Monday night, February 4 th , President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union message. In his address, he urged Congress to "improve the system of care for our wounded warriors and help them build their lives of hope and promise and dignity." As the President was pontificating about solving a problem he helped create, my wife and I received a call from Mike. The sadness in his voice was unmistakable.
Mike had received a call from dear friends of ours. The unimaginable had occurred. Our friend's son, who had recently returned from a year-long stint in Mosul , Iraq had shot and killed himself in the parking lot of a convenience store. The funeral was held at the end of the week.
It was only days prior to the suicide that I was reading about a report presented by the Army's chief psychiatrist, Colonel Elspeth Ritchie. In her study, she stated that suicide and attempted suicides are continuing to rise in spite of efforts to thwart the tide. Suicides among active-duty soldiers reached the highest levels since reports of suicidal fatalities began being reported in 1980. In 2007, the percentage of suicides among our soldiers increased more than 20%. Many factors affected this increase, including family stressors and lack of available resources, but this alarming increase in self-inflicted casualties is primarily due to the frequency in length of our overseas deployments. Injuries from suicide-related attempts have mounted to six times the level since the beginning of the Iraq war. God only knows how many attempts have gone unreported.
The simple answer to this tragedy is to proclaim, "These are the wages of war." I wish that answer brought solace to me, but it doesn't. I recall last summer, as I somberly walked my way in front of the enormous Vietnam wall in Washington , DC . I became misty-eyed as I reflected on my brother's Vietnam service as a company commander and gazed at the multitude of tiny in-scripted names of casualties that filled the wall from top to bottom. These men and women dedicated their lives for a cause that few seem to comprehend.
Now I attended a funeral for a young man who enlisted in the military following 9/11, serving four years, including one year in Iraq as a Stryker Vehicle Commander. Did he lack courage and bravery because he chose to take his own life? Some in the religious community would like to throw "salt on the wound" by suggesting that he committed a heinous sin. I think not. I believe he was a victim, like other military personnel such as Pat Tillman, who were used by our government as pawns in the terrible ploy to topple an enfeebled dictator.
Suicide is the ultimate act of helplessness, hopelessness and self-blame. The problem crosses all lines of gender, race, financial status and age. Suicide almost always occurs with warning signs. Suicide is not about trying to get attention, but rather a desperate attempt to stop one's pain. People who commit suicide feel that they have exhausted all options for hope. Ironically, suicide is more likely to occur after a bout with depression, as opposed to during a depressive episode. People plan their suicide attempts during a burst of energy, and usually leave subtle hints of their intentions.
Military combat leaves our troops subjected to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The features exhibited by PTSD include hyper-vigilance, anger and rage, flashbacks, depression and emotional numbing. Without intensive therapeutic treatment, our service men and women are more susceptible to financial discord, occupational hazards, family disruptions, relationship wreckage and the potential for suicide.
As the snowplows rumble through my brother's hometown during the middle of the night, he finds himself jumping out of bed onto the floor reaching for his weapon. More than 30 years since Vietnam , the TET Offense is replayed over and over again. These are the wages of war. I now helplessly observe as our men and women are currently maimed, beaten, slaughtered and killed. They come home to a country that promised to support them, but forgot about their commitment. The resources promised are not there. I am currently a member of a nation-wide effort of volunteer therapists who are willingly meeting with military individuals and their families who have returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan . You can reach the GAH (give an hour) network via www.saluteheroes.org. Those who are fortunate enough to make it back, bring the war home with them. How many more body-bags and suicides will it take before we as a people rise up and take our nation back from the destruction of this costly war?
James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT is an author, freelance writer and nationally certified cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He received his post-graduate counseling training at Northern Illinois University. James has taught Master's level classes in counselor education through Chapman University of California. He specializes in working with patients who have depressive, anxiety, pain management and autistic spectrum disorders. James has written numerous articles on a variety of counseling-related topics, all available via Google searches. His first book, Stepping Out of the Bubble, is available at www.booklocker.com. James is in the process of having his second work published which is entitled, It Never Was About You: Saying Goodbye to theMagical Illusions of Childhood. He can be reached through his new, contemporary website at www.krehbielcounseling.com.
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» left by susan thom from nj (1 year 240 days ago.)
hi james,
excellently written article, and very disturbing. all things i think about myself. one of the problems i had with my soon to be ex, was the contents of the movies he would watch with them. i didn't want certain things stuck in their heads forever, but linda blair's head spinning still gives my 22 year old child nightmares. i am acutely aware of what seeing and hearing things can do to the psyche. you told it well, thanks for making me think,
best regards,
sue Respond to this comment
» left by Brenda from Arkansas (1 year 240 days ago.)
I know of a young soldier just recently back from Iraq who returned with some significant facial twitches & tics. Are those signs of PTSD? Will they ease up with time? Just wondered what your professional opinion was. Respond to this comment
» left by James P Krehbiel(1,149) James P Krehbiel (1 year 240 days ago.)
Brenda,
I would suggest that this young man have a neurological assesssment to rule out any physical damage. It is conceivable that some of his symptoms might be due to hypervigilence, a symptom of PTSD. I hope he gets the proper help to determine the nature of the problem.
» left by robert melaccio sr (1 year 240 days ago.)
Excellent article! As a person in the field you know all too well the multiudes of signs and symbols, the causes and effects that impact an individual. In the eyes and words of young men I have known from their childhood and back from their second or third tour of war I see and hear it. Yes, and I wonder as I reflect as a History nut on all the other vets throughout the history of this world who came back to nothing , I st world war, Civil war, Rome or any otll the is all the same. After the parades they are fogotten and blend into the sands of time Alone with their loved ones to cary their wounds physical and mental and their scars. I also see it in the young who have lost hope in a system that provides little future, struggling to raise a family, low wage, no benefit dead end jobs, their American dream all but vanished and few to any giving one damn except to say, go out and work for a living. Or talking about people over sea's. Talk about depression, breaking people, destruction, crushing. Yes, James, your in a rough business but a necessary one. Thank God peole are. All the best RTM Respond to this comment
» left by James P Krehbiel(1,149) James P Krehbiel (1 year 240 days ago.)
Robert,
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your thoughts. I will shortly be seeing a patient who just got back from a tour in Afghanistan. His wife supposedly squandered over $150,000 in gambling debts while he was gone! Wow. Its hard enough serving your country without coming home to that. Take care.
» left by Suzi Gravenstuk(134) Suzi Gravenstuk (1 year 239 days ago.)
James, thank you for sharing this issue and for another well written article. I, too dealt with the God question and suicide. After years of thinking about it I came to the conclusion that God knows us better than any one and that He will have compassion, regardless of theological thought. I choose to believe that, rather than anything else.
There always seems to be an exception to generalities. My advice is to not relax too soon and think your loved one is okay just because they seem so, and/or because he/she is undergoing treatment.
Thank you for responding to my article. I appreciate your insights. As you say, one can never take for granted that those close to us are emotionally grounded. I guess we need to continually ask the right questions and look for cues from those we cherish. Take care.
» left by Jennifer Cuddy(997) Jennifer Cuddy (1 year 166 days ago.)
not to mention the thousands of innocent iraqi men, women and children who have been killed in the process. we can't seem to fathom something that isnt occurring in our back yard.
» left by jamespkrehbiel from scottsdale, az (1 year 165 days ago.)
Jennifer,
Yes, we glibly dismiss the loss of life because it may not affect us personally. How sad is that?
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