In photo: “23 American Veterans Commit Suicide Everyday. No One Cares. 1 Lion Gets Killed And The Country Is In An Uproar.”
When I started Team Veteran the suicide rate was 16 Veterans a day, then it went to 18 per day and now it is 22 to 30 per day and still the suicide rate climbs.
(Side note: TVet believes the phrase “…Veterans Commit Suicide…” needs to be addressed as Veterans Die By Suicide)
For the last four or five years I have been very confused and shocked why more people didn’t ask the question “What can I do to help stop the Veteran suicide rate? Or something similar.
The comments I read on Facebook regarding this photo were disgusting in my opinion, they told me why people just don’t care about Veteran suicide. Maybe people are just Ignorant of the facts, or MAYBE they’re just ignorant. I have been involved with over 30 active duty or Veteran suicides and I never met a coward or a selfish person of those 30. Let me shine a little light to some of the causes for Veteran suicide.
John said: “Taking your own life is a personal choice. The lion did not have that choice!”
John said: “If the statistics on that sign the man is holding are true, we would have over 8000 suicides a year. There will be no more vets left!”
Eric said: “I love veterans. I do. My dad served in Nam. But this is just ignorant. Vets aren’t endangered…glad this gentleman is shining some light, but do it in a smarter way. Suicide is a choice.”
Godniel said: “The lion did not commit suicide… those 23 people per day was self inflected… they don’t care.. I don’t care… learn to love yourself.. if you dont you can’t truly love anyone else.”
Emmily said: “The people who took suicide decided that, but the lion didn’t!”
Bella said: “Well I don’t pity anyone who commits suicide. You’ve made your choice.”
Some of the symptoms for PTS (Post Traumatic Stress) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) are;
Physical issues such as Headaches, feeling dizzy, being tired, trouble sleeping, vision problems, hypersensitivity to noise and light, frontal lobe damage leading to impulse control issues.
Cognitive (Mental) Memory problems, trouble staying focused, poor judgment and acting without thinking (impulse control), being slowed down, trouble putting thoughts into words (word searching).
Emotional (Feelings) Depression, anger outbursts and quick to anger, anxiety (fear, worry, or feeling nervous), personality changes, hyper-vigilance.
The VA protocol for PTS and TBI treatment is the use of multiple psychotropic drugs, frequently the Veteran is prescribed 5 to as many as 25 drugs per day. These drugs have synergistic effects and many have “black box warnings” about causing suicide ideation.
Suicidal ideation concerns thoughts about or an unusual preoccupation with suicide. The range of suicidal ideation varies greatly from fleeting thoughts, to extensive thoughts, to detailed planning.
A psychotropic drug is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior. These include anti-psychotics, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and hypnotics. The “harm” caused by these psychiatric drugs can include violent behavior, uncontrolled aggression and suicide.
Do you still believe that a Veteran suicide is a “Voluntary act”?
