Over half of the suicides worldwide are in America?

Well this is shocking!

Every year, almost 80,000 people across the world take their own lives. In the UK alone, more than 6,000 people commit suicide each year - an average of 18 per day. Today marks World Suicide Prevention Day, an annual event designed to raise awareness of suicide and reach out to those who are struggling to cope.

No, not because the number of known suicides is so high. 

It is shocking because according to the CDC, the US is more than half of them!

Suicide rates have been rising in nearly every state, according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death and is one of just three leading causes that are on the rise.

And now that you know that, still willing to settle for "suicide awareness" instead of letting them know how they can heal and find hope again?

Most veterans in Florida are over 50---but not worth mentioning?

Will Florida ever get it right on taking care of our veterans? You know, all our veterans and not just the ones groups want to limit care to.

First the rate of "post 9-11" veterans with PTSD is one out of five. One out of three would be Vietnam veterans! You know, the ones groups like this will not even mention. The ones who waited longer for the same care. Oh, well, what could they expect? After all, it isn't as if the Vietnam veterans started all the research and making sure help was there....oh, wait...they did make it all happen.

"There are more than 76,000 post-Sept. 11 veterans living in Central Florida, Rodriguez estimates, and about a third of them experience some kind of cognitive or mental-health readjustment issue when returning from deployment."

Florida has about 1.5 million veterans and most are over the age of 50! They are also the majority of the known suicides.
While this was one of the pieces of information on this article,

The majority of veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50~It must have not dawned on the reporter to ask why older veterans are not among those who deserve the same camaraderie!

Group raising $2 million to fund counseling for post-Sept. 11 veterans
Orlando Sentinel
Kate Santich
September 8, 2018

At the Camaraderie Foundation in Orlando, the calls and emails come from veterans across the nation — some suicidal, some traumatized, some haunted by their own thoughts.

“We had five more last night,” said executive director Neftali Rodriguez, shaking his head. “You can raise a million dollars to save the whales. But what about these guys? They’re in pain.”

This weekend, the foundation launches a campaign to raise $2 million by the end of next year — enough to provide free counseling to 1,000 post-Sept. 11 veterans and their families on top of the charity’s current caseload.

It’s an ambitious goal for a still-young nonprofit, which operates with a staff of six out of crowded rented office space off East Michigan Street. Started in 2009 by a local veteran and his wife, the foundation gives counseling “scholarships” to veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life — or the families struggling to help them.
read more here

PTSD Patrol: You can get there from here

PTSD Patrol, directions to hope
Kathie Costos
September 9, 2018

This morning on PTSD Patrol, the topic was listening to your guide, in this case, a GPS trying to get you on the best road. 

That is, after all, what we are doing here every week.

PTSD is not new. It is as old as biblical days when the anguished cried out to God for either mercy or forgiveness. Anything had to be better than what they were going through.

It is the same way with you. When you are struggling to find hope, you need to know how to get there.

It is almost like saying you are going to drive out west. If you live in Florida, that can get tricky on your own. Out west is Tampa and the the Gulf of Mexico. You need to find out how to get out of Florida first.

If you are smart enough to figure out you need directions for a road trip, then why don't you use that same intelligence to know when to ask for directions to heal?

This is from PTSD Patrol

Whenever you want to go to a place you have never been before, you have to find out how to get there.

In my case, my daughter bought me a GPS after I got lost in Tiffin Ohio...for two hours circling corn fields. (Don't ask, long story) She said I get lost getting out of a paper bag!

Everyone can get lost but the folks who planned the road and loaded directions must have gotten lost too. 

When everything is going to hell, it is hard to believe in a place you have never been to. You are used to being stuck, most of the time feeling alone, and always being just too depressed to do much at all. 

But even though you may feel as if you are stuck, there is something inside of you trying to get you to notice you are the only one keeping you from getting to where it is so much better. You can live a better life if you look for directions how to find it.

This video is for anyone who is lost but refuses to pay attention to the easiest way to get to hope. No one is so lost they cannot be found and get your life turned around from grave to Hope Road.
go here for more hope

“It’s okay to not be okay…”

I'm Listening
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Phelps’ Full #ImListening Interview
“It’s okay to not be okay…”
LAUREN HOFFMAN
SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

The world’s most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps, opens up about his vulnerability, swimming as an escape, and how therapy changed his life - in this exclusive interview:

“While I had a lot of success in the swimming pool, I also struggled with anxiety and depression so I understand how difficult it can be for people to address mental health challenges,” says Phelps. “In sharing my own journey, I would like to help people understand that it’s okay to not be okay, and that asking for help isn’t a sign a weakness but rather a sign of strength and courage.”

Phelps recently announced a partnership with Talkspace, which helps connect anyone with therapists through a computer, tablet or smartphone. “I was scared to go in somewhere and be judged,” says Michael. Talkspace helps break the barriers – especially for those who are reluctant to seek-out help in person, or may not have the financial means. “Every day is not going to be perfect,” he explains, “but it gives me tools to help work through things.”

“Saving a life is much more important to me than winning a gold medal,” Michael concludes. “You are not alone.”

For more positive strokes, check out the Michael Phelps Foundation: https://michaelphelpsfoundation.org.
read more here

Burning fuel tank did not stop Fort Knox soldier from saving a life

Fort Knox soldier earns Soldier’s Medal for saving man from burning fuel truck
Army Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
September 8, 2018

“He was upside down and his feet were stuck under the dash,” King said. “He managed to grab and push out the windshield.” The sergeant first class pulled Bowling out of the vehicle and dragged him about 150 feet away as the truck’s fuel tank was engulfed in flames and its tires were exploding.

Sgt. 1st Class Mario King, Army Human Resources Command information technology specialist career adviser, is presented the Soldier's Medal during a ceremony hosted by Maj. Gen. Jason Evans, Army Human Resources Command commanding general. (Master Sgt. Brian Hamilton/Army)

Sgt. 1st Class Mario King and his wife, fellow soldier Sgt. Adriane King, were driving in Kentucky when a movie-like scene unfolded in front of them.

The information technology specialist at Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, received the Soldier’s Medal on Friday for his actions that day.

It was May 13, and the Kings were coming back from a surprise visit to Mario’s parents for Mother’s Day.

“Normally we take a different route back, but because of all the traffic that weekend, we took a detour,” King told Army Times.

They were behind a small car and a fuel truck on a two-lane highway when they noticed the small car had veered off to the left, as if to make a turn.

“But then all of a sudden, it went back to the right in front of the fuel truck, and that’s when the accident occurred,” said King, who has served in the Army for 17 years.
read more here

VA billed double more than 250,000 times!

This is what happens when disabled veterans are treated like their care is not due to the service they gave to this nation!!!!


Double-Billing for Private Care Cost VA $101 Million, IG Finds 
Military.com 
Richard Sisk 
September 8, 2018

The double-billings by Health Net and TriWest cost the VA $66.1 million in overcharges, and three other types of accounting errors by the two contractors cost $35.3 million, for a total of $101.4 million in losses to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the report said.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester talks about his VA Mission Act last May on Capitol Hill. The bill, which would replace the VA Choice program, was passed by Congress but has yet to be funded. (U.S. Congress/Ann Strausse)

More than 250,000 double-billings by medical contractors for private care in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Choice program -- and other accounting errors -- cost the department $101 million in overcharges from March 2016 through March 2017, a VA Office of Inspector General audit found.

During that one-year period, 142,493 duplicate payments were made to Health Net Federal Services and 111,148 to TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., for a total of 253,641 duplicate claims out of 4,758,759 medical claims submitted, the audit, released Thursday by the IG's office, revealed.
read more here

And now that POTUS keeps pushing to make sure even more veterans get into the hands of these profiteers, there will be even more veterans betrayed for bucks!!

Vietnam Veterans Forgotten Warriors Again?

Moral Injury inflicted by ignorant reporters
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 8, 2018

Reading many reports over more than three decades has left me stunned by some reporters failure to do basic research on the topics they write about. We are living with what they failed to do.

Vietnam Veterans have been forgotten over and over again!

Ryan Sanders, "contributor" to the Dallas Morning News, wrote "Some troops come home with wounded souls that need healing" leaving out the very veterans who caused all the wounds of war to be known!

There are so many things wrong with this article on "moral injury" that I am regretting being up this early! Moral Injury is not some new condition penetrating the souls of the veterans of today's wars, yet once again, older veterans have apparently been doing just fine and dandy in the mind of the author.

I got a kick out of this part!

Hyperconnectedness: In previous conflicts, especially in world wars but even as late as the Vietnam War, combatants engaged in battle after a long boat ride. They had limited contact with home, almost exclusively through letters. While no amount of separation can or should make war easy, these factors allowed fighters to sort their battlefield experiences, allowing many to leave that part of their lives "over there." In today's conflicts, an American soldier can be dodging improvised explosive devices in the morning and video chatting with his children in the afternoon. Separation becomes impossible, and the wounds can stick.

A long boat ride? Does he know they did have planes during the Vietnam war? Did he ever consider what it was like being the FNG coming into a unit when everyone wanted you to stay away from them especially the short timers counted down the days for DEROS instead of months?

Does he even understand that the term "moral injury" came from research on Vietnam veterans?

One of the best researchers and writers on the subject won numerous awards including the Genius Award, is Jonathan Shay who wrote about Achilles in Vietnam, among other books. This was all about the "moral injury" and it came out in 1994. It was one of the best things I read at the time while doing research on what was trying to kill my husband...PTSD.


Why do some people think they can eliminate the majority of veterans in this country, living with the same wounds of war, at higher rates...in higher numbers?

I have no idea if the subject of Sanders article gave him this wrong information or he figured it out all by himself, either way this is one more reason why the majority of veterans committing suicide remain the highest in veterans over the age of 50! This is pure BS! Wonder if he even had a clue that it was called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder back in 1978!

And yes, that is hanging on the wall behind my desk to remind me of why I do this and why my head explodes when the veterans, who pushed for all the research, keep being the Forgotten Warriors!

Veterans remembered by teenager challenge coin tribute

Respect to veterans: Teen creates a coin for every grave site
Palm Beach Post
By Kevin D. Thompson
Staff Writer
September 7, 2018

LAKE WORTH
Four years ago, Joshua Katz, a 12-year-old devoted Boy Scout, was at a Memorial Day ceremony at the South Florida National Cemetery in suburban Lake Worth passing out water to those thirsty from the heat. A penny on a headstone caught Katz’s eye.

Joshua Katz, 16, at the South Florida National Cemetery Memorial Garden and Benches in Lake Worth. (Greg Lovett / The Palm Beach Post)

“I took a picture of it and looked it up because I didn’t know what it meant,” said Katz, now 16.

He learned it was meant as a message to the deceased soldier’s family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respects.

He learned more: A nickel meant another solider stopped by to visit. A dime meant a soldier served with the deceased soldier and a quarter meant that somebody was there when the soldier died.

While Katz understood the practice of leaving coins, he wanted to do more.

“I spent my whole summer to come up with a way to make sure there was some kind of symbol of recognition on their headstones and that all the names were read aloud,” said the suburban Lake Worth resident.

That will happen Saturday, Sept. 8 at the event Katz helped create, the 5th Annual POW-MIA-OREE (Prisoner of War, Missing in Action, Outdoor Remembrance Educational Event) at the cemetery. The 90-minute event starts at 8:30 a.m.

The event is to show respect for veterans and their families by having the names of every veteran interred at the cemetery read aloud. Also, a custom challenge coin will be placed on each headstone and marker for loved ones, to have as a keepsake to know their loved one has not been forgotten.
read more here

Why are soldiers still not getting mental health help?

Soldiers who attempt suicide often have no history of mental health issues
Reuters
Lisa Rapaport
September 5, 2018

Previous combat injuries were also associated with a 60 percent higher risk of suicide attempts among soldiers without a history of mental illness.

(Reuters Health) - More than one-third of U.S. Army soldiers who attempt suicide don’t have a history of mental health problems, a recent study suggests.

Attempted suicides have become more common among enlisted soldiers since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, researchers note in JAMA Psychiatry. While a history of mental illness has long been linked to an increased risk of suicide among military service members and civilians alike, less is known about the risk among soldiers who haven’t been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.

For the current study, researchers examined data on 9,650 active-duty Army soldiers who attempted suicide between 2004 and 2009 as well as a control group of more than 153,000 soldiers who didn’t attempt suicide.

Overall, 3,507, or 36 percent, of the soldiers who attempted suicide had no previous diagnosis of mental illness, the study found.

“Soldiers without a mental health diagnosis may have had mental health problems but had not reported them to their medical care teams,” said lead author Dr. Robert Ursano, director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
read more here

Trip to Peru with the PTSD Patrol T-Shirt

 PTSD Patrol looking out from peak in Peru!

My wonderful friend Erica took a trip to Peru with the PTSD Patrol T-Shirt in her bag. I had no idea she had it with her. Today she sent me these pictures and I almost fell off my chair! Just stunning to see it with that view and that message.

How can anyone look at God's creation and not see His love in those mountains?

You may think that your troubles are just too big when you are at the bottom. How can you get over them until you start to take one step ahead?

Standing there will not get you anywhere but when you have the courage to move forward, the view from the top is stunning!