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The third book in the Friend Grief series is about friends who live and work together,
and the military figures prominently in it. I’ve been learning a lot lately about
the epidemic of suicide among active duty military and veterans, in the US and
UK.
As I’ve explained in recent posts, there are a
number of contributing factors: multiple deployments, inadequate screening for
pre-existing mental health issues, substance abuse, grief for their comrades
and survivor guilt.
Sunday’s program opened with “The Life and Death of
Clay Hunt”, and it is as haunting a tale as you will ever see: a young man who
struggled with grief and guilt after watching his friends die in combat. A
young man who found meaning in his work with Team Rubicon, he still couldn’t
rid himself of the demons and ultimately took his own life.
When I watched this video, it was clear that
survivor guilt was not only limited to Clay Hunt: it weighs down on his parents
and friends as well.
What possible good could come from the telling of
this story? Awareness, for one: more active duty military committed suicide
than died in Afghanistan last year. And hopefully action: on the part of our
governments (for this is not limited to American military), our medical
establishment, the military itself, and the general public.
This is not going away any time soon. These men and women
deserve better than to act on the belief that they are better off dead.
2 comments:
I saw this and it touched me like few programs do....He was so beautiful, used his life for such good things and then left, just left behind love....His parents seemed so remote and self contained....Wow.....I'll remember him always....
Deb, we can never know what goes through someone's mind before they take their own life. But yes, on the surface at least, Clay Hunt was rededicating his life for good. It's just beyond sad to watch and realize that there are thousands more like him.
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