In this episode we are talking about a subject that is really hard to approach. We know that our military members need to have good mental health in order to most effectively complete the mission. However, the military also comes with many different types of trauma. From basic training to deployments each person experiences things that will affect how they portrait the world going forward. Unfortunately for a lot of military members they are going to suffer from PTSD, Anxiety, or Depression.
We are hopeful that mental health will continue to become a more talked about topic as you will hear from our guest Lara Brown-Akerstrom today that sadly it’s not always approached as it should. We all know the all to daunting statistic of 20 veterans per day die by suicide as a result of lack of treatment or failed treatment for mental disorders. (Mental Health First Aid) We hope by speaking on the issue, it will bring more awareness and hopefully reach the concerned ears of the right person.
As military spouses this isn’t a statistic to us, this is our spouses, and our friends they are talking about. Suffering in silence and waging a war inside their heads that we can’t see. Reach out to your military family, keep in contact, know the signs and suggest resources. Because although you may feel annoying and persistent, there is something to be said for simply having people acknowledge your struggle.
Resources:
Mental Health First Aid: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/veterans-military/
Cohen Clinic: https://centerstone.org/cohen-military-family-clinic/
Military One Source: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/
Brandon Act: https://thebrandonact.org/
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
Wreaths Across America: https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/
Fischer House: https://fisherhouse.org/
Gold Star Families: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/casualty-assistance/survivor-support/honoring-gold-star-families/
Contact us:
Email: Sabrinajohannes@deployedlove.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ruckupbuttercup
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ruckupbuttercuppodcast
