The perfect cocktail for veterans; isolation with a splash of pandemic fatigue
By: Barry Gipson
Tags: Cocktails, Pandemic Fatigue, Veterans, Alcohol, Suicide

Two dispatchers at the Veterans Crisis Line failed to help a veteran who died of an overdose just hours after calling the hotline. The veteran died from a mixture of alcohol, antidepressants, and over-the-counter medications on July 4, 2018.

Like Father Like Son

My grandfather Stanley died in his sleep an alcoholic. Like normal he would take a nap during the day. After a Jim Beam and Coke. Until my grandmother Velma found him permanently asleep in their bed that day.

His son David, my father was a recovering alcoholic, and Army veteran. Before dying on the floor of his apartment in Kennewick, WA in 2018 in the fetal position. Three feet from where my mother Grace died while sleeping in her living room recliner. Both were opioid addicts.

While serving in the Navy for 23 years I constantly drank alcohol. I never considered myself an alcoholic however. This is how I blew steam as a uniformed member when not in uniform. Work hard, play harder.

For years I kept alcohol in the house. Even after retiring. At one point a few years ago I would stop and buy a bottle of wine daily at the store on the way home from work. Many veterans either drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or both. Both substances are also known to cause death among veterans.

I walked into the doors of the American Lake VA hospital in 2018. Shortly after my father died within a year of my mother. I had graduated to McAllen scotch by the bottle weekly. Essentially drinking myself to sleep each night. My self-medication strategy. Before I had found an alternative.

Many veterans are isolated with only their thoughts during this lockdown. Many located in states where alternatives for pain management that won't cause death are not available. Many are also homeless and without established VA care. Which directly contributes to the 17 veterans who take their own lives ever day. Sixty-nine percent commit suicide with a firearm.

Statistics show that LinkedIn members with a photo receive far more engagement: 21 times more profile views and 9 times more connection requests.

Son of a Gun

Gun sales have risen since spring when the pandemic hit. Every holiday season they rise. It seems everyone went to buy all the toilet paper and gun ammunition once it started. From the inside looking out now, it appears the perfect cocktail is being mixed for veterans.

“Firearm purchases have climbed every month since March, and more than 1.7 million background checks were conducted in October alone, a roughly 60% jump over the same period in 2019.” H/T CBS

It's hard for me now even though I quit drinking almost 2 years ago. Luckily I have an alternative for pain management with medical cannabis in a legal state. Isolation is the new enemy of the state among veterans. The VA is currently locked down for many veterans in remote locations. So try this.

What is virtual care? Virtual care means you can contact your VA provider (and health care team) through Secure Messaging or receive treatment by telephone or video.

When the days pass by and you can't remember what day of the week it is you might be experiencing pandemic fatigue. Many veterans need human interaction in order to function. Including yours truly. Seek virtual help.

Humans are social by nature. Social isolation for veterans especially is not healthy. I too am experiencing pandemic fatigue in this realm currently.

As the dark winter spirit mixes in with this cocktail the suicide numbers will eventually pour themselves out in 2021 statistical fashion. First and foremost We can't ignore these 18 signs that veterans show us this time of year either.

Many veterans own guns themselves. Many have went out and bought guns as a result of the corona mania. Which in no way am I saying this pandemic is not real. It is very much real and has hit very close to home for our family.

As this freshly squeezed cocktail silently puts many of us to sleep this dark winter there is one thing you can do to help. Would you like to help me here?

Seventeen veterans commit suicide every day. Sixty-nine percent actually do it with a firearm. Eleven of those 17 had zero health care established with the VA. Veterans are at a simultaneous war with this pandemic fatigue and mental health. Have you dialed a veteran today?

Phone a Freind

Each one of us can give the gift of life this holiday season. By simply reaching out on your phone to a veteran. They need to hear your voice because they are tired of hearing their own.

As increased pressure mounts this holiday season on encouraging consumers to shop online it means two things. Less human interaction for one, and an opportunity many veterans who may not see it for two.

Idle hands are the work of the devil. It is important for veterans to have a sense of purpose to get through each day. Without it many become lost. For this reason let’s connect please, and follow me Barry Gipson on Medium.

My platform is strictly bringing awareness to veterans and our challenges we face with mental health. In addition how to find alternative ways to heal. Every Monday I will publish my newsletter “Weeekly Smoke.”

A freshly packed email full of cannabis potency. Not found anywhere else on Medium. Designed with veterans in mind. To help both you and I develop a mental health Bullet Proof State of mind together.

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