Double Whammy
Those who welcome death have only tried it from the ears up.
Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)
Wow, a recent study came out that men who have served in the military are 2.13 times higher than other men to committ suicide. We apparently use a gun more often as well, 59% more often.
You can read a bit about it here. Vet Suicide
How is that for a wake up call? The research goes on to say that therapists should be on the lookout for depression and suicidal tendancies.
Another study from 2001 says adaoptees are more likely to have attempted suicide (7.6% vs 3.1%) than non-adoptees.
You can read a bit about it here. Adoptees and Suicide
Between the two, I guess I’m screwed. Luckly the only gun I have in the house is made of LEGO.
Joking aside, that’s a scary statistic. The veteran report discusses how some doctors are afraid to bring up the subject because they feel it may be a catalyst. Funny how we just don’t want to talk about it, but we need to. We have a new generation of war veterans who are returning and will need our support not our blame or ridicule. Whether you believe the war is valid or not, these men and women are not the ones who should blamed but honored and respected.
The adoption study was a bit scary as well. While it mainly centers on adolescents, the study shows there appears to be a correlation. “Although the mechanism underlying the association remains unclear, recognizing the adoptive status may help health care providers to identify youths who are at risk and to intervene before a suicide attempt occurs. It is important to note, however, that the great majority of adopted youths do not attempt suicide and that adopted and nonadopted youths in this study did not differ in other aspects of emotional and behavioral health. Furthermore, high family connectedness decreases the likelihood of suicide attempts regardless of adoptive status and represents a protective factor for all adolescents.” High family connectedness. To me, this means not keeping secrets or looking the other way. Please let this be a call to arms to adoptive parents to stop denying the possibility that your children may have issues. Instead consider the possibility and understand that when we adoptees say that your kids may have issues, we aren’t saying they are going to be screwed up and you are the one to blame, we are saying please consider it and understand it happens and be there for them.
ps for you gun people out there: the LEGO gun is a representation of the Berreta 92F which is what I carried in the Navy. You can see more here: Brick Gun. I modified the tip with a orange LEGO so it looks like a toy. Although the little Star Wars Empire emblem on the grip may have given it away as well.
June 14th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Thanks Wraith for the information and statistics. Scary and eye opening that is for sure. It is another wake up call and as adoptive parents we need to be open and honest with ourselves about these stats and understand that “looking the other way” is damaging to our children.
June 14th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Thank you Michelle for reading and understanding.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:46 am
You know as being both I can see this and do understand it. I wonder if they ever did studies on female vets or does this apply only to men. I agree secrets are bad. I agree not acknowledging the natural side is also bad. Very very interesting.
June 26th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I think about when my husband comes home from cruises with the navy, he is almost always euphoric for a few weeks, then depressed. Almost every sailor I talk to feels this same way. they have a hard time reassimilating into civilian society. I don’t worry for my husband and suicide, but the PTSD and reassimilation are things that HAVE to be more addressed by the military. However finding funding for something like that is almost impossible because it is more important to congress to build roads to nowhere and bridges in alaska that serve seven hundred people. Nice.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:26 am
hi