Suicide Prevention

A widely believed cause of this increase in suicides lies mostly on combat aspects. Being in the military is a lifestyle that is truly physically draining. The day to day life of being in the military is stressful. Multiple tours, increased stress, longer hours ‘repetitive deployments and much longer deployments, being away from friends and family more than in the past than in recent years can be believed to take a heavy toll on service members. The Rand Corporation issued in a report on military suicides that states that the US involvement in conflicts since 2001 has taken a toll on the service that has manifested itself in increased suicides. Dr. Brian Craig, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University Of Texas Health Science Center, says that it is not just the traumatic events but the day to day stressors of combat that cause problems. He is also the lead risk management advisor for the DOD Strong Star Research Consortium and found in his research that it is “not being able to sleep in a comfortable bed, not having access to warm,

Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians. Army leaders said they were doing everything they could think of to curb the deaths and appealed for more mental health professionals to join and help out. Clearly, the military is going above and beyond to try and prevent further lives from being taken.

There are an alarming number of veterans who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. The suicide rate on returning veterans is on the rise. In California, service members were killing themselves and family members at an alarming rate. After an investigation, it was apparent that they do not have enough properly trained individuals to over see

Since 2001, the Unites States Military has been engaged in steady armed conflict all around the world and soldiers are taking their own lives due to the stresses of combat. (Ramchand, Acosta, Burns, Jaycox, & Pernin, 2011). The mission of the Military’s Suicide Prevention Program is to provide an endless supply of family support, information, medical assistance, and training to soldiers and their families with the goal of preventing and/or reducing the number of suicides. Leaders at the state and national level put forth great effort to reduce suicides in the military which is a great concern. Policy makers and legislators are continuously updating regulations to provide service members and their families with the best resources to help with all forms of PTSD and suicidal tendencies. A major goal is to get help to the service member before the thoughts of suicide are

Since this Friday is Remembrance Day, I decided to read an article about the veterans of Canada. This article was about the mental health of veterans when they return home from war, and how they need support. This article revealed that at least 70 veterans that went to war in Afghanistan, have died from suicide after their return home. In several cases, family members told the stories of their loved ones and gave information about their treatment and how they died.

Suicide rates in the military are at twenty-two a day and that was in two thousand one (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand two suicides were at the rate of ten point three per one hundred thousand people (Dao and Lehren). Suicide rates in two thousand twelve were at three hundred and fifty (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand one there were two thousand seven hundred and maybe even more because this statistic did not include National Guard and reserve troops who were not on active duty (Dao and Lehren). However, studies are finding that eighty percent of soldier suicides were non-combat related (Dao and Lehren). This study is causing a concern to the military for the aspects of the background checks that the soldiers have to go through to get into the military. This is causing concern in the metal health part of the multiple series of test that these soldiers have to go through. Questions are arising like “Are the test becoming to easy and are we letting to many people in for not the right reasons?” This leads to looking farther into the causes of suicide in the military.

Authorities not even aware of the spike in suicides in the 2/7 deployment. The Department of Veterans Affairs said that they don’t track suicide trends amount veterans of specific military units. The resulting suicide rate for the group is nearly four times the rate for young male veterans as a whole, and fourteen times that for all Americans.

During the Revolutionary War, 2/3 of the soldiers fight died from diseases like Dysentery, Influenza, Typhon, ect. Many soldiers starved and some, marched barefoot. In many wars soldiers got killed by friendly fire even. Some soldiers saw so much on the battle field they went crazy, suffering mental scars that led to psychotic breaks which may eventually led to suicide. As most of you already know, many veterans don't come back from the war, but some do, and those that do are usually never the same as they were before. Many people have made jokes about war flashbacks and it is actually very serious, in fact, studies show that recent veterans have a very high suicide rate compared to those who has never served in the military. But let's not

Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam war vet, had similar experiences as the soldier above. Even though O'Brien didn't die, the war still took away his life because a part of him will never be the same. Even in 1995, almost thirty years after the war, O'Brien wrote, "Last night suicide was on my mind. Not whether, but how. Tonight it will be on my mind again... I sit in my underwear at this unblinking fool of a computer and try to wrap words around a few horrid truths" (Vietnam 560). 1 think that O'Brien is

An article from the New York Times written by Dave Phillips sheds light on the growing issue of suicide rates amongst military veterans. Dave Phillips does this by telling the story of fellow military men, through the eyes of one marine- gunner name Manny Bojorquez. Bojorquez, joined the marines at a young age of 19, one of the militaries most prestige combat forces. In 2008, the second Battalion, seventh marine regiment -also known as the 2/7- deployed to a mid-swath of Helnend providence. Bojorquez remembers this combat as one of the worst and most traumatizing combats of many marines’ lives. After experiencing these traumatic events, the agonies of war,

The 13 veterans that lost their lives are, chief warrant officer Michael Cahill, who served in the nation guard and also work as a physician’s

Have you ever known a war veteran? A family member, a friend, or a complete stranger that gave up years in their prime to serve their country? Have you ever envisioned yourself in their shoes, adapted to civilian life, and in as little as a year having to make choices like deciding whether to pull the trigger of an assault rifle or not? Now, begin to empathize with the soldiers who lived that reality and had to see their friends die in battle. To some of us, this would sound extreme in nature and connecting to the ones who have sacrificed their pasts to preserve our futures sounds repulsive almost and an insurmountable task.

Tests have shown around 50% of soldiers have a mental disorder or have been mentally affected by war. 14% of soldiers are suicidal. Think about that, someone risking their lives for their people and saving lives, Is willing to take their own life because of the mental impact of war.

Do not grieve, especially you mother, as your son is still alive. Forgive me for I have burdened the two of you with worry and left you letterless for nearly two weeks, but unfortunately, I barely have time to write. As soon as I arrived 21 days ago, the other recruits and I were put to work by the senior soldiers. Contrary to the simple upbringing you have given me, war has shown that power and position are the only things which can guarantee a person’s safety. At the battlefield, in order to prove myself to the other soldiers, I had to repair the broken trench all by myself, even when the shells with their splintering roar soared above my head, threatning to strike me and while I was at rest, the gruesome drills kept

Three people in my life have completed suicide; my uncle, my mom’s late fiance, and my step brother on my dad’s side, within four years of each other. I’ve witnessed each parental figure in my life become compromised by grief and the inevitable pain accompanying it, and I’ve seen the way depression can plague someone so deeply, even without the ending of suicide. The prevalence and growing numbers of deaths by suicide calls for a revised manner of education on all mental illnesses and the preventative measures one can take to reduce risk. Initially, when I heard of the Suicide Prevention Week Keynote event with Jamie Tworkowski (founder of ‘To Write Love On Her Arms’) I was thrilled. Hosting such an event on a college campus, presenting to a population greatly affected by mental illness, is demonstrative of the steps that should be taken toward raising awareness. Any opportunity for a comprehensive view on mental health and its significance is one to be taken advantage of. However, as the night proceeded, I did take note of several things that would improve the layout of any future events, as well as further deepen an individual’s comprehension of mental illness.