WRNMMC, Bethesda, MD  –   The Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Clinic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center recently hosted a suicide awareness “honor walk” in the rose garden labyrinth between WRNMMC’s Buildings 3 and 5.
The walk honored “those we have lost, and [for others to] gain a sense of healing and strength through reflection and meditation,” stated organizers for the event, Army Maj. Josue Nunez and Army Capt. Michelle Worsley, both of the Child and Family Social Work Fellowship Program at WRNMMC.
The labyrinth provides another means of wellness and renewal for patients, families, visitors and staff at WRNMMC. According to Nunez and Worsley, labyrinths date back centuries, possibly to the period of when Greek mythology began to flourish from about 3000 to 1100 BCE. Labyrinths are now built and used in health-care facilities, places of worship and parks for meditation, personal, psychological and spiritual reflection, transformation, and to enhance right brain activity, of which emotion is a function.
Health care providers have noted that labyrinths can be calming and help relieve stress because they can slow a person down as the individual makes his or her way patiently along the labyrinth’s path towards its center. The labyrinth is not a maze, but a safe space for peace and reflection. “[Its] intent is to provide an opportunity for integrating body, mind and spirit in the pursuit of health, well-being and balance gained through meditation, insight and reflection,” according to U.S. Public Health Service Capt. Moira McGuire, assistant chief of Integrated Health Services at WRNMMC.
Slowly walking a labyrinth can help you feel the relaxation response, which is the opposite of the stress "fight or flight," explained the late Dr. Herbert Benson, who founded the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and authored the book Relaxation Revolution.
While everyone experiences stress, service member’s lives are different, stated Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, in a video message observing of Suicide Prevention Month during September.
“Relocations, deployments, time away from family, and stressful experiences related to combat can increase suicide risk,” Place furthered. “Suicide prevention remains a top priority for the Department of Defense and the Military Health System. All Military Health System providers are trained to identify suicide warning signs. Working together we can all help reduce the risk and prevent suicides,” he added.
Estimates indicate that anywhere between 17 to 22 veterans commit suicide every day. The 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report indicated, “The average number of suicides per day among U.S. adults rose 55 percent, from 81 in 2001 to 125.6 in 2019. Across the same 18-year period, the average number of veteran suicides per day rose 4.5 percent, from 16.4 in 2001 to 17.2 in 2019.”
A study by the America’s Warrior Partnership with the University of Alabama and Duke University indicate the number of suicides among service members and veterans could be even higher because of undercounting related to those deaths attributed to drug overdose and not listed as suicides.
The military offers free, confidential resources for those in need of help and their families and friends.
• The Military Crisis Line, available 24/7, offers free support for all service members and veterans who dial 988, option 1, or text 838255.
• The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available 24/7 at 988 and offers free and confidential support for people in distress.
• The Psychological Health Resource Center is another 24/7 support resource for service members, veterans and families. It is available by calling 1-866-966-1020.
“There is strength in asking for help,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Gragg, DHA’s senior enlisted leader, in a video message to the force for Suicide Prevention Month. “We’re all in this together, and we all need a helping hand once in a while. You are not alone. Don’t wait to seek help for yourself or someone you know. Talk to a friend, your family, your leadership or a chaplain,” Gragg stressed.