If What We're Doing Isn't Working, What Next?

When it comes to military PTSD and suicide, one thing is clear. What we are doing is not working.

Two data points from June 2021 immediately jump to mind and I've linked the studies to our Facebook page and in this post. According a 17 June 2021 survey, 35% of military connected individuals believe that PTSD is not treatable. This is a disappointing but not surprising outcome.

Also under the heading of disappointing but not surprising, the cost of war project at Brown University released a study on June 21st 2021 that more than four times the number of soldiers killed in combat have taken their own life through suicide since 9/11.

We've been talking about veteran suicide and PTSD for over a decade. PTSD awareness now has its own month in June, we have Master Resiliency Training, and every year I see people doing 22 push-ups on their Facebook pages military suicide awareness. Every year. For the last 10 years.

Albert Einstein said "No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that caused it." A simpler version of this, which I use every day, is "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

So what can we do differently? Here are my humble suggestions:

1. Identify the problem. Discuss the no-shit facts about PTSD in a language that Service Members — and anyone else — can understand. PTSD is an incredibly logical disorder, and we don't need to have a PhD to understand it. 
2. Discuss the courses of action. PTSD is completely treatable. As of this recording, there are three evidence-based treatments that are approved by the VA: prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, and EMDR. They work for most people most of the time, whether you have been dealing with symptoms for 5 years or 5 decades. 
3. Take action. Understand your symptoms, advocate for yourself, and ask for evidence-based treatments by name.

I encourage you to learn more about your PTSD symptoms and available treatments. We've created a Free Workbook to help you identify your symptoms so that you can make an informed decision to reclaim your life from PTSD and Moral Injury.

*****

“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD

Recovery from Addiction and PTSD

I want to take a moment to talk about recovery from drugs and alcohol. PTSD is one of those disorders that always comes to the party with friends. The most common co-occurring disorders that I see are anxiety, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and drug and alcohol abuse. 

Drug and alcohol abuse make a lot of sense in the context of PTSD. Criterion C of PTSD is avoidance, and drinking and drugging help us to avoid our feelings. Criterion D is all about changes in the way we think and feel, and alcohol and drugs can play a major role in this. Of course, alcohol is a big part of military culture. It is what it is. 

I say all that to say this: one of the few good things to come out of the pandemic is that the recovery community has largely shifted online and will probably stay this way. The barrier to entry has been completely removed, and our excuses for not going to a meeting are no longer valid. 

Having Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) online means that instead of going to the chapel basement for a meeting, you can log into Zoom. The meeting you attend can be based in your city or in another country, so the likelihood that you're going to run into someone you know is significantly diminished. You can change your name in a Zoom room, and put up a photo rather than using your camera. 

I understand why people don't like 12-step programs. There are horrible meetings and miserable sponsors. There are also great meetings and highly supportive sponsors. Another perk of Zoom is that if you don't like the meeting you're in, you can click out of it; you can leave when you want to.

If you've been on the fence about going to an AA or NA program, now is the time to pull the trigger. Do a Google search for AA online or NA online to find a meeting. 

One thing to know about 12-step meetings is that when a meeting says it is closed that means that it is not welcoming students, clinicians, or family members. This means that if you have a desire to stop drinking or stop using, you are welcome to a closed meeting. This is known as the "third tradition," and it's incredibly important. 

You don't have to be sober to go to a meeting, either; the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop.

I encourage you to learn more about your PTSD symptoms and available treatments. We've created a Free Workbook to help you identify your symptoms so that you can make an informed decision to reclaim your life from PTSD and Moral Injury.

*****

“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD