Supporting Veteran Mental Health and Why Identity Matters | Sean Douglas | TEDxLSSU

thank you over 20 U. S veterans will end their life today that's the realization US veterans face and as a society but how does it get to that moment how do veterans end up in that place research studies show that 52 percent of veterans faced loneliness depression PTSD and suicide but before we get into more statistics we have to figure out who veterans are veterans can be 19 years of age and are 8. 4 percent of the entire nation's adult population that accounts for over 19 million men and women across America most of them are from the Vietnam War era and are over the age of 75.

while 3. 31 million are men aged 35 to 54. and 644 475 of them are women age 35 to 54.

but now that we know who veterans are we need to talk about the fight that veterans face after service the three most common mental health concerns of veterans are PTSD depression and traumatic brain injury or TBI and are the most publicized 11 to 20 percent of Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans face PTSD and I'm a part of that statistic 12 of the Gulf War veterans which is when my dad joined the military and 15 percent of Vietnam War veterans state that they face PTSD every day and I ask again how does it get to this point is because they've lost their identity we're told day one in basic training that you are the best of the best you are the top one percent that all of America has to offer now not everyone can serve or will serve but the honor of Defending America's freedom from all enemies foreign and domestic is a responsibility that few will ever experience or can even fathom day one of basic training we're told that we're civilian bottom feeders and we're scum and then we get built into this military machine what happens after service 50 percent of the nation's veterans face homelessness that accounts for 1. 5 million veterans that face homelessness and suicide I question if that building up of a military machine and a tearing down of the individualistic civilian mindset is the root cause I was a drill instructor from 2009 to 2013 at Lackland Air Force Base San Antonio Texas it was my job to tear down those civilians destroy old habits and build them into a military machine I not only went through basic training I went back for more during my time as a drill instructor it was my responsibility to make sure they either be rolling folding clothes marching drills or screaming at them at the top of my lungs while they do push-ups for the wrongdoings it was my job to build each men and women into military leaders after the first week their individual will starts to break at the end of the third week of basic training their individual will is broken their self-esteem is low the leaders rise while the followers cling to their wingmen this is the process of basic training that begins the build up of the military machine after the third week of training the hierarchy inside of that basic training flight which is the men or women that will go through basic training together form a team because it takes a team for the U. S military to accomplish its mission we follow orders or people die it's that simple we don't take notes we don't ask questions we simply follow orders day one of basic training that is exactly what we programmed them to do do not ask questions just do after they graduate basic training in tech school they go to their first Duty station it is here that we give them the ultimate identity and welcoming them into the military family while off duty we attend barbecues weddings birthdays and celebratory moments like promotions we know each other spouses kids and we look after them we then deploy with our service men and women and we put our lives into each other's hands and trust them that will come home safe we spend hours in the desert heat fixing airplanes Vehicles equipment or engaging an enemy by returning fire we serve at the best and the worst times of our military career and we do it alongside our brothers and sisters unfortunately the military identity doesn't last forever one of the hardest moments of my life was putting away my military uniform I joined November 27 2001 right after 9 11.

and my last day of service was December 1st 2021.