How might faith-based resilience be relevant to this national crisis of suicide? Here are a few observations: One can cluster the causal factors of military suicide into four primary groupings: Isolation (social issues and loneliness, intense grief from loss of a relationship or death of a loved one, survivor guilt, et al), Stress (anxious and angry, severe chronic stress from family, work, legal, or social problems; combat trauma including PTSD, victim or perpetrator of violent act), Injury/Illness/Addiction (overwhelmed without healthy coping mechanisms, severe depression or physical/mental injury or illness), Despair, hopelessness, low self-esteem, inability to craft life alternatives or view different futures). Now consider the role of Faith, God, Biblical truth, and the Church (in its broadest sense) as antidotes to these causal clusters. Here are a few ideas to stimulate your thinking regarding the relevance of faith to the issues of suicide. For example, “fellowship” within a faith community directly attacks isolation, allowing for secure and loving relationships of trust and mutual healing. The stress and injury/illness/addiction can be mitigated by spiritual focus and disciplines which afford “the peace of God which passes all understanding,” as well as the reality that “God heals the brokenhearted.” The despair and hopelessness are countered by God’s emphasis on hope and encouragement throughout the Scriptures. While some of these simple antidotes to a “spirit of suicide” are extremely effective and preventative, our current mainstream culture and caring professions do not fully appreciate the relevance of Biblical truth to the military’s mental and behavioral health challenges. Yet the evidence (both in terms of changed lives and evidence based research) is undeniable: Faith makes a difference. - Major General Bob Dees
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 02:16:59 +0000
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