Suicide hype hurts

VA "round table" left veterans falling off

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 21, 2019

"Veterans who have survived the battlefield and return home continue to die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of people who have never served."

That is according to a report on Rocket City. The problem with that, much like the rest of the "report" is that claim is false. The truth is, what is known about veterans killing themselves, depends on which state they live in.

According to the most recent VA National Suicide Data Report, the veteran suicide rate in the U.S. increased nearly 26% between 2005 and 2016. Pennsylvania’s veteran suicide rate is 31.1 per 100,000, marginally above the national rate of 30.1. The national total suicide rate is 17.5 per 100,000. (Post Gazette)

The report was about yet another "round table" to discuss veterans killing themselves. It is doubtful the conversation involved the history of efforts made, list of things that failed, anymore than it involved what works.

Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Program Acting Director Dr. Matt Miller said a lot to the reporter, including this.

“We are uniquely collaborating with the community to develop local community-based suicide prevention plans.” Miller also said the VA’s “Be There Campaign” which raises awareness about veteran suicides and encourages everyday people to support veterans. “We are doing a lot with veteran suicide.”

Seriously? What did he think was being done before this? When the results were actually better and BTW lower in the civilian rate of suicide as well, that proved help works but hype hurts.

We found more benefits standing side by side with someone, than we did pulling a stunt. We found lives changed when we did not allow ourselves to seek our own fame, but earned the trust of those who turned to us for help.

We offered a glimpse of hope and the path to get there by what we proved in our own lives. Happier days are possible and, yes, even miracles happen.

Instead of publicizing what will return hope to those who need it the most, too many are hoping that no one notices talk is cheap for them, but rakes in millions in donations every year. For what? Repeating a number as if it was a fact? Reminding veterans they are killing themselves?

Ask them who they are trying to raise awareness to and you will hear them claim their targets are veterans. Problem with that is, they already know how to die but do not know how to stay alive. We have First Responders committing suicide at higher rates, and most of them were also veterans.

People learn when they are made aware of something. Some thought the world was flat until they were made aware that no one fell off the side. People thought that all illnesses were by the judgement of God for some sin committed instead of what biology does, until they learned otherwise.

It is time for people to become wise enough to learn what is needed and that is to change the conversation from veterans taking their own lives into how they can take back their lives!

Time to become aware of possibilities or we are doomed to extend the probability of more choosing death because they are not aware of the power they do still have.

It is astonishingly stupid to see people drop down to do 22 pushups when their own peers are deciding to die. The same peers they trust with their lives on the job, cannot be trusted with what those jobs are doing to them? Seriously? But this is what we get when no one is talking about what is needed and proven to work.

Next they say the targets are civilians, but again, they are also committing suicide in higher numbers. Given the fact that only an oblivious idiot would ignore the fact the people who risk their lives to save lives, taking their own lives, takes self-worth away.

What they are doing "a lot of" is not working, so basically, they are doing a lot of repeating what failed instead of obtaining some basic knowledge of what was learned over the last 40 years.