Our military personnel put themselves in harm’s way to protect our nation. The activities they engage in often leave deep scars, both mentally and physically. In 2019, there were 130 suicides per day and, of those 130 suicides, “17 of those lives lost were Veterans”. From 2001 to 2019, “the rate of suicide among Veterans increased nearly 36% relative to an increase of 30% in the general population”. Veteran suicide-related deaths are increasing becoming more frequent and are overtaking the general U.S. population suicide rate. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) works to provide care to 9 million Veterans each year through their health care facilities, “including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics)”. However, out of the 17.2 average Veteran suicide-related deaths per day, 6.8 of them were among those who had VHA encounters in 2018 and/or 2019, while the remaining 10.4 were among those who had no VHA encounters in 2018 and/or 2019, begging the question of how effective these programs are.
Dionne Williamson, a Navy lieutenant commander, spoke about her experience with mental health in the military after finishing a tour in Afghanistan in 2013. Williamson experienced “disorientation, depression, memory loss and chronic exhaustion” and, after going through “a monthlong hospitalization and a therapeutic program that incorporates horseback riding”, Williamson found stability.
For many other service members suffering from mental health disorders, “simply acknowledging their difficulties can be intimidating” and the process of therapy—including the process of recovery and the time it takes—can be considered “frustrating and dispiriting”. According to the Defense Department data, “suicide among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020”, with the numbers jumping “by 15% in 2020 alone”. The Cost of War Project did a study in 2021 and found that “since 9/11, four times as many service members and veterans have died by suicide as have perished in combat”.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in March 2022 “the creation of an independent committee to review the military’s mental health and suicide prevention programs” in hopes of preventing more military service member suicides.
But what causes the issues and challenges for military members suffering from mental health? Retired Air Force Captain Craig Bryan, PsyD, ABPP, clinical psychologist, professor, and director of the Division of Recovery and Resilience in the Department of Psychiatry at Ohio State University College of Medicine, explains that “mental health care and access may vary across branches in the military depending on factors such as ranking and culture”. However, there are commonalities: stigma and perception, barriers to treatment, lack of access, too many resources—“That’s actually one of the key problems for this community — there are so many resources available that it can be overwhelming. Further complicating the issue is that there’s no quality assurance method available to help military personnel and veterans tease apart legitimate from questionable resources.” Another factor is the fear of consequences.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that there are “three primary mental health concerns you may encounter serving in the military”: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depression, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). If you or a loved one who served in the military are suffering from mental illness, please contact Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647, your primary care provider, or behavioral health care providers, who work on many military bases. The Military Crisis Line is available at 800-273-8255, then press 1, or you can access the online chat by texting 838255.
CIMA Law Group Blog 