Military Suicides/ PTSD / Mental

Health Care

Alan Contreras, Gabby Smith, Gabriela Lucas

 Outline
* A brief video
* Mental health care
* Post traumatic stress disorder
* Mental health care
* Impacts on society
* Preventions
* Class Activity
 Definition and Causes
* Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health
conditions that affects a persons mood, thinking, and behavior.
* Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses are not
known, it is clear that most of these conditions are affected by a
combination of biological, psychological and environmental
factors.
* *Note: Not based on personal weakness or a character defect
 Common Diagnosis & Side Effects for
Combat & War Trauma
* Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
* Depression
* Traumatic Brain Injury
* Suicidal Thoughts
* Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder(ADHD)
* Bi-Polar Disorder (Manic Depression)
* Sleep Disorders
* Substance Dependency
 Veterans & Active Duty
* Many soldiers suffer from at least one of mental illness,
and the rates of many mental disorders are much higher in
soldiers than in civilians.
* Almost 25% of nearly 5,500 active-duty, non-deployed
Army soldiers surveyed tested positive for a mental
disorder of some kind, and 11% tested positive for more
than one illness.
 Veterans & Active Duty (Continued..)
* Rates of conditions like ADHD in the study matched a
pattern researchers also found in the newest recruits.
* The rate of major depression is five times as high among
soldiers as civilians.
* Post-traumatic stress disorder was nearly 15 times higher
than among civilians, the study found.
 Veterans & Active Duty
(Continued..)
* When it came to suicidal thoughts, the study found
about 14% of soldiers had thought about taking their
lives, while 5.3% had planned a suicide and 2.4%
had actually made one or more attempts.
* PTSD is a mental health condition that's
triggered by a terrifying event either
experiencing it or witnessing it.
Symptoms may include flashbacks,
nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as
uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

*Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder
* Re-experiencing symptoms involves
reliving the trauma in some way such as
becoming upset when confronted with a
traumatic reminder or thinking about the
trauma when you are trying to do
something else.
* Avoidance symptoms involves either
staying away from places or people that
remind you of the trauma, isolating from
other people, or feeling numb.
* Arousal and reactivity symptoms includes
things such as feeling on guard, irritable,
or startling easily.
* Cognition and mood symptoms can make
the person feel alienated or detached
from friends or family members.Such as
loss of interest in enjoyable activities,
negative thoughts, distorted feelings like
guilt or blame

*Symptoms
* Depression
* Anxiety
* Substance Abuse
* Unemployment
* Divorce
* Spouse Abuse
* Medical Disorders
*Other issues people experience
with PTSD
* About 30 percent of the men and women who have spent
time in war zones experience PTSD. An additional 20 to
25 percent have had partial PTSD at some point in their
lives.
* More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost
half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced
clinically serious stress reaction symptoms.
* PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other
wars. Estimates of PTSD from the Gulf War are as high as
10%.
* Estimates from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 and
11%.
* Current estimates of PTSD in military personnel who
served in Iraq range from 12% to 20%.
* According to the National Center for PTSD, about 7 or 8
out of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some
point in their lives.

*Veteran Statistics
* The main treatments for people with PTSD
are medications, psychotherapy (talk
therapy), or both.
* Everyone is different, and PTSD affects
people differently so a treatment that works
for one person may not work for another.
* It is important for anyone with PTSD to be
treated by a mental health provider who is
experienced with PTSD.
* Some people with PTSD need to try different
treatments to find what works for their
symptoms.

*Treatment
* If someone with PTSD is going through an ongoing
trauma, such as being in an abusive relationship,
both of the problems need to be addressed.
* You can take steps to help someone with PTSD.
Learn about the disorder so you can relate to what
your loved one is going through and know what to
expect.
* Encourage treatment as its paramount for recovery.
* Show your support in all ways, and above all, be
patient.
* People who suffer from PTSD feel like theyve lost
control. Taking an active role in your loved ones
recovery can help to empower them.
* Encourage your loved one to spend time with family
and friends and to leave the house for a little while
each day. The smallest action can help a person
regain control.

*How to help
 Military suicide statistics
As of May 2016

* The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty servicemembers

killed themselves last year

* Military suicides dropped 20% the year after 2012, and then held
roughly steady at numbers significantly higher than during the early
2000s. The 265 suicides last year compares with 273 in 2014 and 254
in 2013. By contrast, from 2001 through 2007, suicides never
exceeded 197.
Military suicides
* Data released Friday also show that suicides among reserve troops
reservists in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and the
National Guard were 210 last year. That is an increase from 170
suicides in 2014 but down from 220 suicides in 2013.

* The increase in suicide in the military was driven largely by the

Army, where suicides rose sharply from 45 in 2001 to 165 in 2012.
The Army reported 120 suicides last year, the same as in 2013 and
down from 124 in 2014.
 Military suicides
* U.S. troops have been at war since 2001 in Afghanistan, and fought
in the Iraq war from 2003 to 2011.
2015-265
2014-273
2013-254
2012-321
What they are doing/ trying to do
"Suicide prevention remains a top priority, and the Department will continue its efforts to reduce deaths by suicide
among its servicemembers," said Marine Lt. Col. Hermes Gabrielle, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "Reducing suicide
risk entails creating a climate that encourages service members to seek help, reducing access to lethal means and
broadening communication and awareness to servicemembers and their families."

* Among efforts by the military to combat suicide was a $50 million, long-term study by the Army that
eventually produced algorithms for predicting what group of soldiers is most likely to commit suicide. The
Department of Veterans Affairs has embraced the science and will soon launch a pilot program for helping its
therapists concentrate efforts on those veterans with strong self-destructive tendencies.
How does this affect
society?
* The diagnosis and treatment of many these behaviors interferes with
a persons well being and physical health, ability to form realistic
expectations, affect their working abilities,impact their ability to
communicate with others, have a positive outlook on life and
decrease their ability solve problems in everyday life.
* Therefore, it is extremely worthwhile and important to address these
issues.
How does this affect
society? (continued...)
* Three flawed assumptions about diseases in daily lives and in
the media:
1.Genetic explains illness and disease to the exclusion of
social factors
2.Those who are ill experience downward social mobility
3.People adapt lifestyle choices that make them ill.
 Preventions
There is no sure way to prevent mental illness, taking steps to control
stress, to increase your resilience and to boost low self-esteem may help
keep your symptoms under control. Follow these steps:
1.Pay attention to warning signs.
2.Get in a routine of getting medical care.
3.Get help when you need it.
4.Take good care of yourself.
 Conclusion
* WE TALKED ABOUT THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE CAUSED BY THE ENVIRONMENTS THAT THOSE WHO SERVE ARE
PLACED IN.
* WE TOLD YOU ABOUT MORE INFORMATION REGARDING POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, WE TALKED ABOUT
SYMPTOMS AS WELL AS OTHER ISSUES PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WITH PTSD. WAYS IN WHICH WE COULD PROVIDE THE
PROPER ASSISTANCE AND TREATMENT TO THOSE IN NEED.
* AND FINALLY WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT STATISTICS REGARDING MILITARY SUICIDES AND THE
ALARMING RATES WITHIN THE ARMY, MANY OF THE NEWLY CREATED PROGRAMS THAT ARE SETTING OUT TO
ASSIST THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE AT HIGH RISK
 Review Quiz
1. In what year was the suicide rate the highest within the Army ?
A) 2015
B) 2013
C) 2012
2. True or False. When it came to suicidal thoughts, the study found about
10% of soldiers had thought about taking their lives.

3. True or False. 22% of veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or

major depression.
*
References
American Psychological Association. The Mental Health needs of veterans, service members and their families. Apa.org,
* "How to Help Someone With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." How to Help Someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). Psychguides, n.d. Web.
* Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (n.d.). Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs
* "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web.
* Val Willingham. Study: Rates of many mental disorders much higher in soldiers than in civilians. Cnn,
* National Alliance on Mental Illness. Nami.org,
* Veterans Families United Foundation. Resources for Friends & Families of Veterans. Veteransfamiliesunited.org,.
* Zoroya, G. (2016). U.S. military suicides remain high for 7th year. Web