Fort Hood takes aim at stigma of needing help

The more I think about what needs to be done, the more I am convinced a huge part of this is being missed. We've talked about getting them to understand that considering what they survived, PTSD is one of the results for those able to feel things deeply. The more they are able to feel, the deeper they are also able to feel pain. For them, they don't just walk away with their own pain but pain felt from the suffering of others. This is what haunts them. We've talked about the need for more therapists to be ready for them to talk to and sort it all out. Medications to help level off the chemical balance in their brains. Family involvement and getting them to understand how they react has a lot to do with how much healing can happen. Early treatment to prevent full blown PTSD. The list goes on. But one other fact about their character stands out and we cannot avoid talking about it.

Pride. Not the kind of pride that tells them they are better than PTSD or the kind of pride that tells them they will look weak to the people in their lives. The kind of pride that a "helper" feels when they are the ones always being ready to help also being the last to ask for help.

I know that feeling well. I am the type of person always rushing to help someone else but I also find it nearly impossible to ask for help when I need it. "I should be able to do it all." "If I need help someone out there needs it more than I do." While this type of personality does not look down at the people we help, when we need it, we feel we shouldn't need it at all.

Fort Hood takes aim at stigma as it battles record suicide pace
Officials hope role-playing sends message to soldiers: It's OK to get help.
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
FORT HOOD — Inside a darkened theater, camouflage-wearing soldiers shuffle toward their seats to confront an enemy that has taken record numbers of their comrades in the past year.

On the stage, four actors re-enact a situation in which a soldier who recently returned from war describes the pain and hopelessness he feels but doesn't know how to handle. Jamey Gadoury , an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, interrupts the action and talks directly to the troops, many of whom are about to deploy to Iraq next month.

"We talk a lot as an Army about warrior culture," he says. "As an Army we know what courage on the battlefield looks like. The question is, when it comes to a life-and-death situation with a buddy, can I dig deep to that same sense of courage?"

This sprawling Army post, the nation's largest, is set to pass an unwelcome milestone. Through July, officials say there have been 14 confirmed or suspected suicides of Fort Hood soldiers, eclipsing last year's total by three and matching the total in 2008, which saw the most suicides of Fort Hood soldiers since the wars began. The spike at Fort Hood comes as the suicide rate for the whole Army doubled between 2005 and 2009, leaving military leaders searching for answers and scrambling to implement suicide prevention measures.

"The Army realized too late that there was a very serious problem," Gen. Peter Chiarelli , the vice chief of staff for the Army, wrote in a report last month that provided a stark assessment of the Army's suicide prevention efforts.
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Fort Hood takes aim at stigma

To explain this take two houses on fire. An average person will take care of their own home first and then go help the neighbor. If one of the homes belongs to a firefighter, they will help the neighbor first and then take care of what is left of their own home. They are that devoted to helping others.

For the men and women in the military, it's the same devotion few average people come close to understanding. For the members of the National Guard and Reserves, it is more deeply rooted within them. They are ready 24-7 risking their lives in other countries as well as in their own states or other states depending on the level of the emergency.

I give time, hours when I can but they are willing to give their lives. As hard as it is for me to ask for help, for them it is nearly impossible. Once they understand they cannot help anyone if they are falling apart, losing sleep and suffering, they are more willing to ask for help. If they are approached by someone pointing out that there is a need for help for them alone, they have a hard time being willing to accept it.

We've gotten the message through to a lot of veterans and servicemen/women that there is a reason PTSD has entered into their lives and a lot have sought help but too many still refuse to ask. If we are going to reach them, they need to know asking for help will help them to be able to help others again.

A lot of veterans I talk to want one thing out of healing. The ability to help other veterans like themselves. Often they want to do this while they are just beginning to heal. This happens more often with Vietnam veterans than the newer generation. It is in their nature to help and if this feature of their character is understood and supported, they want it. It helps them to put the fire out in their own home first so they can take care of their neighbor better.