In National Suicide Prevention Month, Newsweek examines the scourge of veteran suicide—and what can be done to prevent it.
The suicide rate among U.S. veterans may be much higher than estimated by state and national data, according to a study that sheds new light on what experts say is an urgent crisis.
"If you go back to the Vietnam war, the most significant health concern at the time was Agent Orange. Now it's suicide." While veterans can have other problems—from post-traumatic stress disorder to lingering injury—improving their quality of life might reduce their likelihood of taking their own life., one crucial issue remains getting veterans to ask for help when they need it.
"Now I become a civilian and I go out into a room of my colleagues who are all wearing business casual attire and I have to talk to them and figure out who they are. You just don't know where you fit." "Being disconnected from our family, health challenges, traumatic events—things that are sort of defined as the significant transitional issues seem to trigger some of the suicide ideation that we see in veterans."
"We just did a study over the last couple of years that showed that telehealth delivery was actually as effective—actually a little bit more effective—than face to face delivery for veterans at suicide risk," he said."But the availability of that is pretty limited, and that's why the VA is making that alternative available."
For Lorraine there isn't a lack of support for veterans—but the bureaucracy around the many support programs available"is really hard to navigate."
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