Veteran Suicide Update
As with all of our clients, we want to treat Veterans with respect and dignity.
Veteran suicide and PTSD studies are hot topics in the medical community.
According to the Huffington Post and a study conducted in 2014, about 20 veterans commit suicide each day, which is slightly lower to the previous estimate of 22 a day.
The most recent study, conducted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, increased its scope from the previous, and oft-quoted “22 per day,” to include all 50 states and 55 million records. Previously, the 2012 study only reviewed the records of 3 million veterans across 20 different states.
Veteran Suicide Statistics
- Veterans are at 21% greater risk of suicide versus those who have not served.
- Previously, the suicide rate was highest amount younger veterans, but the most recent study found that those who are 50 and older comprise 65% of suicides.
- Alarmingly, there has been a 98% increase of suicide rate among female veterans who do not use VA services. Female veterans are also over 2 times as likely to commit suicide as their civilian counterparts.
- According to the LA Times, the rate for Veteran suicide is nearly 50% higher than the suicide rate amongst civilians with similar demographic characteristics.
As we’ve said before, part of our job at PTI is to educate each other and the greater community of Louisiana about mental health and its stigmas. Historically, “troubled Veterans,” have been approached with poor rationale such as “war is hell.” However, that just writes it off and helps to justify sweeping things under the rug.
There are things that we can to do help, and among the most important, are just telling Veterans that we care, we value them, and that we believe they are important as people, not just for the work that they did in serving our armed forces, but for who they are as part of our community. As a whole, the medical community is improving and growing in its capacity to care for Veterans with PTSD and that’s something we want to celebrate.
It’s easy to get caught up in the negativity and to dwell on how much more work needs to be done. We do want to celebrate the success that has been found in the VA’s efforts, and in the efforts of the medical community in general, to increase its capacity to care for PTSD patients and our military Veterans. As a company that has a proud legacy of serving Veterans, we want you to know that we have your back and we’re here to serve. Our goal is to put you first, treat you with dignity and respect, and, as much as possible, to put you in the driver’s seat and to make things easy for you. That’s why we put our incoming client paperwork online, you can schedule an appointment through our website, and you can get most mental health services here, at PTI, under one roof. We accept most major insurance providers and we want to make going to the doctor a pleasant experience. We’re ready and standing by to serve you so that you can achieve your optimal state of health ASAP. Please, don’t hesitate to give us a call or visit our website for an appointment today.
Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (push 1) or texting 838255