Suicide And Its Impact On The United States

PTSD and suicide are two things that are very common among veterans in the U.S.. A recent study has shown that there are a much as 8,000 veteran suicides a

f. Summarize: Although all the contributing factors behind military suicides are still not clear, stories like these make it very clear there are issues that need to be addressed. The military troops need to feel comfortable seeking help. When military members seek therapy or help, it needs to be more readily available to them. More studies need to be done to assess if there is a direct correlation between the rise in prescriptions and the surge in suicides. Soldiers on prescription anti-psychotics need to

The answers to this question amazed me. I have found out that close to 17 veterans commit suicide daily and, over a year, that number adds up to over 6,000 suicides. I have also discovered that half of veterans with suicidal thoughts and tendencies do not seek help for their problems out of fear of being judged. Perhaps the most shocking statistic I found was that during the Vietnam War, the number of veterans' suicide greatly exceeded the number of deaths caused during combat. The two main information sources I used to answer this question are my expert interview and a GALE article titled Growing Public Health Crisis of Domestic Violence and Suicides by Returning Veterans. I asked my expert specifically about the statistics of veterans' suicide and she gave me a lot of insight on the issue. The GALE article contains a lot of statistics such as the daily number of veterans' suicide. My thoughts about the statistics of veterans' suicide are mainly about how shockingly high they are. I was surprised when I found out that 17 service men and women commit suicide every day. I was even more surprised when the article said that over 6,000 suicides occur every year and I calculated that number myself just to make sure. My findings on the statistics of veterans' suicide are both shocking and twistedly

(Zilvin 2007). A study was conducted to identified higher risks of suicidal in veterans, and the conclusion stated that veterans that are depressed have higher risk for suicide. This results can assist to focus on a certain group continuously and monitor closely to detect suicidal behavior and prevent it. Another cause of suicide is PTSD leads to depression and if not treated could lead to suicide but more study is to be done. ?For example, use and frequency of psychotherapy visits and adherence to psychiatric medications could influence the relationship between depression, PTSD, and completed suicide? (Zilvin 2007).

As a consequence of the stresses of war and inadequate job training, when they get out of the service many have fallen behind their contemporaries. If they are fortunate enough to become employed, many of them are unable to hold a job due to untreated PTSD and acquired addictions without services and counseling designed for them. These factors may place our returning veterans at a higher risk of suicide. In 2007, the US Army reported that there were 115 suicides among OIF/OEF veterans. This was the highest number of suicides reported since the Army started keeping track about 30 years ago. In general, the risk for suicide among these veterans was not higher than that found in the U.S. population (Tull). However, there are several programs and 24 hour suicide hotlines available for those that may contemplate committing suicide as an option.

When thinking about veteran’s suicide, the one number that sticks in our mind is twenty-two. Meaning that twenty-two veterans commit suicide a day. This number is so etched into our society that it has been on the news. There are even organizations that hold twenty two mile runs and walks fundraisers to raise money and awareness to that number. However this number is not that amount of veterans that commit suicide. It is actually a lot more. This number of twenty-two veterans a day comes from a study done by the VA. However this study has flaws, and there is evidence that the number of veterans suicides is more than twenty-two a day.

Equally important, in regards to PTSD and it subsequent influence on suicide, McCarthy et al. (2012), using a national cohort of patients, examined the suicide rates of rural veterans and their urban counterparts and found that after controlling for age, gender, mental health access, and psychiatric diagnoses, rural veterans are at a higher risk of suicide, and suicide rates were higher than their urban counterparts due simply to their resident location. Furthermore, the research indicates that even after accounting for access to mental health care services, living in a rural area increases risk of suicide (McCarthy et al., 2012).

In 2014, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015), there were twice as many suicides than there were homicides. Suicidal ideation (SI), defined as an individual thinking about, considering, or planning their suicide, is established before the act of committing suicide. Research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (CDC, 2015) will put an individual at risk for developing a mental illness that could result in SI and suicide attempt (SA). It is important for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) to recognize the signs of SI and SA while assessing their client.

Veterans, compared to the U.S. population, have a higher risk of suicide. Suicide is a major public health concern, with suicide being the 11th leading cause of death across all ages and the seventh leading cause of death in males. Depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, access to firearms, and a history of self-harm or suicide attempts are factors that place veterans at higher risk for suicide. The increased risk for suicide among veterans has been brought to public attention, which has lead The Department of Veteran Affairs to announce the prevention of suicide to be a major national priority. In response to the increase in suicide rates, the Department of Veteran Affairs has created a comprehensive suicide prevention efforts and has collaborated with the of Defense (DoD) to develop a clinical practice guideline based on best available evidence and expert consensus (Chapman & Ibrahim, 2015).

As of 2014, 294,172 military personnel have suffered from a TBI since 2000. Russell also stated that there had been 338,294 cases of PTSD since the war on terror. After adding all of these equations together, there were between 1,600-1,800 suicides per year from Veterans that are receiving health care at the Veterans Administration and as many as 6,400 a year Veterans total. (Daigh, 2009) That would break down to 17.5 Veterans killing themselves a day. The most recent estimates believe there could be as many as 22 Veterans taking their lives a day. Pairing this information with the previously discussed work of Rozanov & Carli, one could use inferential statistics and see that combat Veterans are the majority of those Veterans committing suicide.

According to Finley, Bolinger, Noel, Amuan, Copeland, Pugh, Dassori, Palmer, Bryan, and Pugh (2015), a group of veteran mental health members addressed the problematic issue of whether suicide events showed an increase in suicide episodes since and related to the United States involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Research reported by the authors used the Department of Veterans Affairs administrative data to identify descriptive statistics followed by multinominal logistic regression analyzes. The authors also used international classification of diseases, ninth revision, clinical modification codes (2009-2011) to characterize 211652 cohort members. This retrospective cohort study revealed subgroups that created risk factors possibly elevating the occurrences of suicide. Prior psychological diagnosis is already known to be risk factors when associated with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and sleeping deprivation. The author 's intent was to identify which conditions were at a greater risk for suicide ideation. The researchers’ finding from their sample size of 211,652 service members returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) that 97.3% had neither suicide ideation nor a suicide attempt documented in 2010-2011. Additionally, the servicemen who were identified as individuals with suicide-related behaviors (SRB) resulted in only 2% having ideations only and .4% had attempts only, .3%

Suicide among veterans is a national concern and suicide prevention is a priority for the VHA. In concern for the health and well-being of military service members and veterans, congress has mandated implementation of a comprehensive VHA suicide prevention program. The VHA is the only large health care organization to assess suicide mortality among its entire patient population (McCarthy et al, 2009).

work. Over $700 billion is put forward towards the cost of substance abuse (Trends and Statistics, n.d.). Regarding the military, as of the 2013 report, which covered data from 2004 through 2011/2012, suicide rates among service members were at one time lower as compared to the civilian sector, however it noted that the suicide rates for military members began to spike 2004. In 2009, the data collected indicated that of the suicides committed, 29% of those involved alcohol or drug use, while one third of those prescription drug was involved (DrugFacts: Substance Abuse in the Military, n.d.). The numbers from theses trends were later followed up on during a USA Today investigation after the 2010 decision by the Army to place the Substance Abuse

In discussion of suicide, one controversial issue has been the increase of service member suicides. The Department of Defense: Suicide Event Report, states that 269 active and reserved military personnel have committed suicide in 2014. Majority of these incidents found that most victims were Caucasian male, under the age of 30, with a High School diploma and a rank between E1-E9. The most common methods used were by firearm (68.3%) and by asphyxiation/hanging (24.9%). The Department of Defense states that majority of the firearms used were not military-issued. In addition, 1,126 service members attempted suicide. Unlike others, the majority of these members attempted suicide by alcohol and drug overdose. Furthermore, the suicide rate of active service members in 2014 were 19.9 per 100,000 and 21.9 per 100,000 with reserved service members. In comparison with 2012, the year 2014 saw a 3% decrease for active service members. However, in 2014 reserve service members had a rate 21.9, whereas in 2012 reserve service members had a rate 19.3, a 2.6% increase. 252 of these members were male and only 17 were female. 93 of these suicides were between the ages of 20 and 24 and steadily decreased with age. 174 only attained a high school diploma. 141 of these service members were married and 104 were never married. Out of 269 suicides, 116 were done in their own residence. The Department of Defense reports that only 74 service members spoke to someone regarding their suicidal thoughts

1. In the United States (U.S.), approximately 42,773 Americans die by suicide each year.1 This has become a huge problem not only in the U.S. but also in the military, specifically the Air Force (AF). Suicides are a huge problem in the AF and this issue needs to be address. Some possible solutions are administering mental health screenings yearly and making it mandatory for supervisors to randomly give their subordinates monthly mental screenings. The best solution for this issue would be developing a more extensive background check to aid in figuring out a recruit’s mental status before they enter the military.