An estimated 22 U.S. Veterans committee suicide each day. That means about 1,892 veterans have died this year due to suicide.
A 27 March the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) will place a spot light on this problem. Volunteers will place 1,892 flags on the National Mall in to honor these fallen.
We at HealingTheWoundsOfWar.com and the Hope and Restoration Team (HART) are grateful for the IAVA efforts to combat suicide. Go to StormTheHill.org to learn more. Let’s put an end to suicide!
You can possess all the necessary knowledge of how to accomplish a task and not follow through to completion. Even with the right knowledge we often need is some encouragement. Sometimes we need just a little and other times we need a whole lot.
We may hold the need for encouragement in common. However, each of us responds differently to different kinds of encouragement. Different circumstances, such as training, family, or work can call for different kinds of encouragement. Words, gifts, awards, smiles, quality time, express gratitude and confidence are just a few tools we can use to encourage others.
Perhaps I can speak best from my own experience. What have I found most encouraging over the years? [NOTE: I am not real comfortable sharing this kind of info in such a public space.]
Truthful, sincere acknowledgment of something I have done or said that has made a difference.
For me it is important that the words, award or whatever the acknowledgement, must be objectively truthful. Platitudes or untrue statements do little to nothing to encourage me.
We should try and understand how those in our own lives receive and respond to encouragement. A few encouragement suggestions:
Experiment – What encourages you may not encourage someone else.
Smile more often.
Listen. Really listen.
Give thanks – expressed in words, deeds, and acknowledgement. Be specific! Even when the outcome is not what you or they may desire, give thanks for their quality efforts.
Express your confidence in someone’s ability to accomplish whatever they are facing. Sincerity is key!
Perhaps our expression of gratitude goes along with encouraging others. What do you think? What encourages you? (Leave a comment–link is on the top of the post.)
You can make a difference! You do not have to be a doctor, psychologist, clergy or other professional to make a difference in the life of someone with PTSD.
We are not helpless when it come to helping ourselves of helping others dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We do not have to face our own PTSD alone and we do not have to face the PTSD of our loved one alone.
Below is a brief list of things that I have found helpful in dealing with PTSD in my own life and helping others in my role as a Chaplain, Pastor and a friend.
1. Educate yourself
Useful Books: (share what books have help you in our comments section)
On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Loren W. Christenson
Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, Jonathan Shay
War and the Soul, Edward Tick
After the Trauma the Battle Begins, Nigel W.D. Mumford
2. Accept this reality 3. Have reasonable expectation of both them and yourself. 4. Establish boundaries (physical abuse is always over the line) 5. Be willing and prepared to listen. (Know your limits: boundaries and expectations) 6. Be willing and prepared to join them in their journey.
What role does helping others play in our own recovery process?
We will start out with an update of our 21 day gratitude experiment from last week’s episode: Can Gratitude Save Your Life?
3 Reasons to Reach out: The Power of Outreach
[Note: You do not have to be a veteran and suffering from war related PTSD to help a veteran with moving forward in their lives. The same is true for veterans. What you learn through your battle with stress, anxiety and PTSD can benefit non-veterans.]
Gets focus off of you and your situation.
Reinforces what you already know.
It helps discover areas for improvement.
Reaching out to others gets the focus off you and your situation. It can be easy to become consumed with our own immediate and long-term problems. Even in partial state of growth it is possible to reach out to other in need. It fact we will always be in a partial state of growth. Now may not be our moment to reach out. We should reach out in an area that we have experienced some victory.
Reinforce what you already know. By reading out to others we strengthen the foundation we have been building the in RESTORE and START process. We have the opportunity to teach another what we have learned from our resources (tools) and experience in applying those tools.
At the same time we may discovers even more effective ways of addressing areas in our own life’s and situation.
If you believe someone is considering suicide, is it OK to ask: “Are you thinking about committing suicide?” or other direct questions? This is one of the questions addressed in this episode.
Hopelessness seems to be overtaking an increasing number of people–veterans and civilians alike. This is showing up in an ever increasing suicide rate. We will discuss this difficult topic and look at some practical ways of addressing this issue. There is hope! We can take action.
Let’s get right into today’s topic: Suicide
– About 12 (to 14) per 100,000 death are from Suicide in the U.S. (CDC report from 2009)
The loss from any to suicide is tragic. However in the U.S. more men than women and more whites than any other ethnic group commit suicide.
White males most affected – Second leading cause of death ages 10-24. The largest single teen group affected, 19 out of every 100 death, boys (white) ages 15-19.
People from all ethnicities, genders and age groups are increasingly losing hope and increasingly deciding to end their own lives. Why the increase? Let us know what you think in the comments section or leave us a voice message.
4 practical arts to become part of the solution…
Learn:
Attend a seminar or class on suicide intervention such as:
Look: for any of the warring sings (and many others) listed above. Has your friend, coworker, child, spouse, gone through a major change? Not every one that is depress or gone through a loss will commit suicide.
Listen: Listen for any warning sings. Are they talking about death, dying, “going away” or any permanent change that raises any red flag?
Lead then to safety and to help.
Doctor, psychologist, ER, ASIST trained cooworker, police, first responders,…
Don’t ignore or dismiss the sings
Don’t leave them alone
Don’t be afraid to ask the question: “Are you planning/or going to commit suicide?”
An estimated 22 U.S. Veterans committee suicide each day. That means about 1,892 veterans have died this year due to suicide.
