Grunt Style Foundation and Mad in America Launches Veteran StorytellingCampaign
In early June, the Grunt Style Foundation (GSF) announced the War Cry For Change: A Revolution to Reclaim Veteran Mental Health. The goal of of this campaign is to educate the veterans community and the American public about the crisis of overprescribing psychiatric drugs to military veterans and service members, and the role this crisis has played in the veteran suicide epidemic.
Today we know suicide rates for veterans are two to two and a half times the rate of the civilian population. We also know 68% of all veterans treated at the VA in 2019 were prescribed psychiatric drugs and 28% were prescribed antidepressants, which is multiples greater than the prescription rate of non-veterans. We believe data is incredibly important, but we also know we need to listen to our veterans, their families and survivors when they tell us there is a problem.
Being an organization that prides itself on teamwork, camaraderie and force multiplication, GSF is proud to have partnered with the world’s leading mental health and psychiatric drug safety and education website, Mad in America (MIA). MIA provides a “mix of journalism, education and societal discussion that can provide the seed for a much-needed remaking of mental health care in the United States and globally.”
MIA and GSF have launched our Veteran Storytelling Campaign, as part of GSF’s War Cry For Change and MIA’s Veterans and Military Families Initiative. Together we will help veterans, military families and survivors share their experiences in the American mental health system and their experiences in being prescribed psychotropic medications.
GSF and MIA agree there is a place for medications in our mental health clinician’s toolboxes but we also know from stories of many veterans and surviving families that the way these medications are being prescribed today has in many cases failed those who needed help the most. Not only are patients not being educated on the real risk profiles of the medications they are prescribed, or how to stop taking them safely, many prescribers and counselors have not been given the information they need to best serve their patients either. Some of the side effects of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, sleep drugs and stimulants can range from suicide, violence, akathisia, permanent sexual dysfunction, mania, psychosis, long-term dependency and a list of others.
In March, Tim Jensen, GSF’s Board President, and co-owner of GruntStyle, and Derek Blumke, GSF’s Veteran Impact Fellow, shared their own stories with antidepressants and psychotropics on the American Grit Podcast. Many veterans and family members reached out and told us “thank you, you’ve given me the confidence to share my story.” We are proud to have these veterans and surviving families be the first to have their stories told as part of our combined efforts, and we hope these stories inspire others to feel comfortable in sharing their own experiences, good and bad, so others might learn from them as well.