Huffington Magazine Issue 64-65 | Page 47

HUFFINGTON 09.01-08.13 INVISIBLE CASUALTIES might be significantly underestimated because they’re based on incomplete data from 21 states, not including Texas or California. Even so, the data documents an increase of nearly 11 percent between 2007 and 2010, the most recent year of data in the study. — The population of veterans over 50 — more than two-thirds of all veterans — is swelling with aging baby boomers. Mostly men, they are considered more at-risk of suicide because they tend to be socially isolated, struggle with physical or mental deterioration, and possess easy familiarity with firearms. The suicide numbers are rising despite a determined push by the Pentagon and the VA to connect troops to a proliferation of resources. These range from immediate crisis intervention, to specific therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of trauma, to broader mental health services, peer mentoring, resiliency training, and financial and relationship counseling. VA specialists scour hundreds of places, from NASCAR events to American Indian reservations, for veterans in need. There is such a drive to provide resources that even the Pentagon can’t say how many programs it has or what they cost. Suicide numbers aside, there are many reasons to anticipate trouble. Vietnam veterans have gone largely untreated for post- Some 8,000 veterans are thought to die by suicide each year, a toll of about 22 per day. traumatic stress disorder, and many have buried those emotional wounds by drinking or overworking, said Tom Berger, executive director of the Veterans Health Council of Vietnam Veterans of America. As these veterans age into retirement, symptoms of anxiety and depression often emerge. Mental stress within the military is already high. A new study by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center found that mental disorders are the leading cause of hospitalizations for active-duty forces. The rate at which troops are being hospitalized for mental health illness, it says, has risen 87 percent since ★