The Problem Of Veteran Suicide

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

On February 12, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (Clay Hunt Act) that will work towards expanding and allowing for greater efficiency and coherence within The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health services and suicide prevention programs. The Clay Hunt Act includes peer support and community outreach pilot programs, requirement of 3rd party evaluations, collaboration with non-profit mental health organizations, creation of a centralized interactive website for all mental health services, extended combat veteran eligibility and an incentive loan repayment program for psychiatrists. The Clay Hunt Act was named after a marine veteran who died by suicide in March 2011 after a long battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Clay had extensive difficulty receiving adequate mental health services from the VA. He commented to his mother, “I’m a guinea pig for drugs. They’ll put me on one thing, I’ll have side effects, and then they put me on something else (iava.org).” The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and many other news organization have all run features on the struggle American Veterans have with accessing mental health services, including the VA’s lengthy wait times, staff shortage, and the sole focus on medication to treat mental health disorders. (……). Despite the VA’s current initiatives, the rates of suicide by veterans have continued to increase with the current

In the “A Lifeline for Troubled Veterans” (2017), The Editorial Board insists that “ the government needs to do a lot more to prevent veteran suicides and homelessness”(2). The board relays this information to the reader through factual information regarding the government's knowing of this issue (“the government does not know what percentage of these veterans have acute mental health problems”(2)) and have not acknowledged their presence. He has gone through this trouble of making he thoughts known in order to finally get to help the veterans with only less than honorable discharges “to seek care at a V.A. Emergency room or by calling the Veterans Crisis Line”(2) from the government. The boards main purpose of writing this was to spread

The amount of combat soldiers who commit suicide is often shown an extreme expression of PTSD. {Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry}. Phil Harvey and Lisa Conyers- coauthors of "The Human Cost of Welfare." has mentioned that " We'll give you enough for a reasonably comfortable life, but we won't help you find a job." {latimes.com} Unemployment for these brave men when coming home is also a big problem. It's not easy for these men to find a job after their deployment because people often seen the Veterans as

According to Dr. Mike Haynie, the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, “22 military veterans today commit suicide in this country one every 80 minutes[...and]in recent years, more veterans have died by their own hand than service members lost to the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan” (Haynie). On a typical stance, many Americans would disregard this shocking statistic as merely a myth or a folktale. In reality, however, this statistic illustrates the “blind side” of America; it illustrates the assumption people unknowingly draw about veterans and the pain they actually suffer from war. It is these very veterans to whom America gives its support and blessings; it is for these very veterans that the

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).

Most veterans are seeking care from the VA more than before. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2.1 million veterans received mental health treatment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the five year period from 2006 through 2010 (Foundation, N. V. 2016). PTSD is the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans; therefore, it is important that these veterans have/are offered the best treatments to help them with their PTSD. Because 1 in 5 veterans are homeless in the United States, it is evident that these veterans are either not seeking treatment or the treatment that is currently being offered is not working. It is safe to assume that the lack of treatment options available is problematic in America. Only a quarter of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans search for treatment options in the U.S (Stecker, Fortney, and Sherbourne, 2007). When a veteran goes into treatment, they do not stay for very long because their are many barriers that affect their mental illness (Drapalski et al., 2008). Drapalski(2008) assessed barriers to medical and mental health care among Veterans with serious mental illness and found similar results. In 2006-2007 a study was done for 490 men and women veteran with PTSD in regards to

Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. People in America often take freedom for granted because it is now the normal way of living in America. The U.S. military and their soldiers help keep our freedom on an international level. The soldiers that help keep our freedom often come back home with a myriad amount of problems that they must overcome. In order to help our soldiers Americans should vote for the right people for office to help the United States Department of Veteran Affairs to prevent soldiers of having financial, family, and personal problems that come from untreated physical and mental health problems to show their support for the U.S. Military.

This academic journal states the physiological effects on soldiers who are in the Veteran Affairs Department. This sources states that it is not the negligence of veteran care that causes veterans to commit suicide; however, it is their mental mindset that is driving them to do so. The source provides facts on how the VA works and treats the veterans in the facility. For example, the source provides

In March 2010, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") released a sobering statistic: every eighty minutes, a military veteran commits suicide” (Mccarl and Lindsay 395). As one can see, this is a major problem in our society. Most of these suicides are from veterans with mental disorders, such as PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder). Disorders such as this cause suicide, and are not always caught by professionals and/or families, and can even affect children of the victim in particular. There have been many solutions that have been proposed in the past but none of them tend to lower the percentage dramatically of veteran suicides in the United States. A solution that could now solve the problem would be a year of free counseling for a veteran after his/her tour. These statistics need to be addressed before it gets too out of hand.

When our veterans return from a war stricken country like Iraq and Afghanistan they have witnessed countless events of trauma. More than 1 million U.S. citizens serve as active-duty military personnel. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, almost 22 million Americans are veterans of U.S. Armed Forces service.(U.S Census Bureau) These men and women whether serving in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps or Navy are supported by millions of more family members whose letters and phone calls are essential to lift spirits and boost morale throughout a service person’s career. The service men and women leave fighting for our country and then come back fighting their own minds, and if they don't have the resources they won't get help. Over the past 13 years, roughly 2.4 million active and reserve members of the U.S. armed forces have left military service and returned to civilian life. In the next four to five years, another million will make this transition. This reintegrating into life can be very hard, do to the trauma these veterans have gone through. This trauma can cause physiological

The United States of America has a crisis existing within its population of returning veterans. More and more, we see veterans of the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the war on Terror, return with not only debilitating physical wounds, but longer lasting psychological wounds of war. Furthermore, there’s a stigma with mental health in the country which dictates; if you seek help for mental health issues, you’re weak. This isn’t only a problem amongst returning veterans, but all citizens. The returning warrior shouldn’t have to go speak with someone about their feelings. This is a common utterance heard when veterans return. The epidemic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amongst returning veterans, combined with the stigma of weakness and worthlessness for seeking help, is creating an almost impossible transition between military and civilian life. Not only are veterans experiencing issues with PTSD and other psychological afflictions having to battle with these afflictions, but they are finding themselves having difficulty finding help along with trying to cope with an otherwise insensitive and naïve population of people; some of whom are completely incapable of understanding, let alone empathy towards any situation besides their own. The review you are about to read serves as research into methods of coping, as well as helpful tactics for the reintegrating veteran.

Returning home after periods of service on active duty, in any capacity, is something for veterans to look forward to, and so many veterans do well after service, but a large number seem to face service-related challenges, as do not receive the care and services required for successful transition to civilian life. [1][6] The stress that comes with attempting to reintegrate into civilian society is only one of many that contributes to suicidal ideation, so successful reintegration has proven to be a useful tool in the fight against suicide amongst veterans. [18]

OEF/OIF. Between 2001 and 2006, U.S. military suicide rates doubled. During this time, more deaths were attributed to suicide than to actual deaths due to combat in Afghanistan (Frueh & Smith, 2012). New data regarding the rate of suicide among U.S. military veterans, in January of 2010, reported that this rate had increased 26% (Bruce, 2010). In 2005, the VA had estimated that the suicide rate per 100,000 veterans ages 18 to 29 was 44.99, but this rate increased to 56.77 in 2007 (Bruce,

Veteran suicide and the impact resilience training has on the survival of veterans reintegrating back into civilian life. Veterans and risk of suicide. Veteran Suicide is a very real threat to our service members today. Many veterans get out of the military with high hopes, but soon realize the fight has ultimately just begun. Many things need to be considered when departing from the military back into civilian life, such as income, housing, health insurance, life insurance and many more burdens that were once afforded to them by the government, but alas that is just the beginning. Many veterans after reintegration hold on to emotions and behaviors that while in the service may have been suitable, but after entering the civilian sector again those emotions and behaviors can become quite burdensome on the prior service member. In the service, there is a strong sense of Esprit de Corps, which is a sense of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty that is shared throughout a group of people, and in this case the ranks of the military. Esprit de Corps also gives the service member a purpose that is greater than them self. Once those feeling are gone many prior service members tend to develop feelings of thwarted belongingness, which may act as a tailspin into suicidal ideation and proneness (Rogers 2016).