#JamesDonaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
(Reuters Health) – Nearly half of deployed soldiers thinking about #suicide show no obvious signs that would help #mentalhealthprofessionals identify them, a new study finds.
Researchers poring through data on almost 4,000 #soldiers serving in Afghanistan in 2012 found that 40% of those who said they had contemplated #suicide in the past 30 days had not been diagnosed with a major #mentalhealth problem and did not show any other signs that would help #healthproviders to identify them as being at risk, according to the report in JAMA Network Open.
“These #soldiers wouldn’t have been picked up if they were just screened for #mentalhealth disorders,” said coauthor Dr. Robert Ursano, director of The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University.
Identifying which #soldiers are thinking about #suicide, known as #suicidalideation, is very important, Ursano said.
“Of those who have #suicidalideation, 6% attempted #suicide in the next 18 months,” he explained. “Among those who didn’t, the #suicide rate was less than 1% over the same period of time.”
As for the other 60% who reported recent #suicidalideation, there were predictors, Ursano said. The biggest was a history of major depressive disorder. Also important was a history of non-combat related trauma, which could include being in a motor vehicle accident, being sexually assaulted, being in a tornado, being mugged, Ursano added.
Combat trauma wasn’t predictive, Ursano said. “In the theater, they’re all being exposed to combat trauma,” he explained. “So it didn’t distinguish who was at risk.”
To take a closer look at what factors might help healthcare providers figure out who might be most at risk, Ursano and his colleagues turned to a questionnaire that had been filled out in July 2012 by #soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.
The researchers focused on a sample of 3,957 who were representative of the 87,032 serving in Afghanistan at the time. The researchers also had information from military administrative records on gender, age, race/ethnicity, education and marital status.
Also in the analysis were lifetime and past 12-month exposures to traumatic and stressful events.
The #soldiers were asked about combat-related traumas, such as whether they had taken enemy fire, had been wounded or if a unit member had been wounded or killed. They were asked about lifetime stressors, including serious physical assault, sexual assault or rape, murder of a close friend or relative and involvement in disasters.
Overall, 11.7% of the soldiers reported ever having #suicidalideation during their lives; 3% reported #suicidalideation in the past year; and 1.9% reported #suicidalideation in the past 30 days.
When the researchers analyzed factors that could affect the likelihood a soldier might start thinking about #suicide, they found several: being white raised the risk by threefold, experiencing noncombat trauma raised the risk twofold, major #depression prior to the last 30 days resulted in a nearly five-fold risk increase and major #depression in the past 30 days produced a 31-fold increase in risk.
Among the 85 soldiers who had thought about #suicide in the past 30 days, five (6%) attempted #suicide in the 18 months after filling out the questionnaire. Among the 3,872 #soldiers who had not experienced #suicidalideation, six (0.14%) attempted #suicide.
“This is a very important study,” said Nadine Melhem, director for the program of neurobiology of #stress response and #suicide at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. “It suggests we can look for predictors before deployment to see if they are at risk of #suicidalideation in order to help them.”
The study shows that suicidal ideation in #soldiers is triggered by similar factors to those leading civilians to think about #suicide, said Dr. Paul Nestadt, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore who also wasn’t involved in the research.
What the study can’t say is who is likely to attempt #suicide in the next 30 days, Nestadt noted. “That is what I want to know,” he added.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
