How do you help when you feel someone close to you needs you but they can’t tell you?

RallyPoint News — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 14:35:14 -0500

People have many sides… sometimes we’re sad, sometimes we’re happy, and sometimes we don’t know how we feel. That’s why we need each other.

It’s time we look to the right and look to the left, to see whose side we are on.

SIDE BY SIDE, we can face the challenges of life, together.

#sidebyside

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Dec 23 at 2019 2:36 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 14:36:34 -0500

Just being there for them to talk to when they are ready is one of the best ways.

Response by SSG Michael Noll made Dec 24 at 2019 11:58 AM

SSG Michael Noll — Tue, 24 Dec 2019 11:58:38 -0500

Thanks brother Joe

Response by SSG Ron Bogard made Dec 27 at 2019 2:11 PM

SSG Ron Bogard — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 14:11:24 -0500

I recently had an opportunity to intercede in a suicide attempt, myself and another combat veteran helped another combat veteran keep from killing himself.
We managed to help him find the resources he needed and now is well on his way to recovery.
I run a small ministry, Vet's United for Vet's and we do outreach for other Veterans who may not know where to find help!! Check us out on FB, currently there is 2 Korean ara vets,1 Vietnam ara and 2 desert storm vets!!

Response by SPC Nancy Greene made Dec 28 at 2019 12:58 AM

SPC Nancy Greene — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 00:58:36 -0500

Excellent !

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Dec 29 at 2019 1:18 AM

CPT Aaron Kletzing — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 01:18:16 -0500

If I sense something is off, I call them on the phone and ask them directly what’s going on

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 29 at 2019 8:51 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 20:51:18 -0500

Usually a phone call or a visit depending on the person and situation.

Response by SGM Major Stroupe made Dec 30 at 2019 8:03 AM

SGM Major Stroupe — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 08:03:23 -0500

A great post. If you know this person well just pull them aside and ask them if they need you to talk or listen. Let them know that something is bothering them and you are there to help. Listening is great help. No one person has all the answers but you will never get to the issue until you get them to open up. So be gentle but firm and let them know that they are not alone. We all have our demons and issues. It's how we harness them is what keeps us in the game.

Response by LT Michael Watson made Dec 31 at 2019 11:19 PM

LT Michael Watson — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 23:19:22 -0500

Sometimes, we can see that look, the sight of a haunting, the “thousand yard stare”, maybe even just the sense of something off balance in our universe. Maybe it is our own haunting, the remembrance of a widow’s state, that sense of fear that we ourselves ignored, that gleeting glance at what may have been. We choose to ignore it, write it off, but a brother or sister is fighting that battle, the one we went past. Maybe the battle they are fighting is so very different from our own that we cannot determine if it is real or not. We each fight the demons in different ways, and a demon we slayed cannot be put down by another. The battles are real, each with a different perspective, a different outcome. We must stand shoulder to shoulder, shielding our fellows from the onslaught of the ghosts, past , present, and future.

Response by Jenn Moynihan made Jul 9 at 2020 10:42 AM

Jenn Moynihan — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 10:42:32 -0400

All good suggestions in here. #sidebyside

Just them knowing you are vigilant in their body language and other non-verbal ways of showing that they are struggling will hopefully let them know to reach out in critical times.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Jul 9 at 2020 4:47 PM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 16:47:04 -0400

The phone number for The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, is as follows: [login to see] .
Press the number One (1): For Active Duty Troops; and, for Veterans. RallyPoint News