St. Cloud VA Taking Action To Prevent Veteran Suicide

(KNSI) – May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the St. Cloud VA Medical Center is speaking up about mental health, PTSD, and veterans.

Ann Fleming, a social worker with the suicide prevention team at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, says there is no one cause for veteran suicide. Even among the red flags, it can be difficult to tell the difference between someone being introverted or shy and depression and isolation.

“We all energize in our own ways,” says Fleming. “Some of us get energy by solitude, alone time, and that sort of thing. When it comes to isolation we’re really talking about kind of a bigger pattern, maybe not going to events that perhaps they have in the past, maybe not taking calls from family and friends.”

Other warning signs include sharp changes in mood, anxiety and depression, and feelings of hopelessness.

Chaplain Michael Gruber talked about how PTSD from serving in combat can conflict with our personal notions of right and wrong. That leads to a concept called moral injury when orders force someone to do something they later regret.

“Moral injury produces symptoms that are related, or can be related, to suicidality. It’s an existential crisis. Notions of grief, sorrow, regret, shame, guilt, self blame, self condemnation, a belief that the world is not a fair or just place and it can never be a fair just place.”

Gruber says the consequences on a person are severe, and in extreme circumstances can lead to suicide. Gruber says there are several pathways to healing.

The St. Cloud VA Medical Center has groups helping veterans deal specifically with moral injury.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. It’s a free call from any phone. Veterans can call that number and press 1.

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