This past weekend Home Team Creations was honored to participate in Kappasigmastan’s Annual Military Heroes Car Show event. Honoring our Military Heroes is a cause near and dear to this fraternity. They had the JROTC perform opening ceremonies, they honored some amazing Veteran’s and paid tribute to those in active duty as well. Coming from a family of Veteran’s it was heart warming to be part of such a beautiful event. Their cause is truly remarkable.
Bringing Home Team Creations mental health awareness merchandise was the perfect place to help spread awareness around mental health, especially with our war heroes. Whether active duty or a Veteran, our capeless heroes serve our country day after day. Many have seen some horrific things that they carry with them every day.
At Home Team Creations, it is our mission to bring to light the importance of mental health and educate others on the importance and the effects life can have to one’s mental state. Things such as social, organizational and environmental factors play a large part in struggles. Mental health is an extreme concern in the military and studies have been done to try and figure out the impact of mental health disorders among service members.
Here are some highlighted statistics regarding mental health and the military.
From 2016 – 2020 a total of 456,293 active service members were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder
Additionally, 84,815 service members with diagnosed with mental health problems related to family/support group problems, lifestyle problems, substance abuse counseling or social environment problems.
The DOD released their Annual Report on Suicide in the Military for 2022, which showed a 3% increase in the last ten years.
In 2020, mental health disorders accounted for the largest total number of hospital bed days and the second highest number of medical encounters for members of the active duty.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported in 2019 that there were just over 6.000 Veterans that died by suicide.
This is an average of 17 Veteran suicides a DAY
In 2016, approximately 60% of active duty military personnel were facing mental struggles but did not seek help
Unfortunately, there is still this ‘stigma’ around mental health, not just in our day to day society but it’s prevalent amongst our military heroes as well. It’s the thought that if their mental health is brought up, it will show a sign of ‘weakness’ or make them ‘unfit’ for duty. This mentality often continues throughout their whole life, even after leaving the miliary. In addition, there is the fear of consequences. Those in active duty worry that speaking up about their mental health may have negative consequences such as; restriction of job duties, loss of special duty status and medical separation from the military. We have to break this stigma, we have to end the cycle. The facts above are disheartening and everyone deserves to have the space to feel their struggles and get the help they deserve.
One of the biggest things I hear from Veterans and even active duty military members is the lack of mental health resources. It really comes down not having enough mental health professionals. The number of military personnel that need mental health assistance, heavily outweighs the number of professionals available to help them. This has been a struggle for sometime. Often times getting an appointment can take weeks or even months. While the Department of Veteran Affairs is actively working on improving this, there are still so many that struggling every day.
To put things into a little deeper perspective for you, take a look at these physical and mental health facts:
Service members are more prone to living with particular mental health conditions such as, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), depression and suicidality.
It has been proven that those in active duty, doing 3 or more deployments are more likely to experience mental health disorders like; major depressive disorder (MDD), bi-polar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, intermittent explosive disorder.
It’s also been determined that those with PTSD and MDD also experience an increase risk of: death from homicide, injury and cardiovascular disease, medical illness, smoking and substance misuse, decreased employment and work productivity, homelessness, and marital and family dysfunction.
I cannot stress enough how important mental health awareness is. It’s a difficult topic to talk about but my hope is the more we talk about it, the sooner the stigma can be minimized. There are hundreds of thousands of men and women who put their life on the line to serve and protect our country. A heroic and selfless act. Getting them the resources they need is beyond essential.
While the Department of Veterans affairs works on providing better resources and support, we must continue to check on our people. Many military personnel have seen things that civilians can’t even fathom. These things stay with them forever.
Whether you’re active duty or a Veteran, below are some resources that you can try to utilize.
In the meantime, please don’t suffer in silence. You aren’t alone in this journey. We stand by you, we support you, we believe in you and we appreciate your services.
Resources for those currently serving in the miliary, the following resources have been recommended:
Department of Defense (DOD) mental health professionals
Military Family Life Consultants (MFLCs)
Military One Source (800) 342-9641
Military Crisis Line (800) 273-TALK
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-8255
The following resources have been recommended for Veterans:
U.S. Veterans Affairs Department (for those eligible for treatment)
U.S. Veteran Crisis Line (800) 273-8255
Unhoused Veterans: (877) 424-3838
VeteransCrisisLine.net or Text 838255
In Transition (800) 424-7877
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) - For families
Resources: Psych Central and Health.mil
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