WEBVTT

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Hello and welcome . My name is brian

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Lewis and I'm ted burgess . We are the

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directors of psychological health for

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124th fighter wing today we'll be

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talking about suicide prevention during

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today's training . We'll be focusing on

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connectedness and why it's important

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for prevention of suicide . We will

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also discuss how to recognize and

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respond to distress . How you can use

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the ace model for helping a wingman in

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distress and how we can all be part of

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a culture shift that supports help

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seeking and connectedness amongst

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airmen and guardians . This is a hard

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topic . Some of you may have had

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personal experience with suicide that

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make it hard to talk about at any time .

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Feel free to take a few moments for

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self care or ask for help if you're

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having difficulty . We want open

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dialogue and we also want to be

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respectful of those around us as we

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talk . Let's start with human

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connection connectedness is hardwired

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into our brains and is the key for

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surviving difficult times . Let's begin

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with a couple of questions . What does

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connectedness mean to you ? How can

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connectedness help prevent suicide ?

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Hey sincerely check this out . Check

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out this meeting this Marini and all

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these cranes , you know , by the way ,

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I can tell you more than that . Just

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make that clear . I can totally do more

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than that Marine did on those grants .

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Mhm So hey , I've heard you've got some

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things going on in your life . What

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what's been going on ? Um it's been a

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little rough lately but I think I'll be

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fine . Yeah I saw some posts you put on .

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I gotta be honest . It was , it was

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kind of dark 1st . What is the

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difference between stress and distress ?

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Stress is a normal part of our lives

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when stress overwhelms our ability to

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cope . It causes distress distress is a

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state of anxiety , sadness or emotional

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pain . We manage distress through

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coping strategies . Coping strategies

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can be helpful like exercise or

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meditation , but coping strategies can

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also be unhelpful , like drinking or

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isolating from those who care by having

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strong connections . We can recognize

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the risk factors and warning signs that

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signal others may need support . Risk

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factors are characteristics that

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increase a person's risk of suicide . A

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few examples of risk factors can be

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loss of relationship , legal issues ,

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unemployment or financial issues .

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Warning signs or behaviors that

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indicate someone is in distress and

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needs help Now warning signs may

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include talking or posting about dying

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or being a burden over using drugs or

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alcohol changes in typical mood ,

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reckless behaviors are withdrawal from

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family and friends , recognizing risk

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factors and warning signs are the key

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to being able to intervene in time .

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I've just been in a dark place lately .

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Um , I have some plants to fix

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everything though . Well , so

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what exactly is is happening if you get

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slain ? Yeah . Um , I don't know if you

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heard or not , but last month I got A D .

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Y . And the commander's thinking about

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taking one of my stripes away before we

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talk about intervening ? Let's step

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back and look at the bigger picture ,

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how can we change the culture to

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encourage help seeking behavior ? A

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vehicle has hundreds of working parts ,

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an airplane upwards of thousands , but

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the human body has billions

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acknowledging the toll of wear and tear

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over time means we accept as normal The

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idea of preventative maintenance . This

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holds true of our vehicles as well as

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our bodies and our brains culture

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change comes through normalizing help

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seeking and openly talking about mental

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health . Listen , do that . That's

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that's tough man . Um , yeah , the

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tough part is the money . It was really

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already tight . But with me losing rank ,

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it makes it that much harder between

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the dewey and the loss of rank . I'm

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not sure if my wife's gonna plan on

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sticking around or not , but I have a

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plan and I hope everything works out .

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Wingman can recognize risk factors and

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can apply the three Ds as early

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intervention . The three Ds are direct ,

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distract and delegate the three Ds can

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be used early before stretch becomes

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overwhelming . A wingman can direct and

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airmen to seek support from a helping

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professionals such as a DP H or

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community helping agency . A wingman

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can distract an airman by encouraging

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the airman to engage in an activity or

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to attend an event that will help to

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zoom out and gain perspective . A

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wingman can delegate by recruiting help

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for an airman who is in need . There

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are reasons that people are

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uncomfortable asking for help or asking

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others if they need help . We call

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these barriers an effective way to

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manage barriers is by naming them

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through creating connection and

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developing a culture of help seeking .

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As soon as you recognize someone needs

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help , it is time to intervene without

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intervention . We continue to be

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bystanders and the issues remain

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unaddressed . We use the Ace model as a

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resource to assist an intervention . A

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stands for ask care and

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simply knowing the steps doesn't mean

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that it's easy to have a conversation

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with someone you think may be having

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thoughts of suicide . The We're

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presenting specific steps . This

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process is rarely clear cut . Applying

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the Ace models should flow like a

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conversation . Common barriers and

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misconceptions can include not knowing

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how to ask about suicide feeling

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uncomfortable or thinking that asking

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about suicide causes suicide , we can

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break down these barriers by avoiding

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judgmental language , showing authentic

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concern and being direct .

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It is important to be direct and ask if

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they are thinking about dying by

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suicide by saying things like are you

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having thoughts about suicide or are

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you thinking about killing yourself ?

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Research conclusively shows that asking

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about thoughts of self harm or suicide

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will not plant this idea or make the

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person's suicidal ? That is a myth that

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has been debunked . It's important to

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avoid judgmental language such as

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suicidal people are selfish . These

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statements only increase shame and

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emotional distress for somebody who is

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already struggling now . I know you've

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got a lot going on right now . I've got

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to be honest with you . Get me a little

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conservative . Are you are you thinking

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about suicide ? Are you thinking about

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actually killing yourself ? Mm hmm .

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I just keep thinking that my wife kind

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of would just be better off , you know ,

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Without me plus my SGL

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I will be able to cover our financial

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problems . Um , I just really don't

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see how my career is going to be able

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to rebound from this . And I really

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just don't see any other way out

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the sea and a stands for care . We show

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we care when we listen without trying

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to fix another's problems . Active

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listening skills include validating

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someone's feelings to affirm their

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struggle , reflecting what you're

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hearing and showing concern for the

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person's safety . Do you actually have

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a plan on how you commit suicide ? Yeah .

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I don't want to have people have to

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clean up my mess . Um , I really just

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want to disappear . I'd probably really

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just go out to the desert and just

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shoot myself . I can see

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why you would think that . I mean ,

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seriously , that's really heavy on me

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hearing you say that I would be

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seriously devastated if I found out I

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heard you did something like that ,

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avoid blaming or minimizing statements

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such as you are overreacting or it's

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not that bad . Ask about items that

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could be used for self harm such as

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weapons or medications . Use the

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acronym S . L . O . Slow use safe locks

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or store lethal means outside of the

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home by securing them with someone they

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trust . I mean how would you feel like

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you know I've got a gun safe man would

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it be ? And D . P . H . Has got gun

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locks and stuff . How would you feel if

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I stored your gun just for the meantime ?

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Um I mean I guess we could give it a

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try . The last step in is is

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in the short term . This means

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escorting the person to the next level

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of care or staying with them until help

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arrives . Resources for next levels of

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care include DPH local hospital

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emergency rooms , the wing chaplain or

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by calling 911 if appropriate try to

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separate the person from lethal means

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but not at the risk of your own safety .

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Hey sent all that sounds like a good

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plan . I actually think the ph offices

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in this building um would you be okay

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if I you down to the DPH office and

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talk to them about you dealing with

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everything ? Um Yeah I don't really

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know um what's the DPH plan

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to help me navigate through this mess .

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I'm not entirely sure . I mean I'm not

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a mental health professional but I

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think it would be worth a shot . I'm

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concerned about you and I think you

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would be a benefit to you want to talk

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to the DPH in . So they've got to say

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if you think it's a good idea then then

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I'll then I'll go with you .

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Yeah . Hey

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brian , hey this is senior within syria .

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You've got some time . Can we talk with

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you ? Yeah , absolutely . Come on in .

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It's good to meet you . Yeah . After

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you have escorted someone to a safe

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place , consider it . Following up with

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them , follow up with the person to see

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how they are doing . But have realistic

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expectations . You can't solve all of

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their problems but you can continue to

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show you care . Don't avoid the person .

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Instead show empathy

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beyond following up with the person ,

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begin to think about helping them

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reintegrate back into the unit .

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Reintegration back into the unit after

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or during treatment is a critical step

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for increasing and maintaining

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connectiveness . Let the person guide

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what they want to share or not share

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and empower them . It may feel awkward

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or intimidating to approach someone and

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ask them directly about suicide . But

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by asking directly caring and escorting

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you are supporting them and may even be

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saving their life . Now think

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back to our conversation earlier about

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creating an environment in which

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everyone feels a sense of connectedness

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and belonging and it's comfortable

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checking in and asking for help

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remember that connectedness and

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belonging . Help foster protective

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supportive environments which increased

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resilience before during and after

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stressful events , connectedness also

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helps us recognize signs of stress and

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distress earlier on in others as well

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as ourselves . Self awareness is

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important to seeking help for ourselves

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when we are struggling and through

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utilizing coping strategies , we can

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increase personal resilience . We must

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take care of ourselves in order to be

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able to take care of our team . We

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don't necessarily have to share

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interests or common backgrounds to

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build connectedness . We can always

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find creative ways to connect with

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others . In closing , I'd like to thank

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you for taking the time today to learn

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about suicide prevention and please ,

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if yourself or someone in your life is

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struggling , reach out to them or reach

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out to the nearest helping professional

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and ask for assistance . The poet Naomi

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Nye offers us this closing thought

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before you can know kindness as the

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deepest thing inside . You must know

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sorrow as the other , deepest thing .

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You see all of us know sorrow . It's

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kind of our common denominator as human

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beings and we can go there when we see

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somebody else suffering and in distress ,

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it lets them know that they are not

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alone . It shares the experience . So

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be kind to others and be kind to

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yourself