Free Information 24/7 @ the PTSD Library

Every article available in [this]  PTSD Library in one, easy-to-use place. Please pass along… and take the time to get yourself educated (if you haven’t already!). PTSD is the most common injury faced by combat heroes.

Link to this resource page for answers to any questions about PTSD and tools to help veteran, family, friends, and supporters. I also have helpful links on the resource page here. Follow the navigation menu above.

Caregivers: don’t forget to take care of yourselves. There are many resources for you as well. 

June: PTSD Awareness

I will be posting articles and/or stories, resources and anything else I can find on this topic throughout the month. Personally I think everyday should be dedicated to PTSD Awareness.

This will be a long journey for them, we can help them along their way. 

#PTSDawarenessmonth

Veteran health

SPECIAL REPORT: WHAT MIGHT HAVE SAVED THESE VETERANS?

#Stop22ADay

This is an article from our Sunday paper…

At least 27 veterans under age 45 died by suicide in San Diego County between 2014 and the first half of 2015.

For them, there was no retirement, no second career, no time spent watching their children grow.

The majority suffered from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in a combat zone since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Their experience defies academic research, which says troops who deploy are not more likely to die by suicide.

Why suicide rate among veterans may be higher than 22 a day

Excerpt from last chapter of Dark Side of the Army:

Before I detail my vision for another veteran organization, I believe it is first necessary to highlight the unique problems facing our veterans, and secondly, to paint a broad picture of the current available veteran services in order to contrast why our organization, VR&R, is unique and needed.

The 21st Century Sailor Office invites you to perform one small act for Suicide Prevention Month.

Suicide Prevention Month

Dr. William James-influential American philosopher and psychologist-once said to “act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” This statement holds particular meaning when placed in the context of promoting Total Sailor Fitness and Resilience-especially when it comes to suicide prevention.

Suicide in the Military

PTSD: What Military Families Need to Know (link below)

Suicide and the Military

© Amy Menna, Ph.D., LMHC, CAP & Gift From Within

#Stop22aDay

When someone commits suicide, it is a tragedy. When we are losing more soldiers to suicide than the Afghanistan war, it is an epidemic. In June of 2010, there were over 32 confirmed or suspected suicides among soldiers. Studies confirm that individuals in the military are at higher risk than the general population due to the conditions in which they are exposed. Wartime pressures are at a high, and soldiers are coming back from combat showing signs of psychiatric illnesses and addictions. These risk factors provide a cocktail conducive to thoughts of suicide. It is time to take a closer look at them.

When The Fury Of Battle Follows The Warrior Home

Rob Richards’ story demonstrates that more must be done to support service members returning from war.

The Washington Post article published in February by Greg Jaffe, details the Arlington Memorial Cemetery gathering of Marines mourning their scout sniper brother, Rob Richards, who died from accidental drug overdose. Richards was one of three Marines videotaped by comrades as they urinated on the corpses of dead Taliban. As Jaffe wrote, Richards went from war hero to pariah owing to that 38 seconds of video retrieved after he returned from deployment. It was the 38 seconds that Richards realized would be the larger world’s only memory of him.

Young Vets Are Three Times More Likely to Commit Suicide

I hate that I have to blog about this but, I have to.
The US military has reported suicide amongst the military has reached pandemic proportions–We’ve got thousands returning home–The  numbers could be  staggering a year from now if this is not addressed HEAD ON.

January 12, 2015
Joshua De Leon

The Department of Veteran Affairs released a briefing last Thursday indicating that male military veterans below the age of 30 are three times more likely to commit suicide than non-military members of the same cohort, reported ThinkProgress.

Opinion: How to end the ‘disturbing’ number of vet suicides

(Photo: Courtesy photo)

 

Army Times

At least 8,030 veterans committed suicide in 2014 due to complications associated with PTSD.  According to government figures, those numbers didn’t include suicide among the active duty troops.

If something isn’t done, we can expect that number to tragically surge with the return of thousands of veterans.
This is when We the People need to make some noise and after that, we need to make more. 

An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide a day,  (That’s one an hour!) a shocking and disturbing number. Even more alarming, this statistic does not include active-duty members, 75 of which have committed suicide between January and March of this year (2014) according to the Pentagon’s quarterly Suicide Event Report.

Forged by Fire…

Stand Tall, Warriors.

 

#Stop22aDay

For more information on PTSD please follow these links. 

Family and friends who may need help understanding PTSD, recognizing triggers and how you can be the most beneficial to them, check out this site.

For veterans seeking resources for PTSD, I have MANY! I’ll leave the link to a non invasive, non DRUG COCKTAIL method developed by retired US Navy SEAL Mikal A. Vega @  Vital Warrior.  For more listings of resources, please see the links in the footer, the top menu  under my resource page. I also have links for our British and Canadian comrades, everything can be found in the places mentioned. Pass this information to anyone who may need it. Thank you…

IF YOU OR YOUR VETERAN ARE HAVING A CRISIS, PLEASE SEEK HELP! Here are two emergency links, but if you need 911, PLEASE call.  

PTSD Crisis Line

Suicide Prevention Lifeline

How The Veterans Community On Facebook Stopped A Soldier From Taking His Own Life

“Do something. Don’t assume someone else is going to take action. You take action.”

#stop22aday

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the U.S. Army’s official website. As Suicide Awareness Month comes to a close, it’s important to remember that one small act can make a difference. If a veteran or service member you know is showing signs of crisis, take action to make sure that individual receives the care he or she needs.

Stop 22 a Day

 

As of September 9th, 5544 veterans have died by suicide just this year. I stand w/ @IAVA to stop veteran suicide.

#combatsuicide   #stop22aday

 

Get Help Now

 

via: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Convoy to Combat Suicide: IAVA

*

#combatsuicide #stop22aday

*

This was forwarded to me via an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran. Please check out the links included. you can also add a pledge to your site, there’s a sample dialog below.  Thank you.

*

It’s estimated that 22 veterans take their own lives every day. So that means, as of today, 5,544 veterans have been lost in 2014 alone. And tomorrow that number will be 5,566. And by the end of the month it will be 6,006. And by December 31st that means we’ll have lost 8,030 of our bravest men and women. These numbers are unacceptable. And that’s why IAVA’s top priority in 2014 is lowering these rates. 

Clearing the Smoke: Suicide Prevention Month

September is #Suicidepreventionmonth and I thought I would re-post this article featuring Mikal Vega retired US Navy Seal and his approach to battling PTSD and the prevention of suicide without the use of  psychiatric drugs.

Mikal Vega, retired US Navy Seal (22 years of Service) who is now the CEO of Vital Warriors.   VitalWarrior.org is a non profit organization and a system of non-pharmaceutical re-balancing designed by retired Navy SEAL Mikal A. Vega to alleviate the detrimental effects of acute stress in its clients. Visit his web site to get started, everything you need he has provided there. You can also vist to his sight through the link [first one] on my side bar