The Social Epidemic: War, PTSD, and Trauma
- Admin
- Sep 20, 2017
- 4 min read
Veteran Suicide: A solution?
In this article I’am going to talk about a serious problem that our country is facing; veteran suicide. I’am first going to explain our present situation, secondly I will tell you why it is happening, and finally I’am going to talk about a solution.
Veteran suicide is an epidemic in our country. The latest study from the VA shows that at least 22 veterans commit suicide everyday, and that statistic isn’t including all the current data. Veterans make up just under 9% of the US population yet they account for just under a quarter of all suicides in the country. So why is this happening?
Firstly, many veterans leaving service our emotional exhausted and tired. Many of them have fought relentlessly overseas being exposed to highly combative environments with no breaks for months. This constant state of fight or flight overwhelms the nervous and conditioning the body to always be going. It doesn’t know how to stop.
War in old times was not fought how war is fought today. In older times there were battlefield lines and sides. Armies fought and then took a rest. And there were clearly defined boundaries. However, in modern warfare this isn’t the case. The battle field is 360 degrees. You are always on it and guerrilla warfare style forces men to stay on edge 24/7 because they could be hit at any moment. Very unlike battles of the ancient times which were planned out weeks or sometimes even months ahead of time.
Men come home from war and their nervous systems are constantly wired to be looking for a threat. Their bodies cannot unwind which means that their minds cannot rest. Peace seems to be illusive and healthy sleep a miracle. This starts a cycle which causes the veteran to become less efficient at work and in everyday life. This lack of efficiency brings about further stress and anxiety as he questions his ability to maintain the status quo of daily living. The nervous system is already overwhelmed and now the daily living of modern life becomes just as chaotic as the battlefield.
In fact, there are many veterans who prefer the battlefield to modern life because at least they felt capable on the battlefield. Furthermore, there is a separation between them and the civilian populace because they look around and it seems like everyone is getting along just fine.
And most people are unaware the war is still going occurring on the other side of the world. This makes the veteran feel like an outsider or stranger to the very own country that he went to war to defend.
All of this is compounded by the lack of social infrastructure that we have in place. If a nation is ready to send its men and women off to war then it better be damn prepared to bring it’s men and women back home. However, this isn’t the case. Many VA facilities are encased by the bureaucratic process. They’re slow moving and inefficient. To get anything done you have to file paperwork and submit forms, many things are still not done electronically.
Furthermore, many men coming out of services with injuries such as PTSD, TBI, or other physical ailments are denied their due compensation right off the bat. Like an insurance company the VA will deny, deny, deny and hope that as many veterans give up on requesting their just compensation in hopes that as an organization the VA can save money at the mass level.
Faced with an overwhelming past filled with trauma and hurt and a dim future with little hope some veterans end up taking their own lives because they simply see no way out. Given the circumstances this doesn’t seem like an overreaction.
Furthermore, the VA is lacking behind in progressive therapies that have been proven to work. Mind body therapies such as somatic therapies, horse equine therapies, Somatic Experiencing, and many others. Instead, the VA drugs men and women in hopes to put a bandaid over there very deep wounds instead of shelling out the money to allow them to truly heal.
So what’s the solution? Clearly the government is sending men and women to war but it doesn’t have social infrastructure nor care to truly allow to heal them. So this has to be a grassroots efforts started by the American people.
I want to turn my attention to a nonprofit organization that I’ve had the pleasure of doing some volunteer work for, called Valor’s Mission. Valor’s Mission is a nonprofit Organization that was started by 10 veterans who all have a service connection disability rating of 100%.
These guys have nearly every possible injury in the book yet their dedicated to bringing healing to the veteran community because they know that this social epidemic happening in the country cannot wait on bureaucracies or the government. There simply isn’t enough time as the statistics show. It must be a grassroots effort. One started and funded by the citizens of this country. Valor’s Mission deepest desire is to help veterans pay for alternative treatments so that they may truly heal and move on with their lives. Not simply just be fed pills and ran out the backdoor. True healing takes true care and true effort. Let’s come together and help bring about a more peaceful way of life to the men and women who have fought for this country.
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