Depression and mental illness; what can I do when it's affecting me? I've already tried my unit, IG, and JAG.

You need to go see your Chaplain; they are a good resource and will help guide you in the right direction. Regardless of your spirituality, they are there to help.

SPC, first off, it's unfortunate that you suffer from these issues, I truly wish you the best best in your health. But, to answer your question, I think you need to look inward and ask yourself, what do you truly want for yourself. I say this because I truly think that there are two types of Soldiers: 1) Soldiers that are bad for the Army (those that get DUIs, commit crimes, etc). 2) Soldiers that the Army is bad for them (Soldiers that are naturally not physically strong athletic, naturally battle weigh issues and a profession like the Army isn't really the place for them). Not knowing the background of your situation, you have to ask yourself under your current medical condition, is it best for your long term health to continue service. I am in no way dismissive of your CoC alleged blind-eye to your condition. They should be in your corner every step of the way assisting you in recovery. However, your health must be your first priority. Talk to your doctors about the effect of continued service on your mental health, weight the risks vs rewards and make the decision on whether a med-board is the best option. The very nature of the Army profession is to bring various positive/negative stressors on Soldiers IOT ready them from wartime OPTEMPO. Could you sustain? Would years of Army life make it worse--these are the questions you have ask yourself. Even though it's not right, we can't promise you that anywhere you go you won't run into insensitive leadership towards your issues. It's just a reality. You have protect yourself first--the Army was here before you and I and it will be here long after. Don't risk long term damage to yourself. Good luck.

Depression keeps your mind so clogged with worry that we rarely do things textbook GI Joe. The late nights of stress and insomnia make us late fr formation and not really able to contribute to the fight like we want to. I'm not seeing a lot of talk about what you have done within your C of C. I beg you to do that before you bring in any outside resources. Even if you have a problem within your own C of C (if you have gone past TM/SQD LDR, PSG, 1SG, CDR already) then Chaplain. Never go to outside resurces without doing everything to keep it in house first. Your leadership neds to be aware that your problems continue, and nothing has been resolved. Chaplains aren't just good for the spiritual stuff. They are wired in to everybody from medical to mental health. Keep us in the loop.