Suicide in military settings

2021 ◽  
pp. 215-226
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Rozanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
First Year ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Resilience Training ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Active Duty Personnel ◽  
The Military

Risk factors in the military include firearms, traumatic stress, insufficient social support, and lifestyle. Processes influencing suicide rates within the Armed Forces can be different to that of civilian life, especially when under reformation and economic pressure. Growth of suicides rates in active duty personnel may be noticed in many armies which seems to not only be associated with combat exposure; shifting focus to mental health of recruits. There are two main periods of higher risk—during the first year after recruitment and after leaving the military. Screening of recruits together with resilience training, leadership interventions, gatekeeper training, and firearm regulations are preventive methods. War veterans are also at risk; treatments for post-traumatic stress, depression, and substance abuse, together with social support are suggested. Post-modernity, which implies the role of wider factors associated with changes in the social environment and evolution of meanings and values in the world, is also discussed.

scholarly journals Veterans’ experiences of successfully managing post-traumatic stress disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Parry ◽  
Suzanne Margaret Hodge ◽  
Alan Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Military

Purpose Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among UK veterans is higher than in the general population. However, prevalence figures do not reflect the complexity of this phenomenon and ways in which it may be bound up with veterans’ experiences of adjusting to civilian life. The purpose of this study is to explore veterans’ experiences of successfully managing PTSD. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six veterans who had served in the UK armed forces and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Three themes were developed: accepting the problem, taking responsibility and gaining control; talking to the right people; and strategies, antidotes and circling back around. Managing PTSD appeared to be bound up with veterans’ experience of renegotiating their identity, where positive aspects of identity lost on leaving the military were rebuilt and problematic aspects were challenged. Participants sought to speak about their difficulties with others who understood the military context. They felt that their experiences made them a valuable resource to others, and they connected this with a positive sense of identity and value. Practical implications The findings suggest the importance of wider provision of peer support and education for civilian health services on veterans’ needs. Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of what meaningful recovery from PTSD may involve for veterans, in particular its potential interconnectedness with the process of adjusting to civilian life.

scholarly journals Psychological rehabilitation of participants of anti-terrorist operation: mechanism of supply

HUMANITARIUM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Yulianna Yasenchuk
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Stress Disorders ◽  
Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

The article outlines the main aspects of provision of rehabilitation services for servicemen and participants in the antiterrorist operation. The concept of psychological rehabilitation in the context of a systematic approach is considered in details and its main features are formed. Special attention is paid to the study of previous work, to the mechanism of providing rehabilitation services to all servicemen. In the context of the current tasks, the legal base on this issue, the approved and priority initiatives was investigated. The most frequent distribution among the demobilized soldiers of antiterrorist operation is occupied by people with the main characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder. The percentage correlation with such features in 2015-2017 was investigated and the main aspects of the mechanism of ensuring the full maintenance of social support were formed.Military actions and the conduct of the antiterrorist operation led to increase in the number of psychological stress disorders among the military. In the course of work we managed to find out that since the beginning of the antiterrorist operation and to date, the system of psychological rehabilitation of the military is gradually improving, but the question remains its effective functioning and compliance with world standards.After returning to a peaceful life, soldiers should be involved in rehabilitation activities and receive comprehensive complex rehabilitation in accordance with individual programs.The question was also raised on the issue of soldiers with post-traumatic stress, who had undergone rehabilitation and rehabilitation and required long-term social support. The most effective in reducing the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder is the integration of the soldiers’ negative experience in order to use it for personal growth, self-development, self-realization.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of COVID-19 and restrictions to daily living as a result of social distancing within veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Murphy ◽  
C Williamson ◽  
J Baumann ◽  
W Busuttil ◽  
N T Fear
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionData are emerging showing the adverse consequences on mental health of the general public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the needs of veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsData were collected through a cross-sectional online survey from a randomly selected sample (n=1092) of military veterans who have sought help for mental health difficulties from a veteran-specific UK-based charity. The response rate was 25.2% (n=275). Participants were asked to complete a range of standardised mental health outcomes (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, common mental health difficulties (CMDs): 12-Item General Health Questionnaire, difficulties with anger: 5-Item Dimensions of Anger Reactions—Revised and alcohol misuse: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and endorse a list of potential stressors related to changes to daily life resulting from COVID-19. Regression analyses were fitted to explore predictors of mental health severity.ResultsIt was observed that symptoms of common mental disorder and PTSD (69.3% and 65.0%, respectively) were the most commonly reported to have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Lack of social support and reporting increasing numbers of stressors related to COVID-19 were consistently associated with increasing severity of a range of mental health difficulties.ConclusionsOur findings suggest veterans who had pre-existing mental health difficulties prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 may be at increased risk of experiencing CMDs as a result of the pandemic. Intervening to improve levels of social support and offering practical guidance to better manage any additional stressors relating to the pandemic may provide strategies to help reduce the burden of mental health symptoms.

scholarly journals Predicting Gambling Situations: The Roles of Impulsivity, Substance Use, and Post Traumatic Stress

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Grubbs ◽  
Heather Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Gambling Behaviors ◽  
Trait Impulsivity ◽  
Post Traumatic

Gambling disorder and symptoms of post-traumatic stress are highly comorbid. Numerous studies suggest that the presence of one (either disordered gambling or post-traumatic stress) substantially increases the odds of later developing the other. However, little is known about the etiological links between these two domains or the nuances of the comorbidity. Past research has suggested that symptoms of post-traumatic stress might be related to unique motivations for and beliefs about gambling. The present work sought to examine whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress might also be related to specific situational vulnerabilities to gambling behaviors. Using a large cross-sectional sample of internet-using adults in the U.S. who were primarily recreational gamblers (N = 589; 43% men, Mage = 36.1, SD = 11.0), as well as an inpatient sample of U.S. Armed Forces veterans seeking treatment for gambling disorder (N = 332, 80% men, Mage = 53.5, SD = 11.5), the present work tested whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to a variety of gambling situations. Results in both samples revealed that, even when controlling for potentially confounding variables (e.g., substance use and trait impulsivity), symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to gambling in response to negative affect, gambling in response to social pressure, and gambling due to a need for excitement. These findings are consistent with recent work suggesting that individuals with post-traumatic stress symptoms are more likely to engage in gambling behaviors for unique reasons that differ from gamblers without such symptoms.

scholarly journals A Case Study of Meditation to Reduce Alcohol Use Disorder Symptomology in Veteran PTSD Comorbidity

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Cameron Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Drinking Problem ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Military Veteran ◽  
The Military

Background: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol comorbidity is becoming a rising issue within the military veteran community highlighted by research indicating individuals diagnosed with PTSD are more likely to have a drinking problem [1]. The implementation of meditation as an alternative form of stress release was aimed at reducing PTSD symptomology and therefor reducing factors that lead to drinking.Methods: A single veteran was recruited to complete a two-week intervention. The participant completed a behavioural diary noting alcohol consumption and mood respectively. During the middle of the study, an interview was undertaken to determine reasons of alcohol consumption and potential reasons and motivations for the cessation of drinking.Results: A moderate correlation between using meditation as a tool to reduce alcohol consumption in veterans with PTSD however this was not significant. Conversely, meditation was able to reduce PTSD symptomology.Conclusions: These results indicate that an alternative to drinking can be implemented as a successful form of treatment. However, these findings are specific to this study and need to be amplified and reproduced to determine if it can be applied to the general population.

Falling Out of Performance: Pragmatic Breakdown in Veterans’ Storytelling

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristiana Willsey
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
The Public ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Military ◽  
War Stories ◽  
Careful Management

Unfortunately, coming to terms with disability and trauma are all too familiar foes for American combat veterans, many of whom receive inadequate, delayed, or nonexistent treatment options upon returning home. We conclude this volume with chapter 10, “Falling Out of Performance: Pragmatic Breakdown in Veterans’ Storytelling,” in which Kristiana Willsey provides new insights into the ways in which U.S. military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan make meaning and process trauma through the sharing of narratives. She argues that naturalizing the labor of narrative—by assuming stories are inherently transformative, redemptive, or unifying—obscures the responsibilities of the audience as co-authors, putting the burden on veterans to both share their experiences of war, and simultaneously scaffold those experiences for an American public that (with the ongoing privatization of the military and the ever-shifting fronts of global warfare) is increasingly alienated from its military. Importantly, Willsey asserts that the public exhortations in which veterans tell their stories in an effort to cultivate a kind of cultural catharsis can put them in an impossible position: urged to tell their war stories; necessitating the careful management of those stories for audiences uniquely historically disassociated from their wars; and then conflating the visible management of those stories with the “spoiled identity” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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