While I have never had suicidal thoughts I’ve written openly about my struggle with depression and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and how I would call the Suicide Hotline just for someone to talk too. As I think back I believe I had been experiencing depression and anxiety on and off since high school ,but it wasn’t until my husband deployed for the first time that it triggered something. For the first time I couldn’t bring myself out of it . I did seek treatment and even though I am doing MUCH BETTER now , it took sometime for me to break out of that cycle.
Despite my experience with it there are many military spouses and family members of military personnel who are suffering and in fact suffering so bad that they are thinking about and committing suicide at an alarming rate. The story and CNN video series “The Uncounted” visits the question of : what is war’s true toll?
At the urging of military family groups, a report was given to Congress on what it would take to track suicides of military service family members. “The Uncounted” is a story that dives deeply into this issue and provides an intimate portrait of what these families have gone through. The story is told through the eyes of a sibling, a spouse, parents and a teenager.To discuss the aspects of this layered story, CNN will be hosting two online chats today that we hope you can join. The first is at 11amET in the comments section of the story, where CNN writer Ashley Fantz will be answering questions alongside two mental health counselors. In the afternoon, there will be another chat on CNN’s Facebook page at 2pmET to open up a wider discussion about this controversial topic.
If you have ever wrestled with thoughts of taking your own life and are the family member of military personnel please tune into what I believe will be an informative and deeper look at people battling the same situation.
CLICK HERE to watch The Uncounted video series.
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 1 Comment on CNN’s The Uncounted: What Is War’s True Toll?
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My best friend actually had an incident recently. She and I were both army girlfriends together and everything was great, until her and her boyfriend broke up. They remained friends until he thought it would be a good idea to lie and say he was intoxicated and tell her that he was going to take his own life and watch over her from “another place”. I will never forget that terrified look on her face when she dropped her phone and told me what he said. I immediately advised her to message one of his friends and tell them what he was thinking. I don’t take that lightly, actually no one should, especially in the military.
Turns out, he was completely sober the entire time. How awful is that? There are times when this isn’t a joke and it is such a heavy feeling knowing that you might be the reasoning behind it all.
With that said, I know there is a lot of encouraged help in the military for them but how could a civilian recommend someone for help? Is there anyone they could contact or maybe a form to fill out?