M6: Do You Really Know A Veteran?
I had planned to honor veterans today with a story or two about heroic veterans, but I changed my mind. It’s impossible to celebrate Veteran’s Day without mentioning the immense challenge we face in dealing with veteran suicides. I did hesitate talking about it, since there are some studies saying that we may be making it worse by consistently talking about the issue, but I have to think not talking about is worse. To call what is happening among post-9/11 warfighters a mental health crisis isn’t quite capturing the severity of the issue; what we’re dealing with is a full-blown epidemic.
In this episode I briefly share the statistics, and compel listeners to do more than just donate to a veterans cause this Veteran’s Day.
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M6: Do You Really Know A Veteran?
TODAY’S EPISODE TOUCHES ON THE TOPIC OF SUICIDE. IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING, PLEASE DIAL 988, THE SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE. THEY WILL HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK TO IMMEDIATELY ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH. OK, ON TO THE EPISODE….
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WELCOME BACK…IT’S MONDAY…. THIS IS ONE OF THE DAYS IN OUR YEAR WHERE IT’S EASY TO CONNECT WITH OUR APPRECIATION FOR OTHER AMERICANS. IT’S VETERANS DAY, AND TODAY WE PAUSE AND REFLECT ON THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE BY THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. THESE ARE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, RACES, RELIGIONS, AND POLITICAL BELIEFS…WHO BELIEVED THAT LIVING A LIFE OF MOVES, UNCERTAINTY, AND RISK, WAS WORTH IT TO PLAY A ROLE IN PROTECTING THE COUNTRY THAT HAS GIVEN US ALL SO MUCH….
TODAY, MY ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO TALK ABOUT VETERANS AND HOW MUCH THEY’VE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR COUNTRY, AND HOW THANKFUL I AM…MAYBE THROW IN A STORY OR TWO – BUT I’VE DECIDED TO TAKE A DETOUR. I COULDN’T NOT TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM…. THE FACT THAT OUR VETERAN COMMUNITY IS EXPERIENCING A MAJOR CRISIS…THE IMMENSE PROBLEM OF VETERAN SUICIDE.
EPISODE
HERE ARE A FEW STATISTICS JUST SINCE SEPTEMBER 11TH: VETERANS ARE 72% MORE LIKELY TO HAVE DIED BY SUICIDE THAN THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SERVED. FOUR TIMES AS MANY VETERANS HAVE DIED BY SUICIDE THAN SERVICE MEMBERS WHO DIED IN BATTLE. HOW MANY VETERANS HAVE DIED BY SUICIDE SINCE 9/11? FIRST QUICKLY GUESS A NUMBER IN YOUR HEAD. THE ANSWER? OVER 131,000. 131,000. SINCE 2001. LET THAT SET IN FOR A SECOND. 22 PEOPLE…HUSBANDS, FATHERS, SISTERS, UNCLES…FRIENDS….EVERY SINGLE DAY. 22.
TO COMPARE THIS TO PREVIOUS WARS, IN THE LAST THREE YEARS OF WORLD WAR TWO, VETERAN SUICIDES WERE TRAGICALLY HIGH, BUT THE RATES WERE LESS THAN HALF OF WHAT THEY ARE NOW…AND IN WORLD WAR I, THE RATES WERE ONE TENTH OF WHAT THEY ARE NOW.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
YOU HEAR PEOPLE LIST A WIDE RANGE OF REASONS. ON THE SURFACE, PEOPLE SAY TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES. ACCESS TO WEAPONS. LACK OF RESOURCES. THE CULTURE OF MILITARY MEN AND MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA.
WHEN YOU HEAR FROM THOSE CLOSER TO THE ISSUE, LIKE MILITARY PSYCHOLOGISTS AND SOCIOLOGISTS, THEY POINT TO ADDITIONAL FACTORS:
THE IMMENSE MILITARY-CIVILIAN DIVIDE IS ONE OF THESE FACTORS. A SMALLER PERCENTAGE OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED FORCES VETERANS TO FEEL MORE ISOLATED FROM SOCIETY, CAUSING RE-ENTRY AFTER SERVICE TO BE THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT. WHAT HAPPENS IS VETERANS HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO WERE IN COMBAT, WHICH MAKES THEM SEEM DISTANT OR UNAPPROACHABLE TO MANY CIVILIANS – AND IF YOU TALK WITH CIVILIANS, THEY DON’T OFTEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY, AND MANY FEEL INTIMIDATED OR, IN SOME CASES, GUILTY THAT THEY DIDN’T SERVE. THIS ALL ADDS UP TO VETERANS FEELING DIFFERENT AND MORE ALONE.
ANOTHER CHALLENGE YOU HEAR FROM EXPERTS CLOSER TO THE PROBLEM IS IN HOW WE LABEL VETERANS THESE DAYS. THE OVERARCHING NARRATIVE ABOUT VETERANS IS THAT THEY’RE BROKEN AND TRAUMATIZED FROM WAR. I MEAN, I JUST LISTED THE STATISTICS AND IT SOUNDS SYSTEMIC. THESE STEREOTYPES HAVE BEEN HAMMERED INTO VETERANS AND CIVILIANS THROUGH MOVIES AND MEDIA – AND THESE LABELS ONLY MAKE THE PROBLEM WORSE.
A THIRD FACTOR THAT SOME SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE RAISED, IS THE PHENOMENON CALLED SUICIDE CONTAGION, WHERE IN A COMMUNITY, WHEN THE ISSUE OF SUICIDE IS FORCED TO THE FRONT AND CENTER, AND THE ISSUE IS FOCUSED ON AND DISCUSSED REPEATEDLY WITHOUT PROVIDING THE CORRECT RESOURCES OR A HEALHTY DIALOGUE, THE PROBLEM ONLY GROWS. THEN MEDIA OUTLETS COVER THESE SUICIDES MORE THAN SUICIDES OF CIVILIANS, INADERTENTLY INFLATING THE PROBLEM.
ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE TRYING TO HELP. IF YOU LOOK UP PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT VETERANS, YOU CAN FIND THOUSANDS, FROM CAMPING TRIPS FOR VETERANS STRUGGLING WITH PTSD, TO PROGRAMS ALLOWING VETERANS TO RIDE HORSES AND GO FLY FISHING, TO COFFEE COMPANIES CREATED SOLELY TO SUPPORT VETERAN SUICIDE AWARENESS.
THESE ARE AMAZING PROGRAMS AND THEY’RE MANAGED BY INCREDIBLE PEOPLE AND THEY ARE HELPING.
BUT…. COULD ALL THESE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND MEDIA ATTENTION BE INDIRECTLY NORMALIZING THE PROBLEM, ONLY MAKING MATTERS WORSE?
THIS IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION – I WISH I HAD AN ANSWER. I WISH SOMEBODY HAD AN ANSWER. THE ONLY THING WE KNOW IS THAT IT’S STILL A VERY BIG PROBLEM AND WHILE THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH BEING DONE, AND THERE’S AN ARRAY OF NEW MEDICAL TREATMENTS IN TRIALS, WE NEED RESULTS.
FOR THOSE LISTENING, YOU MAY BE WONDERING IF THERE’S ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP. AT FIRST, I STARTED TO MAKE A LIST OF NON-PROFITS AND PROGRAMS TO PUT AT THE END OF THIS EPISODE AND IN THE SHOW NOTES –BUT I’M NOT GOING TO DO THAT. THERE ARE MANY AND YOU KNOW WHICH ONE MAKES SENSE TO YOU.
I THINK THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE YOU CAN DO.
THE STATISTICS SUPPORT THAT YOU KNOW ONE OR TWO VETERANS, AT LEAST CASUALLY. IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO SUPPORT VETERANS CAUSES THIS VETERANS DAY, MAYBE IN ADDITION TO GOING ONLINE AND ENTERING A CREDIT CARD NUMBER TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE VETERANS PROGRAM, THINK ABOUT SEEING WHAT YOU CAN TAKE IT ONE STEP FURTHER AND HELP CHIP AWAY AT THE VETERAN-CIVILIAN DIVIDE. CONSIDER MAKING A COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF TO GET TO KNOW A VETERAN BETTER IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS TO A YEAR. MABYE THEY’RE INTIMIDATING, RUDE, OR STANDOFFISH IN SOME WAY – BUT IF YOU CAN GET PAST THAT, WHICH YOU CAN, AIM TO UNDERSTAND THEIR EXPERIENCES, CHALLENGES, AND FRUSTRATIONS, AND SEE WHERE YOU CAN HELP BETTER CONNECT THEM TO THE CIVILIAN SIDE OF THINGS. THIS MIGHT HELP THEM MOVE FROM IDENTIFYING SOLELY AS A VETERAN…TO FEELING MORE LIKE A MEMBER OF A SOCIETY THEY ONCE FELT SO A PART OF, THEY RISKED EVERYTHING TO DEFEND.
https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/veterans-suicide-contagion/
https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/vet-stats
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_veteran_suicide