By: Dylan White, Jordan Cook, Eric Krauth, Kurt Healy Veteran Suicides By: Dylan White, Jordan Cook, Eric Krauth, Kurt Healy -Dylan family issues -Put a lot of work -Dylan’s idea -Served two tours in Afganistan Felt passionately Brought our attention to this…

Statistics Suicide rate of 29.5 in 100,000 50% higher than civilians Suicide rates highest first 3 years out of service Males are 3 times as likely to take their own life Deployed Veterans 41% higher chance than general population Returning Service Members 61% higher chance Between 2001-2007 suicides accounted for 21.3% of all deployed service member deaths

What is the Root Cause I’m going to talk about the 2 main reasons why these numbers are so high. And try to have you understand the mental disorder that happens when our soldiers return home from combat.

PTSD vs. Moral Injury PTSD- Is a mental disorder that requires diagnosis. Moral Injury- Is a dimensional issue. PTSD vs moral injury, while these both can have similar effects, they are in fact different. PTSD can be diagnosed and treated, it is recognized as a real mental health disorder. Moral injury- cannot be diagnosed by health care professionals, it is a conflict with your moral beliefs.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder PTSD has been defined as a mental health disorder triggered by seeing or experiencing a tragic event PTSD- causes the subject to relive the event in various ways such as, nightmares, or flashbacks. Ie- a veteran who has a flashback because of fireworks triggered a memory from the tragic events from war and goes into survival mode, or has never ending nightmare to the point where you never want to sleep because you just cant see that anymore.

Symptoms of PTSD Vivid memories Nightmares Insomnia Depression Isolation Paranoid (always thinking your life is in danger) Drug/Alcohol use Dissociation Violent behaviors If you look at the order, it is almost a path to suicide

Moral Injury Moral Injury has been defined as “perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations” Moral Injury can be caused by various events such as, killing, failure to protect, witnessing death or commanding others to act. Moral injury- is a conflict with one’s shelf morals ie, what if your commanding officer orders you to open fire on a group of civilians, even children. And in the military, you do as ordered. So you pull the trigger and murder the helpless victims, then you vividly see what you just did, knowing that it was against your own morals. And then living with the guilt of the women and children that you murdered.

Symptoms of Moral Injury Shame Guilt Self-condemnation Demoralization Self-sabotaging relationships Self-harm Again, just like the PTSD symptoms, this also looks like a road to suicide.

The Veteran Perspective How did the military change them while on duty? Why do veteran’s consider suicide? Why do veteran’s not seek help?

Veteran Programs This will include programs for current serving members and veterans alike and showing what the programs offer.

On Duty On base counseling for PTSD and substance abuse is offered and encouraged in all branches of the military Starlight military Program . They specialize in various mental disorders such as depression, bi polar, as well as PTSD for on duty service members.’

Veteran Programs/ Treatments Post service treatments are offered as long as they were not dishonorably discharged The U.S. Department Of Veteran Affairs covers all aspects of treatments. Private treatment can also be found, although they may not be covered and are typically more expensive.

Charity Programs There are also charity events that are put on by people to raise money/awareness These types of programs include, Mission 22, Wounded Warrior Project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTABdSlue9Y

Personalized Programs Women’s Stress Disorder Teams PTSD Clinical Teams Substance Use Teams Family counseling/ Grief Counseling

If you are Suffering… If you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD or MI, please seek help, we cant lose anymore fathers, mothers, friends and loved ones

Sources http://maketheconnection.net/conditions/ptsd?utm_source=adcenter&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=ptsd&utm_content=ptsd&utm_campaign=ptsd http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/co-occurring/moral_injury_at_war.asp