A new study finds 22 military veterans commit suicide each day in the US.
Researchers looked at vets over the course of two years and found over 8,000 kill themselves a year. That is 20% higher than figures released in 2007.
And the study found that more than 69% of the suicides were among vets aged 50 years or older.
This statistic makes me so sad. It especially makes me sad because an old friend of mine was a marine and he committed suicide just last Tuesday. In his note he said it was because of his difficult financial situation, but anyone who knew him knows that PTSD definitely affected him. I don't know if it is the negative opinion of mental health care in this country or the lack of access or perhaps it is the fact that insurance companies don't like to pay for it that is keeping these veterans from getting the help they need. In my opinion counseling and mental health care should be a requirement for military personnel and it shouldn't wait until they return from war.
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