Military/Veteran

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. When National Suicide Prevention Month began twenty years ago the death by suicide rate was 30% lower than it is today. Even with a continued reduction in the stigma surrounding seeking mental health treatment and the allocation of $222 million by Congress to the VA to prevent suicide in the past decade, there are still 17 veteran suicides each day. Even just one veteran suicide a day is far too many.

It’s funny how a single phrase can influence and even guide the course of a life. For me, that phrase was uttered by my mom. “We might not be able to change the world today, but we can change the world around us,” she would say often as I was growing up.

For many, the holiday season is synonymous with laughter, cheer and good tidings, large celebrations and social obligations with family and friends. But for some service members, veterans and their family members, extra anxiety prompted by the holidays’ social activities can escalate stress and sink them into depression and thoughts of suicide as they cope with the effects of a debilitating physical injury or post-traumatic stress (PTS).

More than 3 million Americans have served around 5.4 million deployments since the horrendous events that took place on 9/11, resulting in a considerable number of young veterans struggling with a plethora of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress (PTS) and depression. Virtual reality therapy can be used to decrease or even eliminate symptoms of PTS.

Military Veterans Make Ideal Candidates to Become Educators, DoD Should Work to Save and Restore Federal Troops to Teachers Program

As both the Veterans Administration (VA) and outside medical professionals and facilities look to expand access to mental health services to reach an even greater number of veterans and subsequently lessen the high rates of suicide within the population, the VA, the healthcare industry at-large and political leadership on the federal and state levels should continue to focus on greater efforts to reach rural veterans.

Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to reflect on the vast and varied achievements and contributions of American women throughout history, particularly military history where women warriors have played crucial roles in carrying out military operations dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Americans proudly place importance on thanking those who have served our country in defense of our freedoms, but we also must recognize that we have an obligation to many whose lives have been changed through debilitating injuries.

In recent years the topic of military discharge has entered the public spotlight with the role of post-traumatic stress at the core of the discussion. Though mental health is required for consideration during the discharge process, recent media accounts criticize the extent to which mental health considerations are actually weighed.