Memo to Leaders: Go there slowly
I’ve been involved in the world of “mental fitness” for the past ten years. I’d like to share with leaders some very basic data: Active Duty Endstrength vs Active Duty Suicide, from 1999-2023. I had to create the Active Duty Suicide slide because the data is never presented like this.
Conclusions:
- There is as much art as science in the treatment of “mental health issues,” but we don’t know that.
- The people you lead overwhelmingly do not suffer from Serious Mental Illness, lots have had their asses kicked by life though… and they enlist looking to transform their lives.
- YOUR leaders and their leadership count… it takes one connection to stop a suicide, one.
- “Hopium” doesn’t work… every single leader knows that. The truth works because it’s strong, it’s unbendable, and it makes them wiser and stronger.
- Teach them the truth… that trauma is a normal part of life; that we don’t ever “get over” those events – ever; that struggling is normal – there is nothing “wrong” with them when they struggle; that learning what to do when they struggle is a learnable skill; and most important of all… they can still live a great life.
There is no reason the US Military cannot WIN the fight in the Valley of the Shadow of Death and set an example for the Nation to follow.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
