April 21, 2012: PTSD, TBI and Suicide - How Can We Help?

“An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6500 veteran suicides are logged every year-more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.” – New York Times (April 15, 2012)The Department of Veterans Affairs is increasing its mental health employee staff by roughly 1,900.“VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced the plan Thursday, saying the government must make sure all veterans have adequate access to health care.”The department plans to add about 1,600 clinicians and about 300 support staff to an existing mental health staff of roughly 20,590. The department says it’ll begin recruiting immediately”. Military.com 19 April 2012.Join us this week on Veterans Radio as we discuss this continuing problem with our returning troops. Our guests include: Eric C Amberg, Ph.d, who practices neuropsychology in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For 12 years, he treated traumatized veterans at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital. Now, alarmed at the growing numbers, Dr. Amberg has an especially strong interest in suicide intervention. We also have Jerry Yellin, World War II fighter pilot who fought his own demons for over 30 years until he learned Transcendental Meditation. It changed his life.“We have thousands of young veterans coming back from war today suffering from what I suffered and now known as PTSD. It is important for me that they do not wander for a good portion of their lives as I did. TM is available to all veterans and their families through Operation Warrior Wellness”.