The Elephant in the Room

Given last week’s Veterans Day observance and the rapidly approaching holiday season, it seems like a good point to blog about what I like to call “The Elephant in the Room” when it comes to veteran issues. Of course, I am talking about veteran suicide.

What’s worse about the statement in this week’s featured pic is the CDC further testified, “Veteran suicide-related deaths are also increasing at a greater rate than that of the general U.S. population. From 2001 to 2019, the rate of suicide among Veterans increased nearly 36% relative to an increase of 30% in the general population.”

I’ve lost veteran friends and active-duty colleagues to suicide. One as recently as this May. It impacts every one of us who have served, to ignore this harsh reality of military service is just plain ignorant. I don’t think I fully comprehended the problem while on active duty.  

Any service member or veteran who says they haven’t struggled with depression at some time in their life is probably lying. I think it’s a normal condition given the nature of our business. Fortunately, when we were on active-duty help is readily available. From a trusted battle buddy to professional counseling, we can generally access the resources we need to sort through our problems. Sometimes, we were so busy on active duty we didn’t have time to have problems! Maybe that’s all part of the military model.

But when we take the uniform off and become veterans, the dynamic changes, almost overnight. I’ve mentioned previously about how veterans must come to grips with no longer being a member of an honored profession. Compound this with PTSD, survivor’s guilt, change or uncertainty of income as well as a host of other variables and the environment is ripe for a veteran to have depression and / or suicidal thoughts.

I can’t even fathom the demons some of my brother and sister veterans struggle with. Some are no doubt so serious that they are beyond the individual’s ability to self-treat. In these cases, the veteran should seek help immediately. There is no shame in seeking help or counseling. I was fortunate to earn my National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification some time ago and am a firm believer in the power of the talking solution. Knowing how to get help for depression or suicidal thoughts should be a key task for every veteran during their transition out of service. Even though I haven’t had to, I feel confident I could get help if needed…without absolutely any shame.

The bottom line is every veteran will experience a flood of emotion and feelings post service; the causes of these feelings are as varied as the day is long. It could be something relatively simple or incredibly dark which could lead to PTSD, depression or worse. Veterans must acknowledge this truth and be prepared. Society can do all the push-ups, fundraisers and social media posts they want to acknowledge the problem but stopping veteran suicide really comes down to each one of us. Veterans must be prepared to seek help, not if but when they need it. 

I’d encourage every active duty or veteran to consider their mental well-being as part of their military transition and develop a plan for just in case things appear to get out of control. The VA’s Veteran Crisis Line at 1.800. 273.TALK (8255), Press 1, is just one of many resources. Another may be sitting on the couch next to you as you read this blog! “Veteran suicide-related deaths are also increasing at a greater rate than that of the general U.S. population,” is the elephant in the room we collectively have to change, and I believe it starts from within the veteran community.

Check out all the sustains and improves from just about every aspect of my own transition from career Soldier back to civilian in my new book, Military Retirement: An After-Action Review. Free eBook download or paperback purchase on Amazon. If you do read my AAR (or any of my books for that matter), please don’t forget to drop a review on Amazon!

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The views, opinions and biases expressed in this blog are the authors and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.