Military Suicide Prevention Mislabeled

Military Suicide Prevention Mislabeled
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 15, 2013

For the last couple of weeks I've been going back over 19,000+ posts on Wounded Times to fix some labels. With such a large database going back 6 years it is a huge task but a necessary one. Researchers use it to learn, reporters use it to make their jobs easier but veterans use it to learn about others just like them. Unfortunately family members use it so they can find others after someone they love committed suicide. Having reports mislabeled is not only frustrating for researchers, people miss what they are looking for. Much like the latest in a series of stupidity coming out of "professionals" attempting to explain how troops can go from risking their lives to becoming a risk to their lives in a matter of months.

There are some times I have been blown away by true genius but more often I am blown away by people getting attention for nonsense. When it comes to "suicide prevention" in the military the evidence has shown it has been mislabeled.

The obvious is avoided at all costs because they are funding it without end. Resilience training has been funded and pushed by the DOD but suicides have gone up along with attempted suicides and the VA is filling up with veterans seeking help for PTSD while their suicide numbers go up as well. This is such an outrage to the families but no one is listening to them.

My latest outrage came with the report that now they think combat has nothing to do with suicides. I took the report apart and posted Data shows researchers didn't want to tie combat to military suicides because it is nothing more than pure bullshit. Just as bad as the notion that researchers think PTSD can be prevented but kill off subjects they prove over and over again they don't have a clue what makes combat PTSD different than PTSD in rodents. It is being human with emotions so deep they are willing to die for the sake of someone else. Taking out the "feelings" as "Feelings shall be referred to most sparingly and only when completely necessary." by a psychologist treating these men and women just goes to show the troops are screwed when they come up against someone like Tania Glenn, who must be running to replace Sally Satel for Queen of grave fillers.

I am not the only one. When I read what experts have to say I know if they speaking the truth or full of bull because whenever I am doubting what they say, I look back over the data I have from across the country. I know what real experts have said but as I usually point out, don't take my word for anything. Read what is coming out from the people getting paid to do this and with the sheepskins to prove they are supposed to know what they are talking about.

Dr. Dana Matthews, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Ranger (Retired) is a Veterans’ Health Care Consultant and Advocate wrote on Treasure Cove Times about the latest claim coming out of military suicide research.

My reaction is outrage. Of course, I am not a physician and have not done an analysis of their data. But, statistics…well statistic can be shaped and interpreted many ways.

So rather than attack the findings, I would like to offer my own anecdotal evidence.

I have had my share of counseling couch time. In fact, I believe that one of the reasons I am “still here” and functioning relatively well is my support system which include my family, my friends, my faith and "that couch".

I have friends who have not fared as well, and have lost the battle to be here. They weren't weak, just worn out and tired of fighting to explain why they were still fighting in their hearts and in their heads.

So I'll keep cleaning up the labels on Wounded Times to make it easier to find the stuff you're looking for but it would be really great if the reporters could manage to sort out truth from rants because when it comes to research, they will only find what they are looking for an often miss what has been there all along.