Posted on Dec 19, 2015
What are the reasons that Service Members with PTSD, TBI, or Severely Disabled will not try new services to get help?
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What are the reasons that Service Members with PTSD, TBI, or Severely Disabled will not try new services to get help?
I have a number of questions within this post that I would like to get everyone's input on from a professional standpoint. I also have some very important information for veterans and service members that need help and want to keep it anonymous!
As you know I lost a Father-in-Law (Vietnam Veteran diagnoised with PTSD) to Suicide on Tuesday, 8 December 2015 and he was buried on 16 December 2015 in Killeen, TX with full military honors! It is importand to me and the RallyPoint Members that are working with me and Virtual World Solutions to help stop this waive of suicides due to PTSD, TBI, and many other factors affecting our service members (including MST).
Please check the survey box - need the input please!
RP Memebers there are so many new services out there today for individuals that are suffering from PTSD, TBI, and that are Severely Disabled - how do we get them to feel comfortable about any one service or methodology?
Here is a nice evening program every Sunday called: "Warrior for Life" (WFL) Group Suport. This is now a part of Victory for Veterans Foundation. We stay connected (7) days a week on SKYPE with our group members. We welcome Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, Military Family Members, and Civilians that are suffering from PTSD, TBI, MST, and other disabilities to join us on Sunday evenings.
Please connect with me first on SKYPE at: mikel.burroughs
Have a short BIO about yourself ready to go and then I'll add you to the group with a Welcoming Message. You can get to know others via text first and then join us on Sunday evenings. If you want to join the Video Conference just to observe, you can turn off video and audio and just observe until you feel comfortable with the group. All of our members are members of RallyPoint and we've been meeting now going on two (2) years now.
We have members from all over the world and United States, so come join us for this one hour of group support each week.
Here is how you can join this Sunday to just listen in if you want to or any Sunday in the future:
Warrior for Life Group Support Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST (7:00 PM CST) 6:00 PM MST & 5:00 PM PST!
COL (R) Mikel Burroughs is inviting you to a RingCentral meeting.
Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/ [login to see]
Or iPhone one-tap:
+ [login to see] ,, [login to see] #
Or Telephone:
Dial: + [login to see]
Meeting ID: [login to see]
International numbers available: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/teleconference
SGT Michael Thorin has provided some directions for loading Ring Central.
https://youtu.be/M8D_8iSNQ7k
I have a number of questions within this post that I would like to get everyone's input on from a professional standpoint. I also have some very important information for veterans and service members that need help and want to keep it anonymous!
As you know I lost a Father-in-Law (Vietnam Veteran diagnoised with PTSD) to Suicide on Tuesday, 8 December 2015 and he was buried on 16 December 2015 in Killeen, TX with full military honors! It is importand to me and the RallyPoint Members that are working with me and Virtual World Solutions to help stop this waive of suicides due to PTSD, TBI, and many other factors affecting our service members (including MST).
Please check the survey box - need the input please!
RP Memebers there are so many new services out there today for individuals that are suffering from PTSD, TBI, and that are Severely Disabled - how do we get them to feel comfortable about any one service or methodology?
Here is a nice evening program every Sunday called: "Warrior for Life" (WFL) Group Suport. This is now a part of Victory for Veterans Foundation. We stay connected (7) days a week on SKYPE with our group members. We welcome Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, Military Family Members, and Civilians that are suffering from PTSD, TBI, MST, and other disabilities to join us on Sunday evenings.
Please connect with me first on SKYPE at: mikel.burroughs
Have a short BIO about yourself ready to go and then I'll add you to the group with a Welcoming Message. You can get to know others via text first and then join us on Sunday evenings. If you want to join the Video Conference just to observe, you can turn off video and audio and just observe until you feel comfortable with the group. All of our members are members of RallyPoint and we've been meeting now going on two (2) years now.
We have members from all over the world and United States, so come join us for this one hour of group support each week.
Here is how you can join this Sunday to just listen in if you want to or any Sunday in the future:
Warrior for Life Group Support Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST (7:00 PM CST) 6:00 PM MST & 5:00 PM PST!
COL (R) Mikel Burroughs is inviting you to a RingCentral meeting.
Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/ [login to see]
Or iPhone one-tap:
+ [login to see] ,, [login to see] #
Or Telephone:
Dial: + [login to see]
Meeting ID: [login to see]
International numbers available: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/teleconference
SGT Michael Thorin has provided some directions for loading Ring Central.
https://youtu.be/M8D_8iSNQ7k
PTSD
TBI
Victory for Veterans (VFV)
Support
Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
Edited >1 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 98
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There's a number of factors. One of those is not on this list and that would be the stigma attached to asking for help. We're all certified "toughguys(gals)". Some of us were even raised with the impression that asking for help is a weakness. "Toughen up" "Boys don't cry" "Be a Man" We've all heard some variation of these at some point in our life. It may have been directed at us, or at someone we know. So when it comes time for us to address our own problems, we internalize everything to keep ourselves from showing an outward sign of weakness.
Another factor which was on this list. I voted for Trust. Look at the news and everything that's going on with the VA. Veterans killing themselves out in the parking lot. Veterans going in for routine checkups and leaving with debilitating disease exposure. How do we trust our lives to that? VA reform is desperately needed. My knees hurt. Sometimes it's enough to keep me up at night. My mom keeps urging me to go to the VA for treatment. But how can I do that when this is what I see in the news... https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/12/03/VA-dentist-resigns-after-possibly-infecting-600-veterans-with-HIV-and-hepatitis/ [login to see] 71/
As Veterans, how do we trust the people who are supposed to help take care of us when they are doing more harm than good.
Another factor which was on this list. I voted for Trust. Look at the news and everything that's going on with the VA. Veterans killing themselves out in the parking lot. Veterans going in for routine checkups and leaving with debilitating disease exposure. How do we trust our lives to that? VA reform is desperately needed. My knees hurt. Sometimes it's enough to keep me up at night. My mom keeps urging me to go to the VA for treatment. But how can I do that when this is what I see in the news... https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/12/03/VA-dentist-resigns-after-possibly-infecting-600-veterans-with-HIV-and-hepatitis/ [login to see] 71/
As Veterans, how do we trust the people who are supposed to help take care of us when they are doing more harm than good.
VA dentist resigns after possibly infecting 600 veterans with HIV and hepatitis
An unidentified Veterans Affairs dentist in Wisconsin has resigned after potentially exposing hundreds of patients to HIV, hepatitis B and C.
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The below article goes along with Col Burrough's original question on PTSD.
Report: DoD Not Providing Adequate Care to Troops at Risk of Suicide
Stars and Stripes | 7 Aug 2017 | by Nikki Wentling
WASHINGTON -- Defense Department health care providers do a good job of screening for suicide risk, but they fail to provide critical and effective follow-up treatment to servicemembers identified as suicidal, according to a Rand Corp. report released Monday.
Rand researchers found appropriate follow-up care was given to only 30 percent of servicemembers with depression and 54 percent of servicemembers with post-traumatic stress disorder who were at risk of suicide. The rest did not receive follow-up care or got medication and psychotherapy that has not been proven to help.
The report is based on observations of nearly 39,000 servicemembers with diagnosed PTSD or depression over a one-year period. It's one of the largest evaluations of military mental health care, said Kimberly Hepner, a behavioral scientist and the lead researcher.
"The military health system did quite well in screening for suicide risk," Hepner said. "Where we found they could do better was how the providers responded to servicemembers with suicide risk identified."
The Pentagon asked Rand for an independent report on the care it provides to servicemembers with PTSD and depression.
It's difficult to know how many active-duty servicemembers suffer from PTSD or depression, Hepner said. The report cites between 4 and 20 percent of the more than 2.6 million people who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed millions of veterans' records and reported last year an average of 20 veterans died from suicide each day in 2014. While veterans made up about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population in 2014, they accounted for 18 percent of suicides.
Capt. Mike Colston, a psychiatrist and director of Mental Health Programs for the Office of Health Affairs, said the Military Health System has grown exponentially since 9/11, in numbers of providers and patients. Pentagon officials first asked for the review in 2012, he said.
"You don't want to engage an intervention without measuring it," Colston said. "They thought, 'Let's get a real nuts-and-bolts measurement of how we're doing.'"
Report: DoD Not Providing Adequate Care to Troops at Risk of Suicide
Stars and Stripes | 7 Aug 2017 | by Nikki Wentling
WASHINGTON -- Defense Department health care providers do a good job of screening for suicide risk, but they fail to provide critical and effective follow-up treatment to servicemembers identified as suicidal, according to a Rand Corp. report released Monday.
Rand researchers found appropriate follow-up care was given to only 30 percent of servicemembers with depression and 54 percent of servicemembers with post-traumatic stress disorder who were at risk of suicide. The rest did not receive follow-up care or got medication and psychotherapy that has not been proven to help.
The report is based on observations of nearly 39,000 servicemembers with diagnosed PTSD or depression over a one-year period. It's one of the largest evaluations of military mental health care, said Kimberly Hepner, a behavioral scientist and the lead researcher.
"The military health system did quite well in screening for suicide risk," Hepner said. "Where we found they could do better was how the providers responded to servicemembers with suicide risk identified."
The Pentagon asked Rand for an independent report on the care it provides to servicemembers with PTSD and depression.
It's difficult to know how many active-duty servicemembers suffer from PTSD or depression, Hepner said. The report cites between 4 and 20 percent of the more than 2.6 million people who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed millions of veterans' records and reported last year an average of 20 veterans died from suicide each day in 2014. While veterans made up about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population in 2014, they accounted for 18 percent of suicides.
Capt. Mike Colston, a psychiatrist and director of Mental Health Programs for the Office of Health Affairs, said the Military Health System has grown exponentially since 9/11, in numbers of providers and patients. Pentagon officials first asked for the review in 2012, he said.
"You don't want to engage an intervention without measuring it," Colston said. "They thought, 'Let's get a real nuts-and-bolts measurement of how we're doing.'"
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I have not dealt with this or run into anybody that has. Of course that is to my knowledge, which is why I chose confidentiality. I think the biggest reason is because the view that is on specific diagnosis. Most veterans that suffer with these still want to contribute to society and with the negative image that has been painted about PTSD prohibits them from doing a lot of things they are able to do. Legally employers are not allowed to pass on an aplicant based on medical but that doesn't mean it isn't a major part of their decision. I believe it would be scary for someone who faces this to feel like they are going to be labeled a certain way once they are diagnosed with something like this.
But all in all I believe this is a mix of all the above because this is a very complicated issue. I think education for both the veteran and the rest of society about what these conditions actually are is a very important step in creating a better situation for those involved.
But all in all I believe this is a mix of all the above because this is a very complicated issue. I think education for both the veteran and the rest of society about what these conditions actually are is a very important step in creating a better situation for those involved.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs, In my experience, consulting with veterans suffering from any of the conditions mentioned above, it's a combination of trust and more information. In order to seek the information, they need to trust the source.
If you watched the debate, you will better understand the environment in which every veteran becomes gun shy. In the last 8 yrs. we have gone from approx 500 VSO's to over 45,000 today. Even the most popular and most advertised VSO, Wounded Warriors, was called out for their irresponsible fiscal policies, spending 40% of donations on lavish parties for staff & executives.
How do they know who to trust? They are approached weekly by unscrupulous, under fund VSO's promising help only to be disappointed. At a point, it's easier not to trust anyone.
Unfortunately Mikel, that makes our job much more difficult. I truly believe that a cannibalization is going to occur in the VSO marketplace and those left standing will be people and organizations that truly offer value to our veterans and not smoke & mirrors. Phase 2 Advantage & VetforLife are 2 organizations that will remain standing as both organizations are driven by a passion for helping veterans, whatever it takes.
If you watched the debate, you will better understand the environment in which every veteran becomes gun shy. In the last 8 yrs. we have gone from approx 500 VSO's to over 45,000 today. Even the most popular and most advertised VSO, Wounded Warriors, was called out for their irresponsible fiscal policies, spending 40% of donations on lavish parties for staff & executives.
How do they know who to trust? They are approached weekly by unscrupulous, under fund VSO's promising help only to be disappointed. At a point, it's easier not to trust anyone.
Unfortunately Mikel, that makes our job much more difficult. I truly believe that a cannibalization is going to occur in the VSO marketplace and those left standing will be people and organizations that truly offer value to our veterans and not smoke & mirrors. Phase 2 Advantage & VetforLife are 2 organizations that will remain standing as both organizations are driven by a passion for helping veterans, whatever it takes.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs, I think that our veterans get caught up in the traditional processing of PTSD, TBI, etc., provided by physicians both in and out of the military. The medical community doesn't always offer options nor do they encourage alternative treatment.
As a daily, civilian survivor, of PTSD I was offered the same medical options of psychotics and opiates that are the traditional treatments for PTSD. Don't settle, EVER. It's up to you it's your choice of treatments. I went out and found others who had been through it to help me understand. Today, I do the same for others.
As a daily, civilian survivor, of PTSD I was offered the same medical options of psychotics and opiates that are the traditional treatments for PTSD. Don't settle, EVER. It's up to you it's your choice of treatments. I went out and found others who had been through it to help me understand. Today, I do the same for others.
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I have a TBI. Also suffered a fractured neck, back, skull, knees and both heal bones. Now, you would think the VA would look at the xrays and put 2 & 2 together. But for 20 years they insisted my pain and injuries were psychosomatic. And by doing so, they denied me treatment that could have helped me. Worse, is they enforced a negative stereotype that is already widely held by many civilians and in acadamia; "that all veterans are mental derelicts"... Worse than that, they have willfully reported that I had depression to federal authorities for the specific reason of restraining me from weapons. As they have done with most veterans. So, now there are "new programs" run by the same people, looking to hold on to their jobs after their inadequate care has been exposed? Interesting... let me know how it goes. i am still waiting for them to recognise depression, sleeplessness, and headaches are signs of TBI and not PTSD. - btw, I am a non-combat veteran.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
SFC Mitch Snow Get connected with me and we can get you into Warriors for Life (WFL) - sent you a connection request
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It's trust; the fear that they are not able to trust someone or that person they are reaching out to will either break or warp their trust. There is also a lack of trust if the individual they are working with has not served or had a loved one serve as well as the perception leans toward the individual not fully understanding.
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