WEBVTT

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Welcome back to another episode of the

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Military Psychological Wellness , the

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podcast dedicated to helping our

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service members thrive . I'm H and

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Abigapier . I am RPS and Smith ,

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Marissa . Thanks for having me , HM2 .

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September is suicide alertness Month ,

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and we're dedicating this time to talk

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openly about suicide alertness and

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mental health . And as I'm sure most of

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us know , military life can be very

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tough . We have to deploy . We are

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PCSing every 2 to 3 years , and

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sometimes we work very long hours .

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We're also separated from a family ,

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and all of these factors can make it

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very difficult for a service member to

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seek help and I'm ashamed to say that

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sometimes also , they think that it can

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be seen as a weakness if they seek any

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type of mental health care , but I'm

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here to tell you that it is not true .

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If you need help for any reason , if

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you're struggling with your mental

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health , go ahead and seek help because

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that's what the professionals are here

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for . Yes , seeking help is a sign of

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strength . Everyone needs help every

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once in a while . It is a sign of

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courage . It is not a sign of weakness .

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Don't be afraid to ask for help . And

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also it's very important to recognize

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the sign , not just in yourself , but

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also in your shipment when um when your

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friends around you , if you notice any

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sign like they're isolating themselves ,

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they're using substance , mainly

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alcohol , extremely , to the point

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where you feel like , OK , this might

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be an issue . Let me say something .

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Thing or if your friends are constantly

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making very morbid jokes like I wish I

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could go to sleep and never wake up ,

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and then they laughed about it , right ?

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So those are all signs that we can look

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out for in ourselves and also in our

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friends . So please do not ignore it if

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you notice that somebody that you know

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is acting out of character . Yes ,

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don't be a bystander . Don't be afraid

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to just ask that uncomfortable question ,

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Are you going to kill yourself ? You

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never know . That can save their life .

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And a lot of people , they think by

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asking , are you going to kill yourself ,

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you put the idea in the mind of

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somebody , and that's just not true

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because the truth is if somebody is

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planning to to kill themselves . To

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harm themselves , you asking that

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question is not going to make any

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difference . In fact , it can have the

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opposite effect because it will make

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them realize that , oh wow , somebody

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is actually paying attention . So it's

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OK to ask the hard question , are you

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going to kill yourself ? And for anyone

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who's listening , if you're struggling ,

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I promise you you are not alone . A lot

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of people have their own struggle that

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they're going through and sometimes we

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just don't see other people's battle

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because they don't want us to see . But

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we can take a few seconds and ask them ,

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Hey , are you OK , right . There are

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resources available . We have chaplains ,

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we have military one source we have

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fleet and family , the Veterans Crisis

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Line , and also a trusted friend .

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Family members , anybody really can be .

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If you find somebody that you trust ,

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just go ahead and let them know what's

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going on in your life . A lot of , a

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lot of time we don't know what's going

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on if you don't tell us . So when you

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take the time and you ask somebody ,

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hey , are you OK ? Just be ready to be

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listening , be , have an open mind .

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And do not judge them because it takes

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a lot of courage for somebody to tell

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you what's going on in their life . So

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for this suicidal Awareness month ,

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let's commit to watching out for each

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other . If you're listening , take a

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moment , check in with your battle

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buddy , your shipmate , your wingmen ,

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anybody really . A simple how you're

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doing really can make all the

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difference . Sometimes just listening

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to that person will make their day even

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better remember connection saves lives

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don't hesitate to ask for help . We all

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share the same type of struggle . You

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do not have to walk this world alone .

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And thank you again for joining us on

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Military Psychological Wellness . Be

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sure to share this episode with a

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shipmate whom I needed or anybody you

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think might need to hear this . If

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you're someone you know is . seek help .

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I like to tell people that if you break

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an arm or if you get sick , you go to

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the hospital to have a doctor look at

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you and help you . It's the same for

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mental health . It's just a different

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kind of bruise that you cannot see . So

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your life matter and you matter , so

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seek help .