92% will be prepared to work with Veterans and their families.
CEUFast, Inc. is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. ANCC Provider number #P0274.
92% will be prepared to work with Veterans and their families.
After completing this course, the learner will be able to:
There are 18.8 million living veterans of United States military service (OEI NCVAS, 2017). This is in addition to the 1.3 million currently active servicemen and women with more than 3 million immediate family members (Duffin, 2020). These men and women, heroes all, have placed themselves in harm’s way to protect our country and further our way of life. As a health professional, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your service and the support of your families, who share the burden of your trials while experiencing joy and sorrow.
Going into harm’s way is polite to speak for stating that there will be a risk with hopes for reward, boredom interspaced with sudden moments of sheer horror. Those experiences will change each person facing the perils accompanying military service. Many changes for the better, some for the worse, and all will gain memories and life experiences that may well become intrusive or a burden.
Mental health is as important, if not more so, than physical health. Just as our minds and emotions control our body, injury to our mind and spirit can lead to loss of control and damage critical life functions. There is no way to emphasize enough the serious role that mental health and mental healing play in the lives of our military, our veterans, and their families.
Together we will look at some of the more pressing issues related to mental health for military past, present, and the ones closest to them.
47.6 million adults in the United States possess a mental illness. This number is 19.1 percent of the adult population, or one in five Americans (NAMI, 2019). This compares with research indicating that as many as half of all military veterans report significant difficulties acclimating to the return to civilian life. Around a third of all veterans show impaired mental health problems (Jeffrey and Lieberman, n.d.)
Conflict and war have always placed a heightened toll on the delicate balance we term sanity. Current conflicts particularly bring us to the brink with multiple deployments into distinctly different cultural settings and occurrences that challenge fundamental beliefs about ourselves, our humanity, and the world in which we live.
Exposure to events such as civilians or “friendly” forces suddenly turning violent and deadly or using children as human shields and the mobile platform for suicide bombs destroys our belief in safety and trust. Death and destruction of communities by their fellow countrymen committed from inconceivable motives shakes the concepts of civilized behavior to the very core. Repeated exposures to terror and horror, which go beyond what most civilians will ever see, except in nightmares, are life-changing. It is no wonder many veterans return home dramatically changed.
The demands and stresses placed on the loved ones of service members are equally intense. Occurrences such as frequent relocation, the chance of sudden deployment, and continual preparation for bad news concerning their loved ones going away to danger zones all take a toll on the mind and body. Add to this the fact that the person they are most close to will, in all probability, return to them differently, perhaps even as though they were strangers to one another and may not return at all.
An increase in recognition of mental issues amongst military members, present and past, demonstrates the need for preventive services and ongoing mental and emotional help for active military, our veterans, and the families of servicemen and women.
One of the most common and, in some ways, most problematic to achieve is the timely recognition of the emotional and mental conditions of veterans, and their families is an ailment known as adjustment disorder.
Adjustment disorder (AD) is an extreme response to the stress of life changes. Things such as marriage, deployment, parenthood, divorce, school, work problems, and many more can initiate adjustment disorder. For veterans and their families, the return to civilian life after service can create stresses and uncertainties that result in adjustment disorders for them or their loved ones.
Glenda returned two months ago from her second combat tour. Now home, she is having a hard time adjusting to a life that is not the same as it was when she left. Her husband takes care of their five-year-old daughter and works from home. Recent changes in the economy mean that he has lost much of his business and is not keeping up the way he had been with work, home, and daughter. Glenda finds herself struggling over anger at her husband for losing his former clients and tells him directly he should just man-up and handle things. Their daughter cries when she reaches out to pick her up, and if she disciplines their daughter, her husband intervenes, saying she is expecting too much from the child, leading to sharp words and angry shouting between the adults. Glenda frequently goes out to “run,” spending more and more time away from home. When she is home, she sits for hours on end, ignoring what is happening around her. This time, coming home is harder than being away. |
Adjustment disorder can happen to anyone who is coping with a major source of stress. Even when the individual is glad to be home, returning from a deployment is stressful. Adjustment disorder can happen to the family members the individual is returning home to as well. A military spouse is used to acting independently, handling everything without needing to negotiate or converse concerning choices and course of action. Suddenly having a spouse return adds a major change to what the family is doing and how they are doing it. |
Adjustment disorder is a stress-related, typically short-term issue with coping that may occur when a person is faced with a stressful event or situation (Lal & Mackinnon, 2017). It is common for feelings of distress, discomfort, and emotional/mental turmoil to be present. Ramifications can be considerable, up to and including the potential for suicidal feelings and thinking.
Unusual feelings associated with a change may begin soon after the stress occurs or within three months of the event. These feelings typically resolve when the stressful situation goes away or the person affected has had an opportunity to adapt to the change, usually within six months.
Symptoms associated with adjustment disorder focus on things that are unusual for that person and may include:
Many who recovered from adjustment disorder report having felt unusual feelings of hopelessness and being trapped in an unwanted situation with a lack of good options. All while being cut off or isolated from others who would typically be of help.
Because adjustment disorder is typically a time-limited occurrence, treatment focuses on help dealing with the changes and stresses occurring right now that are triggering the condition. Support in the form of individual, couples, and group counseling can have a positive impact on the situation and feelings. Medications may serve as short-term help for some symptoms; however, adjustment disorder typically resolves independently with time and support. It is important to realize that a long-term course of pharmacotherapy is generally not warranted. Of help in the short term are agents such as:
Stress disorders are a major focus of attention for returning and retired service personnel. Both acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are real diseases. They are psychiatric conditions with changes in neural functioning that occur when a person has been exposed to overwhelming stress, trauma, or horror. Witnessing or learning of horrific events can set the stage for stress disorder just as readily as the event happening to that person.
For most survivors or witnesses of trauma, life returns somewhat near normal given time and support. Sometimes stress reactions refuse to fade, and symptoms move from an acute response to the stress event into a stable and life-impairing condition.
When a sudden, horrific event occurs, it is common for our minds to reel away from the unexpected, unwanted reality. The condition referred to as acute stress disorder may occur as we struggle to make sense of a sudden traumatic event and come to terms with what has happened.
Acute stress responses are reactions that occur within us immediately after a violation of our sensibilities and our perceptions of the world (Grohol, n.d.). They include such feelings or alterations of perceptions as:
We are learning that changes in the brain and neural tissues occur during strong stress responses (Academic Press, 2019). However, currently, there are no available blood tests or diagnostic imaging studies that can reliably diagnose stress disorders, although exciting research is being done with imaging scan technology. It is important, therefore, to be able to spot acute responses to stress and catch ASD before it turns into PTSD so that we can better prevent and ameliorate rather than wait to treat a well-established condition.
Most of us will experience acute stress symptoms at some point in our lives. In general, acute stress progresses through four sets, or phases, of symptoms (Lubit, 2019).
The first criterion is exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation in one (or more) of the following ways:
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The second criterion is the presence of at least 9 of 14 symptoms from any of 5 categories—intrusion, negative mood, dissociation, avoidance, and arousal—beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred. Intrusion symptoms include the following:
Dissociative symptoms include the following:
Avoidance symptoms include the following:
Arousal symptoms include the following:
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The third DSM-5 diagnostic criterion for ASD is that the duration of the disturbance is three days to one month after trauma exposure. Although symptoms may begin immediately after a traumatic event, they must last at least three days for a diagnosis of ASD to be made. |
The fourth criterion is that the disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. |
The fifth and final criterion is that the disturbance cannot be attributed to the physiologic effects of a substance (e.g., a medication or alcohol) or another medical condition (e.g., mild traumatic brain injury) and cannot be better explained by a diagnosis of brief psychotic disorder. |
ASD may progress to PTSD after one month, but it may also be a transient condition that resolves within one month of exposure to the traumatic event(s) and does not lead to PTSD. |
The focus of treatment following a stressful or violent event is the identification of those most seriously impacted and initiating care for emotional trauma. First, for those most affected, and then for all others present at the traumatic event as quickly as possible.
The reduction of continuing stresses must be emphasized. This reduction means pressures from situations or events other than the impacting event and removing ongoing dangers or risks from the event that initiated this situation. Physical safety is important. If possible, relocate the individuals exposed some distance from the stress impact point. Encourage supporting contact with persons that each victim of stress feels is safe, such as contact with family and loved ones, contact with trusted colleagues, religious support, and health caregivers. Many acutely stressed feel isolated or cut off from the people around them. This feeling is a normal response, so focus on social support and a sense of community.
It is important to support an individual’s self-concept and self-esteem. Let them know that distressing thoughts or feelings will likely occur and are a normal response to an abnormal event, not a sign of weakness. It is common for survivors of trauma to feel that they are in some way guilty of what occurred, so assist with reframing or putting into a proper context distressing thoughts and beliefs. Find out the coping mechanisms, thoughts – behaviors – habits that a person must deal with stress, and work to promote healthy coping with the emotions now being felt.
Medications are important adjuvants to emotional support; however, medications will not fix stress problems by themselves. Use appropriate medications that help to decrease symptoms interfering with function and healing, such as the emotional arousal created by ASD.
Common pharmacological adjuvants include such items as:
Above all, diminish the stress for the individual, including pressure to talk about the trauma and the feelings held. However, the individual needs to discuss their feelings once the person is ready for it.
The good news is that most of those diagnosed with acute stress disorder will find it tends to resolve within the first weeks after the stressful event. Those who do not find a resolution may go into a subsequent PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder. (Bryant, 2019).
The military's role is such that they and their loved ones are at an extremely high exposure to stress and traumatic events. Of the men and women who have spent time in a war zone as military, contracted civilian, reporter, or aid workers, many, around a third, go on to later experience PTSD (VA, n.d.).
Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF):
Gulf War (Desert Storm):
Vietnam War:
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A National Institute of Health (NIH) study found that military spouses were not immune from stress. 21.6% of spouses showed arrays of symptoms significant enough to qualify them for a diagnosis of PTSD (Villines, 2019). |
Stress disorders are complex somatic, cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences of psychological trauma. Stress disorders are caused by experiencing, witnessing, or being confronted with an event/events involving serious injury, death, or threat to the physical integrity of that person or someone close to them. These are accompanied by a response involving helplessness, intense fear, or horror.
Intrusive thoughts and feelings characterize post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares and flashbacks of past traumatic events, desires to avoid reminders of the trauma, and the presence of hypervigilance and sleep disturbances. All of which leads to considerable occupational, social, and interpersonal dysfunction, particularly among those who know them best.
It has been shown in various studies that a direct relationship can be observed between the severity of a traumatic event and the risk of developing a stress disorder. Prior exposure to repeated traumatic events and such factors as the event's duration, severity, and proximity may also contribute to the degree of stress the individual experiences.
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The initiating events associated with PTSD are generally the same as in ASD, acute stress disorder. PTSD may be considered an extension of ASD and has acute, chronic, or delayed subtypes.
Acute PTSD typically lasts three months or less, while chronic PTSD symptoms last longer than three months. In delayed-onset PTSD, the symptoms that characterize the condition tend to be unnoticeable for at least the first six months following the traumatic event, creating a time-lapse which may make linking the symptoms with an initiating event tricky to isolate (Cocchimiglio, 2020).
“Complex” PTSD or CPTSD is a newer term used interchangeably for both delayed-onset PTSD (symptoms taking longer than six months to manifest), and the all-to-common ‘hard to diagnose’ disorders that spew a spread of symptomatology across the spectrum of emotional/behavioral/cognitive functioning. Be aware - CPTSD is not in the DSM-5. The term was developed in the 1990s during research for “Complex PTSD in victims exposed to sexual and physical abuse: Results from the DSM-IV Field Trial for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.” A 1997 publication in the Journal of Traumatic Stress. Whether CPTSD simply arrived too late to make the DSM-5 revision, or it failed to gain enough support during the cavalcade of expert-led committees delegated to determine version fives contents is unknown. What is important is that the undefined term of Complex PTSD is commonly used, so be aware of it. CPTSD, Complex PTSD, can be argued as being used incorrectly, or at least unnecessarily, for both of its primary uses – Delayed and Complicated – forms of PTSD.
One last word about DESNOS (and the term CPTSD when/if it is used for complex cases). DESNOS all too frequently is birthed from severe, protracted abuse, most notably childhood sexual abuse, victims of torture, or perhaps living in a war zone (Gore, 2018). |
Research into identifying and treating stress disorders has led to recent changes in diagnostic criteria. In the recently released Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, fifth edition (DSM-5), greater focus is placed on the behaviors that accompany PTSD. Four distinct clusters or groupings of behaviors are proposed as significant indications for diagnosis.
Re-experiencing behaviors: For example, spontaneously occurring memories of a past traumatic event such as nightmares or recurrent dreams related to an incident or incidents, illusions or hallucinations, flashbacks – the sudden powerful re-experiencing of past events, or other intense, prolonged forms of psychological distress.
Avoidance behaviors: Take the form of abruptly shying away from or pre-planned evasion of situations that might bring distressing memories, thought reminders of past events, feelings associated with the initiating traumatic experience, or external reminders of the event.
Negative cognitions and mood-related behaviors: Include such items as persistent blame of themselves or others, distorted feelings or overpowering emotions related to events or persons associated with stressing events, estrangement from others, marked decrease in activities that formerly interested that person, or the inability to remember aspects of what occurred.
Arousal behaviors: Can be demonstrated by reckless, aggressive, self-destructive behaviors. Sleep disorders, hypervigilance, and the formation of protective habits such as always sitting with a back to the wall, sleeping facing a locked door, etc., are all examples of arousal. Please note that current diagnostics emphasize an element of avoidance or flight from traumatic reminders. A strong flight response or reaction is also typical of the arousal behaviors of stress disorders.
In addition to the presence of key behaviors are three conditions or criteria that aid in diagnosing PTSD. These three criteria are:
While no physical diagnostic tests can readily catch a stress disorder's presence, there are physical signs to notice. The presence of poor hygiene or poor personal appearance, in general, can be a tip-off to poorly functioning cognitive processes. The presence of unexplained bruises or injuries, such as bruised or lacerated knuckles from punching inanimate objects, and indications of fatigue from poor sleep may indicate difficulties. Heightened startle responses to sudden noises or shadows may be clues as well.
Mental status checks can also be helpful, as an orientation to person and place can be affected by stress disorders. Not knowing the current time or date may reveal where an individual’s internal attention is focused. Perhaps the area most affected by stress disorders such as PTSD is memory. Reports of forgetfulness, particularly in details associated with a specific traumatic event, are frequently reported. Poor concentration with pressured or abnormally slowed speech may also be an indicator. Mood changes are common with stress disorders, as are feelings of generalized nervousness, fear, anxiety, guilt, and depression.
Please be alert for suicidal thoughts or feelings when PTSD is suspected. Changes in mood and struggles with core beliefs brought about by an intense trauma can be difficult for an individual. A small percentage of stress disorder clients may also become homicidal during the difficulties of dealing with delusional feelings, new phobias, hallucinations, and reliving experiences such as flashbacks (Gore, 2018).
Core beliefs are the foundational bedrock of our minds. They are the fundamental beliefs about our world, ourselves, and everything around us by which we measure all experiences. Core beliefs form the rules by which we perceive and interpret what is happening all around us. Core beliefs typically bypass conscious thought and operate outside of an individual’s perceptions. |
Helping a person come to terms with how they are and who they will be after an extremely traumatizing event is the goal of treatment. It is impossible to go back in time and make the event not happen or even undo the consequences and results of the event. For this reason, those who have experienced trauma are often referred to not as victims but as survivors of trauma.
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Coming to a resolution with the trauma often is best facilitated with a combination of medication to lower the impact of symptoms and nonpharmacologic therapies that help reconcile disrupted cognitive and emotional processes.
Pharmacotherapy decreases intrusive thoughts and images such as flashbacks and hallucinations while diminishing arousal symptoms like hypervigilance, irritability, and anger. Helping to stabilize mood symptoms such as depression is also important, as is relieving sleep disturbances.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered first-line medications for the treatment of PTSD, although other categories of antidepressants, such as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, are occasionally used. Beta-blockers and atypical antipsychotics have been used in conjunction with SSRIs with mixed results.
Beta-blockers such as propranolol are used in some stress disorder clients to decrease hyperarousal symptoms. A decrease in exaggerated hyperarousal state and explosive bouts of anger by using beta-blockers, possibly helpful, needs more study (Stein, 2019).
Atypical antipsychotics have shown some positive effects on their own as monotherapy and an aide to antidepressants (Tartakovsky, 2020). Physician judgment should always preside over individual cases.
Alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers such as prazosin have been used to reduce nightmares and improve sleep in veterans and civilian trials (Stein, 2019). The use of alpha-blockers demonstrated an increase in normal dreaming and sleep patterns. Caution should be taken to avoid hypotension or orthopedic hypotensive events when used due to their blood pressure lowering effect.
Benzodiazepines are typically used for anxiety or hyperarousal symptoms, such as in stress disorders. While useful in controlling acute anxiety, be cautious of a tendency toward substance abuse that may accompany stress symptoms.
Nonpharmacologic therapies provide the mainstay of stress disorder treatment, typically in conjunction with medication that helps diminish symptoms.
The goal of treatment is to aid the individual in coming to a resolution with distressing memories and regaining function following extreme traumatic events. Friends and family are essential to this resolution, and it is also important to support the loved ones of the trauma survivor. Individual and family therapy is essential. Psychotherapies of use include:
Cognitive behavior and support-oriented therapies are the mainstays for acute and post-traumatic stress disorders. Cognitive-behavioral approaches include CBT, exposure therapy, EMDR, and a handful of less commonly used approaches, all of which center on aspects of mental avoidance the survivor has developed toward the past injury or traumatic event. The general premise from which cognitive therapies operate is that the traumatic incident has established a deeply rooted fear response in the mind of the survivor of trauma which in normal instances would, with time, become reconciled with the survivor’s worldview and core beliefs. However, due to the extent of this new conditioned fear response, the survivor of trauma actively avoids any thoughts or situations which remind them of the traumatic event, shying away from the process which would allow healing and reconciliation. This aversive pattern of avoidance occurs unconsciously, though there are also some conscious aspects. It is as though the individual is making every effort to avoid an operation that might heal serious illness, all without being aware of their avoidance and actively slamming the door on any helpful realization. This avoidance makes aiding a stress disorder survivor challenging!
EMDR is a relatively new form of cognitive therapy that uses rhythmic motions to aid awareness of body sensations occurring during distressing thoughts or remembrances. Several studies have shown positive results with PTSD clients, although more and better crafted research is needed. While thinking of troubling memories or images, the client is guided to pay attention to outside stimuli such as following a moving light, or finger tapping on alternate hands. Discussion of thoughts and somatic feelings follow each session to lower feelings of distress as the sessions progress. |
Support oriented therapies focus on general adaptation and wellness skills, such as functioning in group settings, regaining the ability to handle daily life stresses, and so forth. Please do not dismiss the importance of supportive therapies, such as recreational play and art therapy. Easing into healthy activities and situations provides an incredible foundation for the mental reconciliation processes within the stress disorder sufferer behind the scenes.
Often linked with PTSD is the unacceptable phenomenon of rape and sexual abuse among our armed forces and their families. Sexual abuse is much more common than most professionals are aware, frequently due to pressure on abuse survivors to remain silent, and there are victims of both sexes. The 2013 Sexual Assault in the Military report commissioned by congress from the US Commission on Civil Rights shows over 38 percent of military sexual assault victims to be male, a number that might seem surprising until reminded that forced sexual behaviors, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and rape have little to do with sex, and everything to do with having power and control over the victim. |
The mood disorder known as major depression is both common and disabling. Population studies in more than a dozen countries show the lifetime incidence rate of major unipolar depression at around 12 percent. WHO, the World Health Organization, ranks major depression as the eleventh greatest cause of disability and death worldwide, and here in the United States, major depression ranks second among all diseases and injuries leading to disability (Simon, 2019). The only slightly less disruptive condition of persistent depressive disorder is also a major malady and ranks twentieth among all disabling conditions (Simon, 2019).
Veterans of military service and their families are at high risk for developing conditions such as depression. More than one in ten veterans 65 years or older fit the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. For example, the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) found major depressive disorder five times higher than among comparable civilian groups (DoD, 2016). Spouses and children report struggles with depression as well due to such issues as prolonged or multiple deployments of their loved ones.
Depression frequently shows up among active service personnel experiencing stress disorders. Several studies among those with PTSD revealed that as many as 45 percent also showed symptoms of depression (Udesky, 2020). The families of service members, particularly spouses, show a higher incidence of symptoms of depression than the general population.
Major depressive disorder, aka unipolar major depression, is recognized when a person suffers at least one episode of severely depressed mood lasting at least two weeks in those with no history of hypomania or mania. Five or more accompanying symptoms should be present to confirm the diagnosis. Symptoms of depression include:
Major depression is extremely reoccurring, with an estimated return rate greater than 40 percent. Evidence strongly supports treatment that includes medication, psychotherapy, and lasting support measures.
Pharmacotherapy for major depression begins with the use of antidepressants. The clinician best determines the choice of medication, considering the client's needs. Should a trial of one antidepressant prove unsatisfactory, other antidepressants are available to try.
Antidepressant types include:
Psychotherapy for major depression generally centers around cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy, though other available therapies also show efficacy. One good finding from treatment with psychotherapies is that improvement often persists after a course of treatment, leading to what is often lasting relief from serious bouts of depression.
Psychotherapies used with major depression include:
Supportive care found useful for major depression includes such things as:
TBI, traumatic brain injury, might be the medical area most associated with the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; however, it is not just our service members that TBI affects. Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death in North America for those aged 1 to 45 (Wittenberg, n.d.).
Blows or concussive injuries to the brain occur when the head is suddenly exposed to an explosive wave of pressure or when an object forcefully impacts or penetrates the surface of the head.
Causes of TBI may include yet are not limited to the following:
The damage that occurs, and the symptoms arising from that damage, can range from mild to severe. Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) commonly goes by the term concussion. MTBI may lead to a brief loss of consciousness or disorientation, commonly up to 30 minutes in duration. Damage may or may not be visible with imaging studies and can include such symptoms as:
Severe traumatic brain injury symptoms may include all of those found in mild injuries as well as:
Diagnostic imaging studies are helpful for diagnosis, revealing skull fractures and evidence of swelling or bleeding into the tissue. When a head injury is associated with loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes or amnesia, health professionals should suspect severe traumatic brain injury.
Treatment of brain injury revolves around adequate oxygenation and blood flow to all areas of the brain. Surgical intervention or conservative treatment can address the resolution of acute oxygenation deficits and adequate circulation, depending on the situation. Treatments can include diuretics, anti-seizure medications, coma-inducing drugs, blood clot removal, repairing damaged tissue, or opening a window into the skull.
Lingering neurological deficits resulting from acute brain injury are very individualized. Some of the more common problems are:
Rehabilitation post-injury is an important facet of TBI treatment.
Depression, PTSD, and suicidal thinking are all associated with TBI and its recovery.
Active servicemen and women, along with their families, are afflicted with high rates of suicidal thinking and behaviors.
Suicidal ideation, willingly or unwillingly thinking about ending one’s life, and suicidal behaviors are perhaps the most serious and common psychiatric emergencies worldwide. In 2017, the suicide rate among active-duty US military personnel was 21.9 deaths per 100,000, a rate higher than the general population. Yet, according to researchers, not statistically significant when compared to the 17.4 per 100,000 rates found in the general population (Kime, 2019).
Military veterans show unacceptably high rates of suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the rate of veterans committing suicide is 1.5 percent higher than the national average (Irion, 2019).
Historically, suicide death rates in the US military have been below the civilian rate. The suicide rate in the military began climbing in the early 2000s, and as of 2017, it came to exceed the demographically matched civilian rate (21.5 military suicide deaths per 100,000 vs.17.4 civilian suicide deaths). Be aware that the increase in suicide as a final ending has been slowly increasing in all demographics. Young and Old. Women and Men. Civilian and Military alike. Currently, US military suicide rates in the National Guard (the hardest hit by the suicide of the military branches) ranges around 29.1 per 100,000 (Kime, 2019). |
Certain positive factors have been shown to protect individuals from suicidal thoughts. Good social supports and family connections are chief among these protective elements. Being a parent or currently expecting a child, possessing a religious faith and being active in religious activities are all associated with a lower risk of suicide (NCIP, n.d.).
The treatment for suicide-related issues with the greatest positive impact on active duty, veterans, and military family members is prevention. Recently, the veterans administration and the department of defense have focused on the early identification of those having difficulties and ways to promote prevention. Warning signs include:
Some warning signs should provoke higher levels of concern; these include:
The long-standing advice that asking about suicide will initiate suicidal thoughts or actions has been shown to have no support in any known study. What has been shown repeatedly is that many clients appreciate and welcome the opportunity to discuss disturbing thoughts and suicidal feelings. It has also been found that many suffering from suicidal thoughts would not have spoken of their feelings without questioning prompts from those concerned about them. Please be aware that the best intervention may be a spouse, friend, or health professional having the courage to care enough to ask about suicidal thoughts or feelings.
Several suicide evaluation scales are used; however, none have been associated with a consistently high predictive value. Depression rating tools also show a poor predictive value for suicide. Two tools have shown reasonable success with the risk of suicide screening, the Patient Health Questionnaire Nine Item (PHQ-9) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (Schreiber & Culpepper, 2020).
The following questions may help elicit information concerning the presence of suicidal feelings or a suicide plan.
Three factors are the focus of managing the acute risk of suicide.
Reducing the immediate risk associated with strong suicidal feelings is the first step of acute management. Immediate control of stresses and the environment are essential in controlling self-harm actions. This step is generally accomplished with inpatient psychiatric services, such as hospitalization.
The highest priority is the safety of the client at risk, clients with a plan and the intent to end their life. In the environment, objects should be cleared that might be used to inflict harm and possessions should be searched for items that might also be used.
For those with an elevated risk of suicide, yet not an imminent risk, for example, no specific plan or intent, inpatient hospitalization may not be needed.
Suicide prevention and veteran support hotlines are important resources that allow 24/7 access to communicate with a nonjudgmental person who can guide the suicidal minded to help and support services. |
Veterans Crisis Line
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
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Managing underlying factors takes the form of reconnecting clients with suicidal feelings with close family or friends that can remind the person that they are cared for, have others in their lives, and are not alone. The feeling of aloneness or that everyone would be better off with them dead are common intrusive thoughts. The presence of caring family and concerned friends helps to counter unwanted thinking, allowing time for the underlying cause of negative thoughts to be treated with individual and group therapies.
It is important to remove items that can facilitate suicidal actions, especially if those items or ones like them are in the person’s suicide plan. Removing firearms from the access of a person with life-ending feelings is essential as completed suicide is three or more times more likely when guns are accessible.
Monitoring those at risk and follow-up activities complete the acute care plan. Note the inclusion of following up on what is being done on an emergent basis, as it is not enough to stop one attempt or near-miss suicide act. Unless there is continuing care and the presence of support, suicidal feelings are likely to return.
The practice of “contracting for safety” is a valuable tool to help offset active feelings of suicide. Contracting safety or having the client agree to do themselves no harm helps the client offset the impulse to act on suicidal thoughts. Safety contracts cannot be predetermined, as they must be specific to everyone’s needs; however, the idea is that the person promises their caregivers that they will not try to harm themselves when suicidal. Such contracts and an open dialog about what the person wants to do and what they are feeling can aid in building therapeutic rapport and an alliance against suicidal thoughts.
In 2007 the FDA issued a Blackbox Warning that antidepressants might increase the chance of suicidal thoughts. A retrospective review of multiple studies in the 1990’s showing no clear evidence that treatment of depressed persons with antidepressant medications increases their risk of suicidality (e.g., suicidal fixation, action to prepare for a suicide attempt, attempt, non-fatal self-harm, or death). Debate on the subject continues (Simon, 2019). What is known is that antidepressants may be of some benefit to most of those fighting suicidal ideation. We also know that some studies hint of an age-specific increase in the risk of suicide attempts (non-fatal, self-harm) when persons aged 18-24 expressing suicidal thoughts are placed on antidepressants during the first several weeks of depression treatment. The same literature reveals no increased risk with persons 25-30 years, and what seems to be a lowering of suicidality in persons 31 years of age and older in those same first weeks of treatment with antidepressants. Remember - clinician discernment regarding each individual and their needs should be the deciding factor regarding antidepressant use for depression in the potentially suicidal. Heightened awareness by clinicians and family should be present when beginning treatment for depression or suicidal feelings, whether antidepressants are used or not. |
Pharmacotherapy for suicide prevention focuses on treating underlying mood or anxiety conditions. Antidepressants can be helpful; however, there is an underlying concern that in select individuals, their use may increase the chance of a suicide attempt during the first few weeks of antidepressant treatment. Good clinician judgment of the individual and their risk factors is called for with the use of any antidepressant in individuals at higher risk for suicidal thoughts and feelings.
A recent meta-analysis of multiple drug trials indicates that using lithium in clients showing depression (unipolar major depression and bipolar depression) can lower the risk of suicidal actions. The action of the lithium which may create this effect is not currently known. However, suicidal acts appeared to occur fewer times in clients treated with lithium than in other compounds (Schreiber & Culpepper, 2020).
Following suicidal acts, family, friends, and coworkers may be at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and feelings and PTSD, major depression, and other anxiety disorders. A need for healing grief and support in the grieving process is essential whenever there is a loss or perception that a loss is pending.
Grief is an ugly, gut-wrenching companion to life. Acute grief reactions are painful, mentally and physically impairing, yet still very normal and valuable. Helping each of us come to terms with new circumstances surrounding our lives after a loss. Bereavement, the loss felt upon the death of a loved one, is frequently the trigger for the grieving process; however, other situations such as crippling injuries or memory/cognitive losses in a loved one can also be a starting point for grief.
Differing cultural backgrounds and personalities play a role in how grief is expressed; however general patterns are recognized, such as acute separation distress or what is referred to as the stress/trauma reaction to acute grief.
Indications of separation distress include:
Indications of a stress/trauma reaction to grief include:
Thoughts and images of a person lost frequently occur in grief. These images may be detailed and vivid to the point of hallucination. The presence of auditory, visual, or tactile illusions indicates an intense longing for the presence of the deceased and can be very frightening. Please remember as caregivers to assure grieving families experiencing these unnerving sensations that missing a person to the extent of feeling their presence can be unsettling yet is not abnormal and tends to be a transient display of how much they miss their lost loved one.
Yolanda’s husband Henry received a medical discharge after an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion took his left leg below the knee and caused intracranial bleeding due to concussion forces. Now, three years after Henry returned home, Yolanda finds herself sobbing each night silently after she helps him from his wheelchair into bed. Henry does not remember her, his memories are shattered, just like the man she loved and had married, the man that came home in many ways, just a shell. Yolanda feels the acid come up her throat again; the reflux and muscle aches had been with her since Henry came home. She still loved him, yet this was not Henry, was it? She could feel the desire to escape all this, to end the torment in her soul as darkness hovering. It was there, and it was always there. |
The loss of a loved one, to death or change, is one of the hardest forms of loss we know. Grieving is not limited to the death of loved ones, as any great loss must be reconciled. Emotional and somatic symptoms, as well as confusion and uncertainty, may all accompany grief. Support from outside, from friends, family, support groups, are all essential during the struggle to reconcile grief. |
The course of acute grief does not follow a specific fixed-order series of stages. Grief is erratic, and the process of adaption to loss is somewhat unique for everyone. The course of acute grief tends to run from six to twelve months. For some, the time spent in grief is greatly shortened, and occasionally the process takes longer. Not feeling grief is an abnormal occurrence of great loss, especially losing a loved one. The adjustment process of grief promotes a progression from that person being preeminent in our thoughts to their new home of residing comfortably in our hearts.
Please be aware that while the loss of a person may become less sharp with time, feelings about them may never completely resolve. The person is not forgotten and will still be missed, particularly during special times such as holidays, anniversaries, or times of stress.
Grief coping tips:
Remember, grief is terrible and normal. Group and individual therapies can be helpful, as well as joining face-to-face and online support groups. The best therapy is finding someone with grief whom you can help through the process.
Our veterans are the “greatest generation,” every generation. They have risked everything for us, and our support of them and their families should be just as giving. It is important to recognize that mental wellness is just as important as physical health. Our minds and emotions control our bodies and interpret everything happening around us. Injuries to the mind and spirit lead to losing control over our lives. Conditions such as adjustment disorder, stress disorders, traumatic brain injury, suicidality, and grief are situations where we can give back to those who mean so much to us. Mental health and quality healing play crucial roles in the lives of our active military, our esteemed veterans, and we, the people who love them.
CEUFast, Inc. is committed to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While reflecting on this course content, CEUFast, Inc. would like you to consider your individual perspective and question your own biases. Remember, implicit bias is a form of bias that impacts our practice as healthcare professionals. Implicit bias occurs when we have automatic prejudices, judgments, and/or a general attitude towards a person or a group of people based on associated stereotypes we have formed over time. These automatic thoughts occur without our conscious knowledge and without our intentional desire to discriminate. The concern with implicit bias is that this can impact our actions and decisions with our workplace leadership, colleagues, and even our patients. While it is our universal goal to treat everyone equally, our implicit biases can influence our interactions, assessments, communication, prioritization, and decision-making concerning patients, which can ultimately adversely impact health outcomes. It is important to keep this in mind in order to intentionally work to self-identify our own risk areas where our implicit biases might influence our behaviors. Together, we can cease perpetuating stereotypes and remind each other to remain mindful to help avoid reacting according to biases that are contrary to our conscious beliefs and values.