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Henry Rollins on military suicides.
Isn't this a little... sad? I mean, veterans have so much working against them. Hell, counselors aren't even allowed to ask the veterans they counsel if they have guns (because the NRA doesn't approve). They have trouble getting jobs, many of them lost their homes while they were in the Middle East, a lot of them have PTSD and the military suicides now outnumber those killed in action.
Maybe keeping people in an insane war has something to do with it, too. Because if you recognize the insanity, and you can't leave, suicide might seem like a reasonable option.
And smoothies are going to help? Maybe if we stop sending people off for extended tours in insane wars, they wouldn't have so many problems:
The military might have a new weapon in its battle against suicide: smoothies, spiked with omega-3 fatty acids.
The Associated Press reports the study, being conducted by the Veterans Administration, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and the National Institutes of Health, on behalf of the Army, will build on previous research that proved people with low omega-3 levels face more mental disorders.
Nearly 350 servicemembers have already taken their own lives this year, a number the VA says is almost double the civilian population.
Some veterans already receiving mental health care will get smoothies high in omega-3s, while others will receive placebos. If the effect proves to be strong enough, the military may consider giving all soldiers supplements of the fatty acids to ward off depression.
Don't get me wrong, I know that omega 2 fatty acids are quite helpful for a host of psychological problems. It just seems a little superfluous next to the other problems.
