User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 16 of 16

Thread: PTSD and suicide in the military- one story

  1. #11
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,122, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496584
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,700
    Points
    859,122
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,223
    Thanked 147,594x in 94,422 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I posted this thread, not to bash conservatives or wars, but to ask whether the military can do something different.

    The guy in the OP was facing disciplinary charges over something that occurred. For sake of argument let's assume that the misconduct was caused by PTSD. Keeping in mind the need for military discipline, should additional measures be taken with Soldiers diagnosed with PTSD?

    The problem is difficult. Military discipline is handled at the lowest possible level of command. A company commander is maybe 3 -4 years out of college and is overwhelmed with the duties of command. They don't have time to treat every member of their command as an individual.

    Often Soldiers with PTSD get mixed up in the UCMJ and that only makes their problems harder to deal with. In the 1990s there was an SF Soldier who got (unknown until after his death) mad cow from eating food at a tribal ceremony in Africa. The disease ate away at his brain and he became a disciplinary problem. He was disgraced and ruined. The Army apologized to the family after the autopsy proved mad cow.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  2. #12
    Original Ranter
    Points: 297,717, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 41.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second ClassOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Mister D's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    416530
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    117,870
    Points
    297,717
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    25,302
    Thanked 53,475x in 36,449 Posts
    Mentioned
    1102 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    There is a view that the far too many soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD. It's argued that it's a phenomenon perpetuated by the medical community.
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


    ~Alain de Benoist


  3. #13
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,122, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496584
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,700
    Points
    859,122
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,223
    Thanked 147,594x in 94,422 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Mister D View Post
    There is a view that the far too many soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD. It's argued that it's a phenomenon perpetuated by the medical community.
    Perhaps. I think the over prescription of pharmaceuticals is a bigger concern.

    I posted it when it came out over a year ago, but there has been some genetic markers that predispose people to PTSD.

    As an aside, when you see a shrink about it they don't just look at the specific events, they go back to your childhood and draw a map of events that contribute to the problem.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Peter1469 For This Useful Post:

    Mister D (07-18-2015)

  5. #14
    Original Ranter
    Points: 297,717, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 41.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second ClassOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Mister D's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    416530
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    117,870
    Points
    297,717
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    25,302
    Thanked 53,475x in 36,449 Posts
    Mentioned
    1102 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    Perhaps. I think the over prescription of pharmaceuticals is a bigger concern.

    I posted it when it came out over a year ago, but there has been some genetic markers that predispose people to PTSD.

    As an aside, when you see a shrink about it they don't just look at the specific events, they go back to your childhood and draw a map of events that contribute to the problem.
    Not saying I subscribe to it. I'm just ware of it. It's not very PC...
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


    ~Alain de Benoist


  6. #15
    Points: 99,477, Level: 76
    Level completed: 82%, Points required for next Level: 473
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album pictures50000 Experience PointsOverdriveVeteran
    PolWatch's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    299327
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alabama
    Posts
    33,626
    Points
    99,477
    Level
    76
    Thanks Given
    20,557
    Thanked 25,148x in 15,266 Posts
    Mentioned
    895 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    PTSD is like a lot of mental health problems....part of the problem is reluctance to seek help. Some of the men I have known that suffer with PTSD viewed it as a personal weakness. Like any problem, some who have never encountered anything more stress inducing than oversleeping try to pass themselves off as legitimate sufferers. PTSD doesn't produce a rash or other easily identifiable symptom. Mental health professionals can identify those who actually suffer from PTSD.
    Through all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn't laugh we just would go insane. - Jimmy Buffett

  7. #16
    Points: 39,654, Level: 48
    Level completed: 69%, Points required for next Level: 496
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    VeteranTagger First Class25000 Experience PointsSocial
    waltky's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    5662
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    8,859
    Points
    39,654
    Level
    48
    Thanks Given
    2,515
    Thanked 2,140x in 1,616 Posts
    Mentioned
    46 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Unhappy

    VA: Suicide Rates Among Veterans Highest in Western US, Rural Areas...

    Suicide Rates Among Veterans Highest in Western US, Rural Areas
    September 16, 2017 | WASHINGTON — Suicide among military veterans is especially high in the western U.S. and rural areas, according to new government data that show wide state-by-state disparities and suggest social isolation, gun ownership and access to health care may be factors.
    The figures released Friday are the first-ever Department of Veterans Affairs data on suicide by state. It shows Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico had the highest rates of veteran suicide as of 2014, the most current VA data available. Veterans in big chunks of those states must drive 70 miles or more to reach the nearest VA medical center. The suicide rates in those four states stood at 60 per 100,000 individuals or higher, far above the national veteran suicide rate of 38.4. The overall rate in the West was 45.5. All other regions of the country had rates below the national rate. Other states with high veteran suicide rates, including West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky, had greater levels of prescription drug use, including opioids. A VA study last year found veterans who received the highest doses of opioid painkillers were more than twice as likely to die by suicide compared to those receiving the lowest doses.


    The latest VA data also reaffirmed sharp demographic differences: Women veterans are at much greater risk, with their suicide rate 2.5 times higher than for female civilians. Among men, the risk was 19 percent higher among veterans compared to civilians. As a whole, older veterans make up most military suicides -- roughly 65 percent were age 50 or older. "This report is huge," said Rajeev Ramchand, an epidemiologist who studies suicide for the RAND Corp. He noted that the suicide rate is higher for veterans than non-veterans in every single state by at least 1.5 times, suggesting unique problems faced by former service members. "No state is immune."



    U.S. Soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer, so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan.



    Ramchand said it was hard to pinpoint specific causes behind veteran suicide but likely involved factors more prevalent in rural areas, such as social isolation, limited health care access, gun ownership and opioid addiction. Nationally, 70 percent of the veterans who take their lives had not previously been connected to VA care. "This requires closer investigation into why suicide rates by veteran status are higher, including the role that opiates play," Ramchand said. The dataset offers more detailed breakdowns on national figures released last year, which found that 20 veterans a day committed suicide. The numbers come from the largest study undertaken of veterans' records by the VA, part of a government effort to uncover fresh information about where to direct resources and identify veterans most at-risk.


    The department has been examining ways to boost suicide prevention efforts. "These findings are deeply concerning, which is why I made suicide prevention my top clinical priority," said VA Secretary David Shulkin. "This is a national public health issue." Shulkin, who has worked to provide same-day mental health care at VA medical centers, recently expanded emergency mental care to veterans with other than honorable discharges. The department is also boosting its suicide hotline and expanding telehealth options.


    MORE

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts