Entrepreneurial psychopathology and the warrior mentality
The US Armed Forces has a problem with soldier suicide and depression.
In early 2013, the official website of the United States Department of Defense announced the startling statistic that the number of military suicides in 2012 had far exceeded the total of those killed in battle—an average of nearly one a day. A month later came an even more sobering statistic from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: veteran suicide was running at 22 a day—about 8000 a year.
The situation became so dire that the U.S. Secretary of Defense called suicide in the military an “epidemic.”
According to one Marine veteran, artificial intelligence, and machine learning (AI/ML) technology is transforming every field, from national security to health care and education, and these technologies also have the potential to revolutionize mental health care and suicide prevention for veterans. Veteran organizations — including the VA and nonprofits — and those commercial organizations that work with and support veterans — should consider modern technology as the missing piece of the puzzle to proactively identify evidenced-based red flags before the struggling veteran becomes overwhelmed. Moving upstream in detection and informed proactive mitigation will change the current models that focus on making it easier for the veterans to seek help.
The U.S. defense secretary is facing scrutiny after failing to immediately disclose to the White House his recent prostate-cancer diagnosis and a related hospitalization, a breach of protocol for which he has apologized.
But while the secretary, Lloyd J. Austin III, as a cabinet member, faces certain expectations about what he must disclose publicly regarding his health, and when he should do it, mental health experts who work with patients who have serious illnesses, such as cancer, say that reticence is common — even in the era of oversharing online.
Medicine has its problems too. It’s estimated that at least 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves every year. Many are struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction. A top emergency room doctor at a Manhattan hospital that treated many coronavirus patients recently died by suicide.
Now, add to the list entrepreneurs. Depressed serial entrepreneurs are coming out of the closet and advocating for awareness and change.
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