May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Veterans deal with a major mental health symptom called PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a mental health symptom that many survivors of combat live with. As a Purple Heart veteran, I live with PTSD.  On June 17th, 2007 I was shot by a sniper during an ambush outside of Sadr City in Baghdad. The symptoms never go completely away, but they do become manageable over time. Speaking from my lived experience, here are 3 mental health signs to look out for in your veteran: 

1. Being Nostalgic: 

   1. For many veterans, being in the military represents the best time of their life. Most of us were young, in the best shape of our lives, with the best friends of our lives. We wear hats, t-shirts, and other military apparel to “feel” closer to the military in our later years. When I got out of the military, I used to wear my Army PT jacket everywhere I went. It was my way to feel like I was still in, like I still belonged to something greater than myself. I would walk down grocery store aisles just hoping that someone would comment on my PT jacket so I could tell them about what being a Cavalry Scout was like. I would lament the fact that I got hurt in Iraq, even though I had no control over it. I would feel sorry for the people that didn’t make it back for days on end while looking at their pictures.

2. To help your veteran with this nostalgia, talk to them about their service. What hurt the most for me is when I got out of the military my parents had no idea what I did in the Army. They didn’t know anything about the Army, and it made me feel so distant from them. The awareness is seeing that your veteran is probably missing that feeling of brotherhood/sisterhood. Talk to your veteran, find out what they did when they were in the military. 

2. Alive Days: 

   1. An alive day is a day when a veteran survived a near death experience. My Alive Day is June 17, 2007. This is the day I was shit in Iraq, it’s like a second birthday to me. I haven’t met any other veterans that have Purple Hearts from getting shot, everyone I know was involved in some type of bomb/blast. Usually these bombs/blasts cause someone else to get severely injured or possibly lose their life. In my case, my best friend and roommate Eric Snell was shot and killed by a sniper on June 18th, 2007. The day after I got shot. My Alive Day quickly turned into survivors’ guilt. 

   2. So what can we do to be aware during these Alive Days? I have made it a time of celebration in my life. You can help your veteran’s mental health if you do the same thing. If your veteran has someone that isn’t with us anymore, help them celebrate that life too. 

3. Looking For Help 

   1. Some proud veterans (like me) rarely admit we will need help. It is easier to cope with alcohol or a substance of choice. The care that we receive at the VA (Department of Veteran Affairs) isn’t all that great so many vets don’t go. With all the changes happening within the Federal Government, we will wait to see if the experience will improve. It is rare that a veteran asks for help, so what do you do when it happens? 

   2. Talk to your veteran and ask them what type of help they think they need. There are many non profit organizations that provide free help to veterans and their families. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers a special program for veterans and their families called NAMI HOMEFRONT that provides free mental health education to veterans and their families  over 6 online sessions. Sessions are free and are held over 6 sessions. NAMI also has many other resources for those living with mental illness. 

During the height of the suicide pandemic in the veteran population, 20 veterans a day died by suicide. There are reports out saying that there are more service members died by suicide opposed to those that died in the War on Terror. The number of suicides has lowered but is still a problem. You can use these 3 signs to help a veteran in a time of need. Do you know any more? Leave them below in a comment.

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