The BS of 22 Pushup Challenge

Will reporters ever get a clue on 22?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 3, 2018

Yet again, the ear worm of "22" has penetrated another community. This time in Indiana. It was reported on WTHI 10 News.

22 PUSH UP CHALLENGE LOOKS TO BRING AWARENESS TO AN IMPORTANT ISSUE

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - 22 people...over 22 days are pushing out a message. A message of suicide awareness among veterans. It's the third year of the 22 Push Up Challenge.The Hamilton Center brings together groups of 22 people to do 22 push-ups.The challenge is a message for veterans and active military members to be aware of their resources...and it's more than just pushups."Sometimes it's about being silly but sometimes it's about bringing a message. and if one person hears that message and we stop one person from taking that step into hopelessness or suicide then we're doing what we're supposed to do," William Little, from the Hamilton Center said.

The "third year" of the challenge? Yep!

How many times does the truth have to be told before this BS stops? It is happening all over the country with good intentions have replaced good information.

I ran up against it with one of my buddy's when we were doing videos for PTSD Patrol.

My friend Dave Matthews, otherwise known as Sgt. Dave, sat down at the Lake Baldwin Vietnam Memorial and did a couple of videos. In this one, we talked about the facts and how "22" number is not helping anyone.Then Dave became unable to control himself, dropped down and did, you guessed it, 22 push-ups. I called him an idiot!

Then he challenged me to come up with something else for the "22 a day" groups to do that would be positive and helpful. This is the start of the list and go to Combat PTSD Wounded Times for more you can do.

Dave is one of my good buddies and is totally dedicated to other veterans. I've known him for a very long time. He is far from stupid. Trust me on that one. So how is it that even after we talked about how no one knows the number of veterans who lost their battle, did he still stay trapped in the "easy to remember" number of 22?

He said that is the number everyone knows. What he could not explain is how that number, how raising awareness on a false number is helping anyone. It isn't.

The only number families know is the one who is no longer here.

The veterans I have worked with over the last three decades have been pissed off that they reached the point where they almost took their lives because no one told them the things I said before.

You know, like getting them to understand what PTSD is and why they have it, but beyond that, what they can do to live a better quality of life. 

If you go to PTSD Patrol, I have put up some of my older videos on PTSD going back to 2006. If you really want to do something to prevent suicides, then stop talking about something that is not true, just because "everyone knows" it. Much like when folks thought the world was flat...turns out it was not. Now I know how the informed people felt back then when they were called liars too!

The second thing they all wanted to do was to help other veterans heal too! This site has far too many reports on veterans taking their own lives who did not find what they needed to heal because of all the people putting the ear worm of suicide into their brains.