
V SAFE 22
Veterans Suicide Awareness and Family Education
SIGNS:
Many times, loved ones may miss the signs or signals of their Veteran having suicidal ideations. I can tell you, it’s not always easy to pick up on these signs. Some of the more obvious are;
-
Selling or giving away possessions
-
Withdrawing from people and things that used to interest them
-
Turning to or abusing drugs and or alcohol more than before
-
Attitude change. Usually for the worst, but may even change to being extremely happy, at peace if you will. This is because they may have made a plan on how to carry out their thoughts of suicide so their mind is at peace knowing it will all be over soon.
-
Angry or bitter all the time
-
Saying things like “I wish I was dead”, or “this world would be better off without me”
Like I said, these are pretty obvious. The ones who cover it up well are the ones that are harder to read. They may still have a lot of those same signs but wear a smile to hide the hurt. They may also exhibit some not-so-big differences in behavior. This is when you, as a loved one, may be able to notice slight changes. Some of these changes could be in eating and sleeping habits, mood swings (getting angry or agitated easily), or loss of interest (could range from not doing things that used to make them happy to not even wanting to leave the house).