Military Suicides…The Answer? Posted on May 15, 2013 by: Kevin Hines The Military is in dire need. They are in need of funding. They are in need of back up. They are in need of education. But most importantly, they are in need of support. Not by more patriots, but by support, funding, back up, meditation and education on the prevention of suicide, and the art of living mentally well through any situation. My name is Kevin Hines, and although I am not nor have I ever been in the military, I have been serving nearly each sect of the armed services loyally for the past five years. Since the year 2008, I have travelled one-three weeks a year to military bases, camps, veteran’s affairs hospitals, and conferences. In doing so, I have brought the message to our service men and women that suicide is not the answer. It is not the answer, nor will it ever be the answer. No, I am not a licensed mental health professional, nor am I an “Expert” in the field. What I am, what I have to offer stems from a very arduous and quite personal experience. I have a very troubling mental illness. I have a severe form of bipolar disorder (type one with psychotic features). That means I have the manic highs, depressive lows, as would an average persons with BPD. What makes my form of BPD unique are the other symptoms I deal with on a daily basis. Symptoms like, extreme paranoid delusions, haunting night terrors, and hallucinations both auditory and visual. These symptoms are not unlike what so many military veterans and active duty members deal with every single day. My job is to reach out to these groups either on base, at a VA hospital, or keynoting a Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Conference. Then I walk to the pulpit and I begin to tell my story, my truth, Then I hope, and pray that my words have gone deep into the pits of their souls, in effect touching these individuals on a very personal level, with the wish that they (the ones actively suicidal) hear the message loud and clear…You are not alone. You can find hope. Most importantly, you do have a future while having these struggles, and help (however clichéd as it may sound) is available. This is coming from a guy who has been through the pits of depression, the highs of mania, and the reeling destruction of suicidal ideations. This coming from a guy who made the biggest mistake of his life…the day I attempted to end my days here on earth. I jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge in the year 2000 I nearly died off of that bridge, due to psychosis, due to mental illness, but more universally I almost died due to monstrous pain. I suffer even today. Yet I know I will never attempt to take my life, never again. I know the devastation that suicides cause families, friends, and loved ones. My recommendation…Transcendental Meditation. Department of Defense-Wide. If every military base, VA facility, and Veteran that transitions home treated their pain with this kind of meditation, we might just have a chance. Jerry Seinfeld, and Paul McCartney use it daily to name a few. It is a technique which takes up only 20 minutes of your day. It is natural, and the most widely researched kind of meditation. All the person utilizing it needs is a chair and the ability to close ones eyes. Think of it as the best form of self-development. The experts say it allows you to find “pure awareness.” You will find a place of peaceful consciousness once mastered. Some claim, that it will free you. How can one die by suicide, when they understand and accept the true pain they may be in, Instead of letting it override their ego, mind, thoughts, and emotions, and believing they must die by suicide, they find truth in silence, mind calm. That is my recommendation, pure awareness, hope, and the gift of freedom. True brain-pain freedom. It will not occur overnight, this kind of meditation must be mastered. It is within our reach. It is not a cult, or religion, it is a state of mind, an awareness of being. It is just around the corner. And looking at the latest numbers of military related suicides…We need it now. For more info go to TM.org
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:12:33 +0000
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