According to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), more than 380,000 active duty Service members received a first-time TBI diagnosis between 2000 and the first quarter of 2018. Embedded in that large number are not only the experiences of the Service members themselves, but also their family members and caregivers whose own lives are often affected by a TBI diagnosis for their loved one.
321
The number of active duty military suicides in 2018, according to a recent article in Military Times -- Active-Duty Military Suicides at Record Highs in 2018. This total included 57 Marines, 68 Sailors, 58 Airmen, and 138 Soldiers. "The deaths equal the total number of active-duty personnel who died by suicide in 2012, the record since the services began closely tracking the issue in 2001," the article said.
The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Sticking it out in trauma-focused treatment for PTSD: It takes a village.
● Suicidal Imagery in Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder.
● Traumatic Event Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Sleep Disturbances in a National Sample of U.S. Adults.
Relationship distress is a common presentation in the military mental health clinic in which I work and is also a frequently seen precipitating factor for combat stress during deployment. Most of the mental health professionals I work with cite relationship woes as the top reason underlying adjustment disorders in theater. We also know that relationship problems of various types (loss of relationship, perceived burdensomeness in relationships) are associated with an elevated risk of suicide and other mental health problems.
25.2%
The percentage of women Veterans who "reported inappropriate/unwanted comments or behavior by male veterans on VA grounds," according to a pre-publication article posted online by the journal Women's Health Issues -- Prevalence of Stranger Harassment of Women Veterans at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and Impacts on Delayed and Missed Care.