Posted on Feb 10, 2017
Veteran Teaches Therapists How To Talk About Gun Safety When Suicide's A Risk
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RP Members & Connections - Suicide Awareness and Reducing Suicides among our veterans and service members is a very important topic to me and my wife. As you know my wife's father committed suicide on December 8, 2015 (He was Vietnam Veteran with PTSD and he owned guns). The VA threatened to take them away. We found out 3 months later after finding a letter that he planned his eventual end. I think this article is important to share with all.
Jay Zimmerman got his first BB gun when he was 7, and his first shotgun when he was 10.
"Growing up in Appalachia, you look forward to getting your first firearm," he said, "probably more so than your first car."
His grandfather taught him to hunt squirrels and quail. Zimmerman, who lives in Elizabethton, Tenn., said pretty much everyone he knows has a gun. It's just part of the culture.
"When I went into the military, that culture was reinforced," he said. "Your weapon is almost another appendage. It's part of who you are."
Zimmerman served as a medic in the Army in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He served in Bosnia, Africa, and the Middle East. Since he came home, he's struggled with PTSD and depression. It reached a crisis point a few years ago, when his best friend — the guy who had saved his life in a combat zone — killed himself. Zimmerman decided his time was up, too.
"I decided that I would have one more birthday with my daughter, one more Christmas with my daughter," he said. "I had devised my own exit strategy for 16 February, 2013." (Check out the rest of the article above)
Jay Zimmerman got his first BB gun when he was 7, and his first shotgun when he was 10.
"Growing up in Appalachia, you look forward to getting your first firearm," he said, "probably more so than your first car."
His grandfather taught him to hunt squirrels and quail. Zimmerman, who lives in Elizabethton, Tenn., said pretty much everyone he knows has a gun. It's just part of the culture.
"When I went into the military, that culture was reinforced," he said. "Your weapon is almost another appendage. It's part of who you are."
Zimmerman served as a medic in the Army in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He served in Bosnia, Africa, and the Middle East. Since he came home, he's struggled with PTSD and depression. It reached a crisis point a few years ago, when his best friend — the guy who had saved his life in a combat zone — killed himself. Zimmerman decided his time was up, too.
"I decided that I would have one more birthday with my daughter, one more Christmas with my daughter," he said. "I had devised my own exit strategy for 16 February, 2013." (Check out the rest of the article above)
Veteran Teaches Therapists How To Talk About Gun Safety When Suicide's A Risk
Posted from npr.org
Suicide
Victory for Veterans (VFV)
PTSD
Collecting Guns
What Would You Do
Edited 7 y ago
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 22
Suspended Profile
One thing I see a lot in my work with vets is that far too many feel very unsafe because of their PTSD, so they have guns. Yet, they do not tell their mental health teams about what's really going on with them because they are afraid they will have their guns taken away. So in the end, this increases their risk.
I oppose legislation that would take guns from people put into 72 hour holds for this very reason. The reality is that even if all guns were to magically disappear, suicide and murder rates would still be too high, because there are other ways to kill...
The only way to prevent the 22 a day is very strong mental health programs that are accessible to our active duty troops without stigma, so that it does not become a crisis when they get out/retire...
I oppose legislation that would take guns from people put into 72 hour holds for this very reason. The reality is that even if all guns were to magically disappear, suicide and murder rates would still be too high, because there are other ways to kill...
The only way to prevent the 22 a day is very strong mental health programs that are accessible to our active duty troops without stigma, so that it does not become a crisis when they get out/retire...
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From my own experiences, dealing with mental health "professionals" (yes, the quotation marks ARE sarcastic), since being diagnosed with PTSD/MST, I never tell them I own firearms anymore! One time getting the raised eyebrows was enough for me. A lot of the people I have dealt with have never even laced up a pair of combat boots, much less walked a mile in them- but they think they can tell me how I am supposed to think, act, or feel. Yes I am a vet, yes I do own firearms, yes I am a damn good shot, no I am not suicidal or homicidal. But I do call BS when I hear it. LISTEN to me, don't lecture me- js
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GySgt David Weihausen
GySgt Melissa Gravila- Exactly the situation my best friend (another Jarhead) has had to experience. His doctor wanted to completely restart/test his treatment medications because he didn't believe in certain prescriptions. He wanted my friend to start over from the beginning "to see what works and doesn't work!" Each time he receives a new doctor they want to reinvent the wheel and when he defends himself, he's either labeled with the "anger issues" tag or the "addict" tag. Neither of which are true or relevant. And when these idiots won't listen as he tries to explain that he's been through that exact circus several times, he denoted as having combative or threatening behavior. Then HE is the one forced to go before a board to see if he can still receive treatment. Total BS. Semper Fidelis.
P.s.- He started off as an A/C Mech but got out as a cook so maybe there is something to that anger stuff.... LOL J/k
P.s.- He started off as an A/C Mech but got out as a cook so maybe there is something to that anger stuff.... LOL J/k
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GySgt Melissa Gravila
GySgt David Weihausen - well, us cooks are very proud to say the least, it's my name on the line! LOL Like I said before, just listen to me, don't lecture, don't preach don't judge- you have no idea what I have been through. You think you've been around the block before? Honey, I BUILT THAT BLOCK, YOU PAY RENT TO ME- show me the respect I demand and deserve- I've earned it.
Sorry, just venting here-
S/F
Sorry, just venting here-
S/F
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Guns are not the problem, they just make suicide easier. One of my soldiers killed himself with his service firearm and I place absolutely no fault on the firearm for being there and available to do it. If a veteran has fallen far enough into that pit of depression, having a gun or not will not be a deciding factor. A $10 belt from Wal-Mart or $30 worth of sleeping pills can kill just as easily at a $500 gun.
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SPC Casey Ashfield
I know where you are coming from Colonel. Because I have heard many others say the same. Some officials in the VA think that taking away firearms will stop Veteran suicide. It is a feel good measure and nothing more. On the other side there are many veterans who refuse treatment in order to retain their 2A freedoms that the VA may take away. Those are the people at the highest risk.
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Jenn Moynihan
SPC Casey Ashfield - ah! Well stated and good info. Those are the ones that I just mentioned in GySgt Melissa Gravila response.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs - good info as well. Sorry to hear about your father-in-law. My dad had a friend in the late 70's who was upper echelon & a Vietnam Vet who fell to the darkness of suicide as well.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs - good info as well. Sorry to hear about your father-in-law. My dad had a friend in the late 70's who was upper echelon & a Vietnam Vet who fell to the darkness of suicide as well.
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SMSgt Roger Horton
I agree that guns are not the problem. Suicide is carried out is many different ways. Shortly after returning from Vietnam (stationed at Camp Pendleton) a close friend was station at an adjacent camp. He sat down against a tree with a satchel charge on his chest and pulled the pin. Never found out why. That was late 1965 before PTSD was discovered.
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SPC Casey Ashfield
SMSgt Roger Horton - A satchel charge. What a terrible way to go out. PTSD has other names depending on war. In WWI it was common to be shell shock. WWII it was labeled as battle fatigue. Not so sure what the common name was for Vietnam-Korea. I have always been on the page of who cares what its called, focus on fixing it instead of the name.
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The State of New Mexico is considering SB 48 and 50, to further restrict gun ownership by all classes of residents. They use facts obtained from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles... to restrict of hinder citizens to possess, obtain or purchase a used or new firearm.
Over the past 38 years... military and civilian as a peace officer... One homicide was committed by a felon with a shovel...another by a knife wielding convict... another beat to death and tossed into a basement of an abandoned building...another cut in pieces stuffed in black plastic trash bags who was a convicted fleeing out of State child molester shot in the head first... another was found handcuffed to a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere... 4 more died at the hands of a idiot fleeing Border Patrol and rolled the stolen H2 hummer...and most of the murders/homicides I have presided over or investigated were... Drunk Drivers.
Our elected politicians, in New Mexico, all under the party of the DNC, are continuing the attack upon all citizens... including me, a now physically disabled honorably discharged vet, 38 year honorable peace officer... who was even a Chief of Police, because I am drawing a Social Security Disability check.
I've known Doctors... suffering from Terminal Cancer... who committed suicide via shotgun. I've known a vet, suffering disabling severe back pain...committed suicide via handgun... I've known an 89 year old home bound woman who committed suicide via .357... and the far left anti gun liberals use this same data in gun violence reports.
The daughter of Sherman Williams paint conglomerate... was executed by her lover/husband/father of their child... Another shot his wife point blank with a .41 mag.... because he thought she was the devil and when shot, he told me he saw her teeth expand out like a dragon...then took his 18 month old daughter into the desert... in July... and left her in a ditch to die... and we found her the next afternoon...alive. Charlie Taylor is still in prison now that he has been cured of his...illicit drug induced mental illness. But...he might be able to parole out pretty quick... meaning he will be able to kill again... Charlie just needed better institutionalized drugs to cure his...mental illness.
Politicians....who have never served a day as a peace officer....or in the military...are dictating to me... that regulating weapons will reduce gun crimes.
Bullshit.
What they are trying to regulate includes the ability of choice of end of life... among the many aspects of gun ownership...self preservation... defending yourself... increasing the black market and costs for the poor to obtain the ability of self defense. Attacking the second amendment by using suicide rates in charts as that being somewhat of an issue that includes some of the examples I've personally witnessed or have first hand knowledge of... is a fools game of communist-socialist overreach in our democracy.
I truly understand what even a simple threat of denying gun ownership to a veteran is... it creates a thought process that can spin out of control if not addressed by that specific person. It actually can enhance the thought of suicidal tendencies. Just the threat of denying ownership...
You take my firearms away from me... you better be well prepared before you send some idiot to my doorstep. I'll be damned if I will disarm myself or my family...that can permit the Charlie Taylor's that I've put in prison...who know where I reside... the ability to take revenge.
The anti-death penalty idiots think that keeping a person in a 8 x 10 concrete cell for 20-40 years is not cruel punishment...are the same ones who want to release the mental midgets I've put in prison because they have been cured of the drug additions and the mental illness that put them there in the first place.
Lastly... Gunny...I hate to say this...but do not send anyone to my home to talk about gun restrictive issues and stress of working the thin blue line as long as I have. I've had the training... I deal with my issues every day. I do not desire outside mental health care, nor do I want strangers at my home unless invited. I live in the county...I know all my neighbors and we all own guns. I do not discharge my firearms during practice near their homes, nor do they shoot at mine. My range is three miles long, back dropped by 7,200 foot mountains and not a soul between that and me.
When...or if... it gets to that point...rest assured... those seeking to disarm otherwise honest law abiding citizens... will be DNC party members. None are welcome at my home.