How do we provide hope to those who are struggling? We must REACH, because when we REACH, we can prevent suicide.

2020-07-28T14:29:48-04:00

In order to prevent suicide among Veterans, and all Americans, we must all take action. Visit wearewithinreach.net to learn more about how to support those you love.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2020 3:56 PM

2020-07-28T15:56:30-04:00

It works, one call and it saved my life, 26 years ago.

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Jul 28 at 2020 6:26 PM

2020-07-28T18:26:23-04:00

Thank you!

Response by SGT Joseph Dutton made Jul 30 at 2020 11:48 PM

2020-07-30T23:48:51-04:00

No one can prevent the big "S" but only the person that is in pain whether Physical or Mental. Just like addiction the person has to reach out for the help because he / she doesnt know how to get it. Even though it is all around us like 1-800-hel-pme! but seems they forget it during their problematic issue/s. The worst thing is to intervene when not invited to do so. The big "S" is the most silent killer. If one intervenes then it can worsen the situation that he / she is experiencing. People whom is thinking about doing the big "S" will not reach out to strangers or people he / she knows because they feel that they may be ridiculed and have a black mark on their record if the big "S" is faltered. I know because a neighbor of mine whom was a VET did it. I did everything I could when I seen a negative VIBE from him. The day I seen and talk to him he was happy to go lucky and a few hours later he was gone. It is what it is, sad but it is reality.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jul 31 at 2020 2:16 PM

2020-07-31T14:16:29-04:00

Thanks for sharing.

Response by MSgt Allen Chandler made Aug 1 at 2020 7:49 PM

2020-08-01T19:49:19-04:00

I wrote and posted this a couple years ago it is about PTSD, but I thought it applied to suicide prevention also.

In 1992 I got some very strange numbers in one of my blood tests during a regular checkup. Over the next several months of tests, questions, and doctor’s visits, it was decided to do a biopsy on my liver. The result was that I had a “fatty liver.”
So, what is a fatty live Closer? Well it turns out that in 1992 that was medical talk for “we don't know.” Your liver is not normal, but we see lots of livers like yours all the time it doesn't seem to hurt the patient, and we can't fix it anyway. So, we're going to do what's called “watchful wait.” That is, we're going to test you every 6 months, hope nothing gets worse, and try make you feel like there's nothing to worry about.
So that's where it stood. I was technically sick, but I felt fine. There was no treatment, prognosis, or anything else. All I could do was get blood tests and have them tell me that it was all the same and not to worry. Well one thing did change The Red Cross decided they didn't want my blood anymore because they didn't know what a fatty liver was either.
After about 10 years two things changed. My fatty liver was now called NASH (nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver), and because the Red Cross knew what NASH was, they wanted my blood again. My blood test numbers were still high, and I was still technically sick, but I had a new name for it, and they were even less worried than they were before, and the prognosis was I would be just fine for the rest of my life.
Sometime around 2009 I started to have some real problems. I’d get tired, I’d get confused, I was gaining weight, and I just didn't feel well. No one seemed to think it was a big deal and I went on with my life. In late 2011 my gastroenterologist verified that my liver was going bad and that I was getting very sick. The liver couldn't process the fluid in my body fast enough and my abdominal cavity was filling up with fluid. I started a process where they drained as much as 11 liters (3 gallons) of fluid from my abdomen at a time every month or two, and over the next couple years it got to where I was going in as often as once a week.
I would become incoherent (basically demented), because my liver wasn’t cleaning the toxins in my system and my brain was filling with Ammonia. I would go into the hospital for 3 or 4 days to be treat this, get better, go home, and repeat, repeatedly. By the time I got my liver transplant in 2016 I was in the hospital more days than not. On January 28th, 2016 I got a new liver. I lost 50 pounds of fluid in less than a month and my brain was working fine again.
Gaining confidence to walk, talk, and function by myself took a couple of months but my recovery was spectacular. Less than 6 months after the operation I felt like my old self. I no longer needed a caregiver. I could make decisions and take care of myself for the first time in a long time.
If I had a broken arm or leg, everybody could have seen that I was hurt and understood, but a liver is invisible and no one, including myself, really understood what was happening to me until I was way down the road. Remember, this started in 1992, became serious in 2009 and was diagnosed in 2011(and basically 20 years).
I also suffer from PTSD, and that's what this story is really all about. You can't see it. You don't understand. It doesn't make sense to you or anybody else. It's invisible. My first real bout with PTSD was in 1968, just after I came back from Vietnam and heard firecrackers going off on the streets of San Francisco. it wasn't that big of a deal and I got over it fast all on my own. I went back to Vietnam in 1970. I was medevac’d after a plane crash in April of 1970. My first solution was to block out everything. I just choose not to remember! That sort of worked, sort of, sometimes, sort of. I had good friends and a good family. They protected me from myself and the world. It took a lot of years before I was willing to ask for help and start the long walk home. Today in 2019 I'm not home yet but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I've ever been before. Most of my days are good, and most of my nights are peaceful. Most of my relationships are functional, pleasant, and cordial.
PTSD is just like that liver problem I had. You can't see it. Sometimes even the best doctors can't see it and tell you what to do about it. But if you’re willing to let people help you there is a way to find your way back to a healthy life.
This is PTSD month. If you have PTSD. If you think you might have PTSD. If somebody that you love has told you have PTSD. If somebody that you don't like tells you have PTSD. It's time for you to start the long walk home by going to the VA or whoever and getting help.
In the last 50 years the medical profession has learned a lot, and in particular a lot about PTSD and how to help you start the long walk home.
The first step in that long walk is asking someone to show you the way. Talk to a doctor or professional counselor.
It is a long walk home but look what you've already accomplished in your life. You know you can make it, and there are so many people out there that want to help you get there.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 3 at 2020 2:45 PM

2020-08-03T14:45:43-04:00

The fact of the matter is, we need to find that switch to turn off reasons to die with reasons to live.

Response by SSG Dennis R. made Aug 3 at 2020 4:41 PM

2020-08-03T16:41:54-04:00

I talked with a whole lot of suicidal folks over the years. The majority were anxiety-ridden young GIs, who'd somehow come to the attention of their chain-of-command, more frustrated with Army life than truly suicidal. That's not to say we took them any less seriously. Some of these young soldiers - and their family members - attempted to do the deed, and were hospitalized, first to medicine, then to psychiatry.
I kinda believe that most of us have been in a place at one time or another where the thought passed thru, but that's all it was. At the other end of the spectrum, I've sat with more than one, listening to a tale so unbelievably sad - and after third or fourth consideration of a viable alternative - sorta wanted to hand them my own weapon. Heh, heh. That's when I knew to get the doc.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 3 at 2020 5:12 PM

2020-08-03T17:12:27-04:00

I have written a PTSD/Depression paper to read. It has helped many people. It is called Love Squared. None of my therapists could connect with me so I healed myself and wrote about my journey to healing. https://www.wellnesswishes.org/veterans?fbclid=IwAR3htJ-x5jKSUyHVd_R26TdjvNJ4mBXOy07dedF7MBfNsvNEYnToEFWiRbs

Veterans | Wellness Wishes I Ohio 501c3

No veteran in America should ever be homeless or hungry – EVER. Wellness Wishes will be the mechanism to convey the gratitude or our country by funding veteran assistance programs, and making a difference in their lives, as they have made in ours.

Response by A1C Riley Sanders made Aug 28 at 2020 8:48 PM

2020-08-28T20:48:25-04:00

God, family, friends, help from the VA /

Response by PFC Martin Potashner made Aug 29 at 2020 1:25 PM

2020-08-29T13:25:56-04:00

THE WORST THING FOR ME I DID NOT KNOW I HAD PTSD WHEN I GOT BACK TO FIANCE AFTER 18 MONTHS WERE SEPERATED IT LASTED 1 WEEK I JUST WALKED OUT

Response by A1C Alexa Cosson made Sep 9 at 2020 12:21 PM

2020-09-09T12:21:14-04:00

A very dear co-worker put out her own light, and left many other lights dimmed. She reached out to no one. By all appearances, she was happy and upbeat. We don't know what others are going through. Like a duck, they may seem calm on the surface, but struggling like hell below. Be aware, be there. And if you need help, for the sake of all who love you, reach out!! There are those who will help!!