Page 617 - Total War on PTSD

noted by David Toombs, the main culprit is often feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, so I feel that keeping the focus on embracing a positive behavior, i.e., “Promoting hope,” is more productive than just focusing on preventing a negative, i.e., “Preventing suicide.” In other words, rather than just being focused solely on suicide prevention, we should be focused on mental health and wellness more broadly. If the focus is on optimal mental health at all times, we can ultimately make more progress than we can by focusing on suicide prevention alone. As the VA itself acknowledges, “[t]o prevent Veteran suicide, we must help reduce Veterans’ risk for suicide before they reach a crisis point and support those Veterans who are in crisis.”
One simple solution, that is rarely discussed by stakeholders in the various conversations about suicide prevention, stems from the old adage that when life becomes difficult, simply slow down, pause, and take a breath. According to Rieman, this is particularly helpful for Veterans who struggle with the stress of transition, as well as combat. “There is a saying that time heals all, and I truly believe that,” Rieman states, reflecting back on his experience, “there are lots of different programs in place [to assist Veterans in transition], but I wasn’t ready to take them seriously.” He continued, “If we want to improve overall health and well-being, we need to slow down the transition process and allow Veterans the time they need to process all of the changes they are going through.”
Rieman’s sentiment about the power of pause is also echoed by Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, a physician who specializes in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and founder of the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, a non-profit that specifically focuses on assisting
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