FORT STEWART, Ga. - Suicide prevention means saving lives…the Army’s stated goal is to prevent suicide for Soldiers, Family Members, and Civilians. Suicide prevention involves both public awareness and education; understanding the risk factors and signs of concern is a must.
Fort Stewart Garrison Commander, Kevin Milton, is quoted on Team Stewart’s website in an article titled “Suicide prevention starts with you’, as saying “… Each of us can help make a difference. Each of us can help carry the message that when times seem darkest-You are not alone.”
Fact is suicide is never an option and everyone plays a part in preventing suicides within the community.
Many ask the question: What does the public need to know and how can we help?
“The most important thing we need to know about suicide is that it is preventable,” said Dr. Paul Wade, Fort Stewart suicide prevention program manager and doctor of psychology. “By being aware of the signs and symptoms that are often contributing factors to suicide, the public can learn to identify those who are at risk and learn the skills of helping someone to seek help and to recognize that there are other options for them in their time of need.”
Everyone plays a part in staying connected with Soldiers, Family Members and Civilians and understanding the risk factors is critical to preventing suicides.
“One of the key things to look at is somebody who changes their behavior significantly,” said Maria Aviles, Fort Stewart’s supervisory clinical psychologist and chief of the Warrior Restoration Center.
She added that experiences with broken relationships, financial or career problems can make a Soldier more vulnerable. “Some of the key signs that people might do is that they seem completely de-motivated, they might be giving out things that were important to them, pushing away Family Members radically, and increased alcohol consumption can be associated with feeling depressed." “One key indicator for us if I’m assessing somebody is hopelessness, added Aviles.”
Hopelessness is feeling that conditions will not improve and there is no solution at hand, but suicide is never an option. Most importantly, the impact of an attempted suicide is felt by the entire community.
“A suicide attempt or even a gesture makes people question themselves, makes people wonder, what roles did I play in this? “What could have I done to help this person?” Aviles said. “When you’re talking about within the context of the unit, the blame game is something that tends to happen. It’s all a blame game that could happen … it’s a normal reaction.”
Wade further adds, Family Members, friends and those in the community who know the person who commits suicide are also victims. “These people have to find ways to cope with the loss and learn how to sort through their emotions as they attempt to understand such a preventable tragedy, Wade said.”
While preventing suicides in the armed forces is nothing new, the Army continuously improves risk-assessment tools and helps to educate the community.
“The Army has an excellent training program about suicide prevention called ACE. The ACE stands Ask, Care, and Escort,” Dr. Wade said. “In 2010, this Army program gained national recognition by a panel of experts as a 'best practice' for the high expectation that the program can meet the goal and objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.”
With nationally recognized training, understanding risk behaviors and concerned professionals, suicide prevention is tackled daily at Stewart-Hunter.
“By each of us being compassionate and caring for those around us, we can become more in tune with the emotions of others and better recognize when someone is not their self,” Wade said.
“Do not lose hope and do talk with somebody because the help is out there and the personnel that we have here are committed to taking care of Soldiers … They are willing to give up their free time to take care of Soldiers because they care,” Aviles said.
For more information on suicide prevention, call the Fort Stewart Behavioral Health Clinic, at 912-767-1654. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 800-273-8255 or visit, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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