Suicides

[Journeyman]

I finally convinced my father to speak with someone....

Thanks for making me feel depressed  ;D

D&B, you'll just have to accept that most of us have/had fathers    >

 

[s2184]

Apride58, I am totally in a different situation, but used to face similar difficulties that you are having.

I never consumed a single tablet which my doctor had asked me to prescribe if I wanted it. All the drugs have serious side-affects and the best option that worked (work) for me was (is) healthy life style such as:

Meditation & Various exercises in a regular-basis..
Healthy diet: Lots of vegetables, fruits, fibre rich food, fish & minimum meat and lots of fluid consumption..
No smoking, No Drugs, No alcohol consumption..
Enjoy (or try to enjoy) every single day..
and top of all I Accepted the hard truth that I have to die one day!

This life is a process.  Life changes are inevitable. The only way for survival (in my view) is believe in myself!

Believe in yourself and good wishes! 

 

[apride58]

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Appreciate all input. S2184, I dont take drugs, and dont smoke. I love my beer though, and refuse to give it up. lol. I do not abuse alcohol though. I try to exercise regularlly and stay in pretty good shape for my age. The depression and anxiety still hit. Sometimes, i can go for a couple of months sometimes just a couple of weeks. I think of my family and that helps keep me going. The worst thing is no being able to leave the house. I havent worked for about 6 yrs now. Anyway, maybe talking will help some. After all, you only had to worry about your soldiers when they stop bitching, eh? lol.

 

[PuckChaser]

Thanks for making me feel depressed  ;D

OSISS can help?  8)

 

[apride58]

What is OSISS?

 

[GR66]

What is OSISS?

OSISS is "Operational Stress Injury Social Support".  It's a peer support network for those suffering from OSI's.  An excellent resource.  They also have family peer support groups available.

http://www.osiss.ca/


(edited for typo)

 

[apride58]

Thank you. Looks like a site that I will look into.

 

[caocao]

What is OSISS?

http://www.osiss.ca/en/index.html

 

[Cbbmtt]

Hello,

I'm sorry that you are not feeling well lately.

Regards Prescriptions, what province are you in? There's programs in most provinces that help with prescriptions after you reach a certain deductible. Once you pay a certain amount the government will help you as long as the prescriptions are covered through this program. If they are not and there are no alternative medication through Pharmacare, your Doctor can request special authorization to have it covered.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/plans/

Maybe that can help you a bit.

All the best in the future.

 

[apride58]

Thank you very much for your answer. I am. Receiving many helpful pointers and is greatly appreciated. I am in Ontario. Med insurance was paying to a certain point. I had to shell out, then claim and get some back. But the meds were hundreds per month. On a Sgts pension from 15 yrs ago, just didnt cut it meeting all bills and then meds on top. As I stated, the meds never seemed to work properly anyway and some even made things worse. So with all of that, just stopped it all. Like many people, some good days and some bad. Anyway, thanks again, and good luck with your enrolment. Cant beat a military career. After all these years, I still miss it terribly. Al.

 

[McG]

For every suicide in the Canadian Forces, at least one attempt was recorded: documents
Amy Minsky 
Global News
04 Dec 2013

OTTAWA — For every suicide reported in the Canadian Forces last year, there was at least one attempted suicide, protected National Defence documents reveal, adding to a morbid tale unfolding after four men in the Forces apparently took their own lives in recent days.

The actual number of suicide attempts, however, likely reaches far higher than the documents suggest, only hinting at the problem at hand, said Col. Rakesh Jetly, a military psychiatrist.

The military fills out a detailed form each time one of its current members commits suicide, attempts suicide or when it becomes aware of someone suspected to have attempted suicide.

The Canadian Armed Forces collects information on sudden deaths, including suicides, but only among males, since the low incident rate among females makes the data statistically unreliable, according to National Defence.

Last year, 10 men in the Forces committed suicide, according to National Defence.

The newly-released documents, heavily redacted to protect personal information, detail at least 11 attempts at suicide throughout 2012, as well as the 10 suicide cases.

The documents, released under Access to Information laws, do not offer much insight into the cases other than noting that military police responded to some incidents, or that a victim was transported in an ambulance with a police escort, or anticipating the potential level of media interest.

The chain of command in the Forces doesn’t always become aware of a member’s attempted suicide, Jetly said.

“It’s very difficult to capture attempts,” he said. “They get captured if police and ambulance are involved, but there may be some people who quietly try to overdose from sleeping pills and alcohol, wake up the next morning and feel terrible about it. And we might not necessarily capture that.”

For that reason, the actual number of attempted suicides among the Canadian Forces is unknown, Jetly said.

“It’s definitely higher [than 11]. But how much—two times? Three times? Ten times? We don’t know,” he said. “There are always many more attempts than completions.”

Advocates for veterans have said that for every suicide in the Forces, as many as 12 have attempted the same fate.

When the chain of command becomes aware of an attempted suicide within the Force, the Number One priority becomes getting that person into care, according to Jetly.

But even if someone is getting help, they aren’t necessarily immune from the threat of suicide.

... (More at link)

http://globalnews.ca/news/1009779/soldier-suicide-one-attempt-for-every-death/

 

[mariomike]

“It’s very difficult to capture attempts,” he said. “They get captured if police and ambulance are involved, but there may be some people who quietly try to overdose from sleeping pills and alcohol, wake up the next morning and feel terrible about it. And we might not necessarily capture that.”

At Toronto EMS, the estimate ( where Paramedics got involved ) was that for every suicide death there were 25 attempts.

That does not include the "Check Patient" ( no lights - no siren ) calls we were sent to where no attempt was actually made, but the patient was considered to be "at risk".

 

[daftandbarmy]

Some US numbers:

"The most recent department of defense suicide report, or DODSER, covers 2011 . It shows that less than half, 47%, of all suicides involved service members who had ever been in Iraq or Afghanistan. Just one in 10 of those who died did so while posted in the war zone. Only 15% had ever experienced direct combat."


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/01/us-military-suicide-epidemic-veteran

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Thank you very much for your answer. I am. Receiving many helpful pointers and is greatly appreciated. I am in Ontario. Med insurance was paying to a certain point. I had to shell out, then claim and get some back. But the meds were hundreds per month. On a Sgts pension from 15 yrs ago, just didnt cut it meeting all bills and then meds on top. As I stated, the meds never seemed to work properly anyway and some even made things worse. So with all of that, just stopped it all. Like many people, some good days and some bad. Anyway, thanks again, and good luck with your enrolment. Cant beat a military career. After all these years, I still miss it terribly. Al.

I have a friend going through this write now and all I can offer is that it took him a year to find the right combination that works the best for him.

 

[apride58]

I have a friend going through this write now and all I can offer is that it took him a year to find the right combination that works the best for him.

I do hope that your friend has found the combination that works for him. All of these probs and solutions are affected and affecting so many in such different ways. Sure is no "magic pill" for all of us. Man, wish I could invent it. lol.

 

[McG]

Recent suicide points to crisis in Canadian military, say veterans advocates
Heather Loney 
Global News
09 Januarny 2014

TORONTO –The recent death of a retired Canadian Forces member once again has veterans advocates pointing to a mental health crisis in Canada’s military.

Retired Cpl. Leona MacEachern, a 20-year veteran with the Canadian Armed Forces, died on Christmas Day in a head-on collision west of Calgary.

Initially, reports indicated MacEachern’s death was an accident, however the veteran’s husband said that MacEachern died by suicide, calling her death an “intentional final desperate act” of his 51-year-old wife.

In a written statement, Leona’s husband Tom MacEachern said his wife intentionally drove her car over the centre line, hitting a transport truck that was travelling southbound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

MacEachern said Leona was being treated for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was released from a treatment facility for Christmas.

The federal government stressed on Thursday that “great efforts” are being made to provide support for members of the Canadian military “going through difficult times.”

“Canadians can trust that the Armed Forces take the issue of member suicide very seriously,” said Rob Nicholson, minister of national defence, in a statement.

But for some veterans and advocacy groups, not enough is being done to address mental illness in the military.

MacEachern said the extent of his wife’s treatment for PTSD was “to see a psychologist for 45 minutes a week to ‘assist in reaching your goal of symptom management’.”

“We would like to say that Leona had slipped through the cracks in the system but, in fact, there does not seem to be ‘a system’,” the statement continued.

It’s a statement that one Canadian veteran agrees with. “There is no system,” said Steve Critchley, a 28-year veteran of the Canadian Forces.

“Between the Department of National Defence, Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces, they all go in their own separate directions, they are not working together, and the basic game plan appears to be how fast can they dump people off on provincial health care systems,” said Critchley.

In the past few months, six Canadian soldiers have died by suicide.

Veterans advocates say that these suicides only hint at the magnitude of the problem.

MacEachern said he believes his wife’s PTSD symptoms manifested after “protracted battles” with Veterans Affairs over medical benefits.

He said Leona also experienced difficulty readjusting to civilian life, having spent most of her adult life in the Armed Forces.

“She felt there was no hope as no-one seemed to be addressing the root causes of her condition,” he said.

In December, Jerry Kovacs of Canadian Veterans Advocacy told Global News the recent soldier suicides are “a wake-up call to the government.”

“We’re hoping it’s an aberration… That no more Canadian soldiers will take this route,” he said. “We’re just hoping that these tragic events serve as a wake-up call to the government to say, ‘Listen, we can’t talk about this anymore, we really have to take action to make sure no [more] Canadian soldiers injure themselves.’”

The Department of National Defence (DND) has defended its record of supporting veterans, saying it has set up support systems for military members and their families.

James Bezan, the parliamentary secretary to Nicholson, said the department has “compartmentalized” $50 million a year just for dealing with mental health.

NDP MP and Veterans’ Affairs critic Peter Stoffer, said the federal government needs to do more to assist veterans suffering from PTSD.

“You need to put more financial and human resources within DND and [the Department of Veterans' Affairs] in order to assist the members of the military, and the RCMP, and their families when it comes to post traumatic stress disorder and operational stress injuries,” said Stoffer.

Last month, officials including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chief of National Defence Staff, General Tom Lawson, expressed concern over the recent deaths, urging anyone struggling with mental health issues to get help.

“The loss of any soldier is painful and heartbreaking to our men, women and families,” said Lawson in a video posted to the Canadian Forces website.

“We have an expert health care system to support us, but in order for us to help each other it’s essential that all military personnel – like all Canadians – recognize mental health issues as they develop,” said Lawson.

“Although suicide is a national public health concern, for an organization like ours – built on leadership, built on camaraderie and built on strength – it hits us especially hard,” said Lawson.

Documents obtained by Global News show that for every suicide reported in the Canadian Forces in 2012, there was at least one attempted suicide reported.

But the actual number of suicide attempts could be far higher, since the military only files out a report when a current male member dies by suicide, attempts suicide or when it is suspected someone attempted to take their own life.

“It’s very difficult to capture attempts,” said said Col. Rakesh Jetly, a military psychiatrist. “They get captured if police and ambulance are involved, but there may be some people who quietly try to overdose from sleeping pills and alcohol, wake up the next morning and feel terrible about it. And we might not necessarily capture that.”

So, the actual number of attempted suicides is unknown, said Jetly.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1071914/recent-suicide-points-to-crisis-in-canadian-military-say-veterans-advocates/

I do not mean to minimize any of the suicides that have occured in the CAF, but I think the label "crisis" is over the top.

All the statistics that I have ever seen suggest the suicide rate in the military is lower than the general population.  Maybe that has changed or is changing, but there is no statistically significant evidence to show this.

What we have is a cognitive bias of vividess or availability.  The media is doing focused reporting of military suicides.  That makes people aware of more military suicides, and leads to the assumption that military vets are more inclined to suicide.
The availability bias is often linked with emotionally charged examples/observations.

Is there more that we can and should be doing to help service members and veterans at risk?  Yes.
But let's not over sensationalize the issue along the way.

 

[Armymedic]

I agree. And that media reporting it as a crisis does not help. But media likes labels.

Also, referring to the Cpl. MacEcheren suicide, there must be a defined separation between true PTSD and all the other types of mental illness in the media so that this issue can be defined better.

Not all mental illness is PTSD, but all PTSD is mental illness. The CAF is doing a good job identifying and treating PTSD, but it is the rest of the mental illnesses that is providing more of a challenge.

 

[McG]

I have had my own worries that the recent rash of suicides and subsequent attention may be de-stigmatizing the act.  We need to talk about the problem and address any systemic factors.  But, with the current media attention and politicization, my concern is that we are creating a situation where an individual (already at their bottom and considering suicide as a means to end problems) starts to see suicide as a final, powerful political statement.

Outcry over military suicides may actually have ‘brought a slight honour to the act,’ Canada’s defence chief says
Lee Berthiaume, National Post
14 February 2014

Canada’s defence chief says the public attention and outrage that has erupted over military suicides may be contributing to the problem by having “brought a slight honour to the act of suicide.”

The Canadian Forces has been rocked by nine suicides since November which some veterans advocates and opposition critics have held up as proof soldiers aren’t receiving the support and assistance they need.

In a discussion at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont., on Thursday night, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson described the suicides as “very troubling.”

But while Lawson said removing the stigma around mental health problems and injuries is essential, “actually stigmatizing the act of suicide is probably a very good thing in our society.”

“And our experts are very concerned about the fact that in a way, as Canadians and as leaders, we’ve put our arms around those who are suffering from mental health, [but] that we may have brought a slight honour to the act of suicide.

“So we’re very concerned about, as we rally around our troops, what we may be doing to this impression of suicide.”

The comment has prompted mixed reaction from mental health experts and those who work with Canadian military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental injuries.

Ian Colman, Canada research chair in mental health epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, said society needs to be careful when talking about suicide.

“There is compelling evidence that suicide contagion exists,” he said. “That is, one person’s suicide, or the reaction to that person’s suicide, may lead to an increased likelihood that somebody else will consider suicide themselves.”

That is why media outlets generally do not report suicides.

Colman said there are instances when discussing suicide is in the public interest as it is a leading cause of death, and is shocking to families and communities.

“It is important for us to talk about suicide because prevention is impossible if we don’t talk about it,” he said. “But we need to talk about suicide in a responsible way. I think every conversation about suicide should focus on the help that is available for people who are struggling with their mental health.”

Tim Laidler, executive director of the Veterans Transition Network, which helps Canadian Forces personnel transition into civilian life, said there is a legitimate need to discuss why military members are killing themselves and what more can be done to help.

There is also a need for more information about the issue, he said, as the government has no handle on how many veterans or reservists have committed suicide.

“But there has been a lot of politicization of the issue, and that’s when I think it starts to get a little bit dodgy,” Laidler said. “When people try to use the soldiers to have a political advantage, or to say the government isn’t doing enough, and trying to ramp up the anger.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/14/public-outcry-over-military-suicides-may-actually-have-brought-a-slight-honour-to-the-act-canadas-defence-chief-says/
And also found here: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Defence+chief+worries+public+reaction+military+suicides/9510313/story.html

 

[Journeyman]

That is why media outlets generally do not report suicides.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Defence+chief+worries+public+reaction+military+suicides/9510313/story.html

Ri-iiight -- unless it's military......then they have a fuking field day with it. 

 

[McG]

I’m posting this article a second time as it may be the first article that gets the message right and without politicizing it.  Certainly, it is an important counter-point to much of the media sensationalism that has recently fed this thread.

Canadian Forces: Holding the line on mental health
Lewis MacKenzie
The Globe and Mail
14 February 2014

The unfortunate cluster of suicides by Canadian Forces personnel, serving and retired, bracketing the recent Christmas break, understandably drew a good deal of media attention – almost all of it negative. Much of the discussion focused on the lack of military support for the victims, on inappropriate compulsory release procedures and on the stigma associated with mental illness.

When it is noted that the suicide rate in the Canadian Forces has been consistent over the past decade, and even a bit lower this past year, it sounds terribly clinical. We are talking about people, not numbers, and one suicide is one too many. However, with a bit of context, numbers can be telling.

While an objective of zero suicides is admirable, it ignores that suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the Canadian male population between the ages of 15 and 34, and that the suicide rate for Canadian males is highest between the ages of 40 and 59, according to Statistics Canada. Those two categories comprehensively cover the age distribution of the Canadian Forces personnel.

Now, consider that the suicide rate in the U.S. military has doubled over the same 10-year period. Considering the dramatic increase in the pace of operations for Canadian Forces personnel over the past 10 years, surely it follows that suicides should have risen dramatically. But they didn’t. Could that be suggesting that the Forces’ mental-health strategy and treatments are actually working? Probably.

With regard to stigma, it’s interesting to note the difference in attitude between the military and civilian communities. Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found that just 49 per cent of the general population would socialize with a friend who had a serious mental illness. By contrast, just 6 per cent of military personnel returning from Afghanistan indicated that they would think less of someone receiving mental health care, according to the Armed Forces. Our soldiers may have something to teach us about tolerance and understanding.

Much has been made about compulsory release procedures, suggesting that injured personnel are dumped on the street by an uncaring military that insists on retaining only fit individuals capable of deploying on short notice. The reality is that there are currently more than 2,000 non-deployable personnel posted to the CAF’s Joint Personnel Support Unit. While there, they undergo evaluation and treatment according to their illness or disability. Most will have four years of preparation to transition to civilian life or to return to operational duty. Since 2009, about 1,300 personnel have done just that under the Return to Work program.

Unfortunately, there is a knee-jerk reaction when the words “Afghanistan” and “suicide” appear in the same sentence. The assumption is often that war-zone service has caused post-traumatic stress disorder and driven an individual to kill himself or herself. But the triggers are numerous, and war-zone exposure is not at the top of the list. Divorce, loss of a loved one and loss of a job are more likely factors.

According to the experts, the greatest hurdle to preventing suicide is getting the individual to recognize that they have a mental-health problem. Investigations have determined that that the vast majority of soldiers committing suicide were not receiving care. The mental illness went unidentified by fellow soldiers, leadership and medical professionals and the opportunity for treatment was missed. These results mirror similar findings in the civilian world

There are 26 specialty medical health clinics and seven operational stress support centres across the country. Are they short of staff? Yes. Is shortage of funds the problem? No. There is much competition for mental-health experts (Canada is third in the world for the consumption of anti-depression drugs) and by its nature the military is parked in some pretty isolated areas. That unattractive geography combined with the unreasonable time taken to work a hiring through the red tape within Public Works puts the military at a distinct disadvantage in the competition.

Unfortunately, no program dedicated to eliminating suicide will attain perfection. More must be done, but the fact that our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and both the Canadian and American Psychiatric Associations have complimented our military’s mental-health program should be reassuring, in contrast to the innuendo so prevalent in some media.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/canadian-forces-holding-the-line-on-mental-health/article16892831/