers to those suffering from addiction? Both deserve a chance to live through treatment.
Shame on the military for not giving Langridge the proper time he needed to recover from serious mental illnesses and forcing him back to work after only 30 days in a psychiatric hospital. Sometimes it takes years of therapy to be functional again. My heart goes out to his family.