by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
May 15, 2013
The branches of the US Government Agencies have been seriously "addressing" suicides since 2008 but for all the money spent, all the awareness they have pushed, the numbers have gone up. That right there should scream someone be held accountable. No one has been investigated. No one has been charged. No one in the press has been demanding answers. No one has asked the President or members of Congress for accountability.
Veteran's death casts spotlight on suicide risks, assistance
By Jenn Smith and Laura Lofgren
Berkshire Eagle Staff
Posted: 05/15/2013
People who face any threat to their mental health, be it a traumatic circumstance, an illness like depression or major life change, can become overwhelmed by their emotions, and be prone to having suicidal thoughts.
This matter comes to the forefront in Berkshire County since veteran Marine Corps Sgt. Edward S. Passetto died over the weekend by an apparent suicide that took place on Monument Mountain in Great Barrington.
Passetto, who had seen live combat action and rescued men in a helicopter crash, had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, according to a fellow Marine and Passetto's own letters and statements.
"When people are depressed and isolated they feel very much alone," Dr. Jennifer Michaels said, speaking generally about people affected by mental health disorders. She is an attending psychiatrist at Berkshire Medical Center and medical director for the Brien Center.
"People shouldn't feel they are responsible to make themselves better if they can't. It's comparable to tending to a broken leg. You can't will that better; you need help," she said.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans age 18 and older, or one in four adults, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
read more here
There are too many political shenanigans going on right now and the press seems thrilled they can all just jump on the same stories and spin them whatever way they want. Both sides do it. You know that as well as I do. What we don't know is why there is such a lack of interest on the one thing that should get all reporters on all sides angry enough to demand someone be held accountable. So far all I've seen has been reporting on what the politicians and military brass has to say and they drop the story.
I track stories mostly from small outlets because they are doing the best reporting but while people in their own towns may know these stories the general public does not. They will not spend hours a day searching for the reports.
These deaths should matter to everyone since we in fact are the reasons they decided to serve to protect this country.
My name is glenn campson and I am who has ed passettos letter to obama. He set it to me as a last wish in hopes I would ensure the president reads it, and vets like myself and others get fixed.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply disappointed in President Obama because when he was on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, he was very interested in preventing military suicides. He even went to the Montana National Guards to check out what they were doing way back in 2008.
ReplyDeleteNow with the rise in military and veteran suicides on top of billions being spent, you'd think he'd be screaming about someone being held accountable, but no one has been.
You might be better off getting the letter to Mrs. Obama.