Publications - Military Families

Military veterans can now receive free emergency mental health care, by Haley Britzky, CNN, Jan 17 2023.

“As of Tuesday, US military veterans in an “acute suicidal crisis” can receive free treatment including inpatient care up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days.  The expanded care was announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday, and is meant to “prevent veteran suicide by guaranteeing no cost, world-class care to veterans in times of crisis.” Veterans who are seeking that care can go to any VA or non-VA health care facility, the release said, and they do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to receive care. ”

519 US service members died by suicide in 2021, Pentagon says, by Ellie Kaufman and Paul LeBlanc, CNN, Oct 20 2022.

“A new report from the Pentagon found that 519 US service members died by suicide in 2021, a decrease from the 582 cases in 2020.  The 519 deaths last year involved active-duty, reserve, and National Guard members.    The largest decrease in suicides among service members occurred among active-duty service members, the data showed. In 2021, 328 active-duty service members died by suicide compared to 384 active-duty service members in 2020.  There was less of a decrease among reserve and National Guard service members. Seventy-four reserve members died by suicide in 2021 compared to 77 in 2020.According to the data, 117 National Guard members died by suicide in 2021 compared to 121 in 2020.  While 2020 saw the suicide rate for active-duty service members increase by 9.1%, the 2021 rate was similar to 2019, the report said.  Still, despite the decrease from 2020 to 2021, the overall suicide rate per 100,000 active-duty service members has slowly increased from 2011 to 2021, the report said. ”

The military might be creating 'a perfect storm' for eating disorders, by Desiree D'Iorio, NPR, Apr 15 2022.

“People like Rand, who develop harmful eating habits during their service, have not received much attention from the Department of Defense or Veterans Affairs. But a study among Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans by the VA in Connecticut shows that they experience bulimia at about three times the civilian rate.  Some develop eating disorders while they're in the military, and others grapple with eating habits after they're out.  "I was seeing a very high rate of binge eating disorder in the veteran population, but I also wanted to know about these other disorders," says Robin Masheb, a research psychologist and the founder of the Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight. It's one of the few programs that studies eating disorders in veterans. ”

Suicide rate among active duty service members increased by 41% between 2015 and 2020, by Alex Marquardt and Ellie Kaufman, CNN, Sep 30 2021.

“The suicide rate among active duty service members in the US military increased by 41.4% in the five years from 2015 to 2020, according to data provided in the annual report from the Department of Defense on suicide in the military.  The suicide rate among active duty service members increased by 9.1% in 2020, according to data from the report, which was released Thursday. From 2018 to 2020, it rose 15.3%.  The suicide rate among reserve members of the US military went up by 19.2% in 2020, but the rate has overall gone down since 2018, the report shows. The suicide rate among National Guard members increased by 31.7% in 2020, but has also gone down overall since 2018.  Some 580 members of the military, among active duty, reserves and National Guard, died by suicide in 2020. The report also shows 202 military family members died by suicide in 2019. ”

VA Struggles To Unlock The Reasons Behind High Suicide Rates Among Older Veterans, by Steve Walsh, NPR, Mar 11 2019.

“The VA National Suicide Data Report for 2005 to 2016, which came out in September 2018, highlights an alarming rise in suicides among veterans age 18 to 34 — 45 per 100,000 veterans. Younger veterans have the highest rate of suicide among veterans, but those 55 and older still represent the largest number of suicides. Moreover, the suicide rate for older veterans is higher than that of non-veterans. For veterans age 55 to 74 years old, the rate of suicide is 26 per 100,000, while nationally, the suicide rate in the same age group is 17.4 per 100,000. The rate ticks up even higher for veterans over 85 years old. ”

Friendly texts tied to fewer suicide attempts in the military, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 20 2019.

“Military service members who are at risk for suicide may be less likely to attempt to harm themselves when they receive supportive text messages, a U.S. study suggests. Soldiers in the study had all received behavioral health services for considering or attempting suicide in the past, and all were on active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard. They all received standard treatments like medication or psychotherapy as needed; half of the 650 participants were also randomly assigned to received occasional texts with messages like “hope you’re having a good day.” Over the course of a year, people who received these texts were 44 percent less likely to experience suicidal thoughts and 48 percent less likely to attempt suicide than those who didn’t get the messages. ”

Pre-deployment insomnia linked to increased risk of PTSD for soldiers, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Dec 20 2018.

“Soldiers who have insomnia before deployment may be more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or experience suicidal thoughts than service members who don’t struggle to sleep before they deploy, a U.S. study suggests. For the study, researchers surveyed U.S. Army soldiers one to two months before they deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, right after they returned from deployment, and again three months and nine months later. Soldiers who experienced insomnia in the 30 days prior to deployment were more than three times more likely to experience PTSD and more than twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts after their return than peers who didn’t have sleep difficulties at the start of the study. ”

Meditation may help ease veterans' PTSD symptoms, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Nov 27 2018.

“Some veterans may experience a sharper decline in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with meditation-based therapy than with other forms of treatment, a recent study suggests. ”

Protect Your Children from Health Risks by Building Family Resilience, by Benjamin Samuel Telsey, Military One Source, Jul 30 2018.

“Research has shown that childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a significant impact on lifelong health and well-being. A major study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente surveyed more than 17,000 Americans to gain a better understanding of how adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, such as divorce, child abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction, might impact individuals as adults. The researchers found that adverse childhood experiences are very common in the general population. Fortunately, a positive figure in a child’s life can help to provide stability and security while also reducing the destructive effects of toxic stress. One of the critical roles of the military community is to raise healthy, resilient children despite the stressors and challenges they face. Service members and their families can take advantage of several support systems in place for parents and children alike. ”

Service Dog Registries To Streamline Travel For Veterans With 'Invisible Injuries', by Adelina Lancianese, NPR, Jul 28 2018.

“Many veterans and active-duty service members use psychiatric service dogs to help alleviate the everyday challenges of PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Sexual Trauma — conditions that service dog advocates call "invisible injuries." Now, the service dog community is eyeing a dog certification system to streamline travel and leisure for veterans who, like Crowell, are frustrated with the arduous process and stigmas attached to taking trips. ”

Coping With Survivor's Guilt, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Jun 27 2018.

“Guilt is a feeling of responsibility for bad events, whether that feeling is realistic or not. Some Veterans feel guilt or remorse because of something that happened in their military experience, such as an injury to a buddy in their unit, friendly fire, or civilian deaths. Survivor guilt can include feeling guilty about surviving when others did not, wishing that you had died instead of others, or thinking you didn’t deserve to survive. Identifying productive ways to act on regrets — finding a way to pay tribute to the fallen, for example — can help you find peace with past events.  Seeking treatment and opening up about the past can help you get back to living a fulfilling life. ”

Battling Depression And Suicide Among Female Veterans, by Jay Price, NPR, May 29 2018.

“The suicide rate for female veterans has soared 85 percent in recent years, leading the military, VA and advocacy groups to try new ways to improve women's mental health care during and after service. One key focus: how to tailor the sometimes tricky jump from the military to the civilian world. Women's experiences in the military are different from men's, so their transition needs to be different, too, said retired Army Col. Ellen Haring, director of research for the advocacy group Service Women's Action Network (SWAN). "The experiences you have on active duty carry with you, and then they manifest as mental wellness challenges as veterans," she said. "When you're transitioning out of the service, or when you return from a combat deployment to come back to a stateside demobilization and try to return to family or community, that's a challenging period." When that transition doesn't go well, the cost can be terrible. Female veterans are nearly 250 percent more likely to kill themselves than civilian women. ”

6 Sources of Support, Right in Front of You, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, May 14 2018.

“Mental health support can come in many forms. Whether treatment involves one-on-one counseling, support groups, or other forms of treatment such as medication, there are many paths to a stronger you. In addition to getting treatment, making simple adjustments to your routine or lifestyle — such as pursuing a passion or getting involved in the community — can be fulfilling. Whether you are already receiving professional treatment or are simply looking for enrichment, these six sources of support can be helpful additions to your mental health routine. Sometimes the most effective treatments are the ones that you stumble across by chance. ”

Ecstasy therapy may help service veterans suffering PTSD, by Kate Kelland, Reuters, May 1 2018.

“Combining intensive psychotherapy with a pure form of the party drug ecstasy is safe and could aid recovery in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the findings of a study in military veterans. Scientists who conducted the research - a small study involving just 26 people - said its results suggested that with close medical and psychological supervision, giving MDMA to PTSD patients 'could enhance the benefits of psychotherapy.' ”

When the Effects of Sexual Trauma Persist, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Apr 26 2018.

“Both men and women have faced the effects of military sexual trauma, including sexual assault, harassment, or unwanted sexual attention. Such traumatic experiences can negatively affect Veterans for years.  This April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It’s a time to continue the national conversation about sexual assault. It’s also a time to build awareness about ways to support those who have had traumatic experiences. ”