PDA

View Full Version : PTSD and suicide in the military- one story



Peter1469
07-15-2015, 05:05 PM
PTSD and suicide in the military- one story (http://www.armytimes.com/story/opinion/2015/07/13/commentary-green-berets-suicde/29968639/)

A SoF senior NCO suffering from PTSD and facing disciplinary action decided to use a permanent solution to solve a temporary problem. Can the military do more to help?


On July 11, 2013, my stepfather, a Green Beret, donned the uniform he wore proudly for 18 years and scrawled a note on an index card.


"To the regiment, I have ridden my pathetic life about as far down the spiral as anyone should have to. I accept my dishonor and shame. I am a disgrace to the regiment, and willingly execute this, my last humble act. I am so goddamned tired of holding it together. There has been no end to it all. God has played Jenga with our lives. Goodbye and good luck.


- Michael Bruce Lube, Sergeant First Class, US Army Special Forces"



Then he picked up his favorite gun, a Heckler and Koch USP .45mm pistol.



More at the link.

PolWatch
07-15-2015, 05:12 PM
This is so sad....and so preventable. They are valuable when we need them, but not when they need us? Shake their hands & say 'thank you' and forget them? If anyone skips the full article, they need to read this:

'A reported 319 active-duty personnel committed suicide in 2012, compared to 290 who died in combat, according to a report by the Department of Defense. According to the DoD 2014 Suicide Prevention report, 479 service members committed suicide in 2013'

Ethereal
07-15-2015, 05:17 PM
I know of at least two guys from my unit who committed suicide. There was some question of whether or not they were willing to seek out help. Often times, they let their pride get in the way. There is also the perception among vets that they simply cannot trust the VA with their private medical struggles and that they will just try to drug them up with pharmaceuticals.

magicmike
07-15-2015, 05:19 PM
This is so sad....and so preventable. They are valuable when we need them, but not when they need us? Shake their hands & say 'thank you' and forget them? If anyone skips the full article, they need to read this:

'A reported 319 active-duty personnel committed suicide in 2012, compared to 290 who died in combat, according to a report by the Department of Defense. According to the DoD 2014 Suicide Prevention report, 479 service members committed suicide in 2013'


Unfortunately it happens. Congress needs to get off the pot and authorize the additional funding for treatment of PTSD Obama requested.

http://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2015/01/28/14/51/removing-barriers-to-mental-health-services-for-veterans

PolWatch
07-15-2015, 05:23 PM
I have friends that have struggled with PTSD since Vietnam. The response from the VA has been consistently too little, too late. Its not a repub/dem/lib/con. Its a national disgrace.

whatukno
07-15-2015, 06:26 PM
PTSD is very treatable, given that the patient wants to go through with the treatment regimen.

It is hard to do because people who really have PTSD don't want to admit they have an issue, they feel like it's a weakness and that no one will care.
Or worse, they will be seen as a liberal for seeking help for their problems.

Because the official conservative standpoint on PTSD is that it doesn't exist and that any serviceman that experiences it is a bleeding hear liberal who should cut their own wrists instead of contaminating the GOP gene pool with their personal problems.

The GOP want's all the war, but will not ever accept the consequences of those wars. The mental health of the men and women that fight in these wars of corporate interest don't matter at all. They NEVER want to do the right thing by our soldiers coming home with trauma. Insisting on calling them bleeding hearts or conscientious objectors, in order to deny them the mental health coverage that they so deserve.

Adelaide
07-18-2015, 08:17 AM
PTSD is very treatable, given that the patient wants to go through with the treatment regimen.

It is hard to do because people who really have PTSD don't want to admit they have an issue, they feel like it's a weakness and that no one will care.
Or worse, they will be seen as a liberal for seeking help for their problems.

Because the official conservative standpoint on PTSD is that it doesn't exist and that any serviceman that experiences it is a bleeding hear liberal who should cut their own wrists instead of contaminating the GOP gene pool with their personal problems.

The GOP want's all the war, but will not ever accept the consequences of those wars. The mental health of the men and women that fight in these wars of corporate interest don't matter at all. They NEVER want to do the right thing by our soldiers coming home with trauma. Insisting on calling them bleeding hearts or conscientious objectors, in order to deny them the mental health coverage that they so deserve.

I think that is an unfair characterization of conservatives and not necessarily an accurate one of liberals. Ignorance about mental health is a people problem, not really a political one or at least one based in politics. The stigma associated with PTSD and other illnesses is perpetuated by a lot of people who wouldn't fit into your neat categories.

Something that prevents many people from seeking help is the shame they feel, whether it is PTSD caused by service to their country or for another reason. It's part of the illness, along with other feelings that prevent people from taking steps to get help. It has little to do with whether they vote Republican or Democrat... or up here Conservative, Liberal or NDP.

Adelaide
07-18-2015, 08:24 AM
I know of at least two guys from my unit who committed suicide. There was some question of whether or not they were willing to seek out help. Often times, they let their pride get in the way. There is also the perception among vets that they simply cannot trust the VA with their private medical struggles and that they will just try to drug them up with pharmaceuticals.

According to the VA website (http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/treatment-ptsd.asp) on PTSD, they seem to focus more on therapy...


Today, there are good treatments available for PTSD. When you have PTSD, dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling others how you feel, you may keep your feelings bottled up. But talking with a therapist can help you get better.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one type of counseling. Research shows it is the most effective type of counseling for PTSD. The VA is providing two forms of cognitive behavioral therapy to Veterans with PTSD: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy. To learn more about these types of therapy, see our fact sheets listed on the Treatment (http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/index.asp) page.

There is a similar kind of therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that is used for PTSD. Also, medications have been shown to be effective. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD.

That said, I had prolonged exposure therapy and it was basically torture that did nothing. EMDR is actually the excepted "most effective" therapy. And in terms of pharmaceuticals, most psychiatrists will prescribe a short-term drug to deal with immediate symptoms and then begin a behavioural therapy model. Or at least that is the accepted best medical/therapeutic practice by psychologists and psychiatrists. It's somewhat cruel to not prescribe something for the anxiety and for sleep in the interim between seeking help and the beginning of therapy (hopefully) working. Therapy won't be very effective if you can't ever get sleep, for example. Manage the initial symptoms and treat the long-term problem, basically, should be the goal according to the DSM and basically every book ever written on the subject.

whatukno
07-18-2015, 04:27 PM
I think that is an unfair characterization of conservatives and not necessarily an accurate one of liberals. Ignorance about mental health is a people problem, not really a political one or at least one based in politics. The stigma associated with PTSD and other illnesses is perpetuated by a lot of people who wouldn't fit into your neat categories.

Something that prevents many people from seeking help is the shame they feel, whether it is PTSD caused by service to their country or for another reason. It's part of the illness, along with other feelings that prevent people from taking steps to get help. It has little to do with whether they vote Republican or Democrat... or up here Conservative, Liberal or NDP.

I agree, and if you carefully read my post you would see that I indeed agree with you.

PTSD can not only happen as you say through service to our country, but through other means too. Believe me I know. (I won't get into why I know, but I do know)

But conservatives (in general) do treat people that have PTSD as weak, inferior, and liberal. And would love nothing else than for them to "Stop whining about the problems they face, and man up" (a direct quote from more than a few conservatives)

It's a serious mental health problem and it brings with it a lot of shame. And a lot of whether or not they seek treatment does have to do with whether they identify as a Conservative or Liberal.

It's not really an unfair characterization of Conservatives at all. The sympathetic ones are only people that either have PTSD themselves, or personally know someone with PTSD, most others view PTSD sufferers as weak liberals looking for a handout.

The Xl
07-18-2015, 04:31 PM
These assholes waste trillions on these wars and not nearly enough on the victims of these wars.

Peter1469
07-18-2015, 04:40 PM
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.

Mister D
07-18-2015, 04:43 PM
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.

Peter1469
07-18-2015, 04:46 PM
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.

Mister D
07-18-2015, 04:52 PM
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...

PolWatch
07-18-2015, 05:12 PM
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.

waltky
09-20-2017, 02:50 AM
VA: Suicide Rates Among Veterans Highest in Western US, Rural Areas...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
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."



https://gdb.voanews.com/C673E0B2-F616-4638-8C45-86398E89184A_cx0_cy2_cw0_w1023_r1_s.jpg
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 (https://www.voanews.com/a/suicide-rates-among-veterans-highest-in-western-united-states-rural-areas/4031938.html)