Virginia Teens & Suicide
In 2022, the annual Virginia school safety audit found that 13% of Virginia high school students (27,946 students in total) have seriously considered suicide in the last 12 months. What can you do, as a parent, do about this mental health crisis?
5 Tips for a Smooth Transition Into Civilian Life
For many veterans, the transition back to civilian life is a bigger challenge than joining the military. Who’s helping you to prepare for the transition back to civilian life? At Region Five, we have a program for you!
Navigating Holidays and Family When New to Recovery
The holiday season is a happy and cheerful time for many people, but can be full of challenges for those in recovery from substance abuse.
Normalizing Transition Therapy & Support
When you first joined the military, you were put through a rigorous onboarding program consisting of training, education and acculturation. You were taught everything you need to know about working and living as a service member. Unfortunately, that same level of detail isn’t always there when leaving service.
Giving Real Help to a Loved One With Mental Illness: 10 Questions Someone Struggling With Mental Illness Wishes You Would Ask
When a loved one is struggling with their mental health, it can be especially hard to know what to do or say. If you know someone who’s living with mental illness, but aren’t quite sure what to say, this blog will go over 10 questions you can ask to check in with them.
Do Civilians Really Care About Veterans Day?
There are all kinds of veterans in our country and they feel all kinds of ways about Veterans Day, the holiday meant to honor them. If you’re one of those veterans who feel like civilians don’t really care about Veterans Day – or veterans – it can be very frustrating.
Ask These 10 Questions To Check In With Your Child or Teen’s Mental Health
How often do you talk to your child about mental health? If you’re like most parents, probably not too often. Children are often left out of conversations about mental health. Sometimes it’s because adults think they’re too young to understand or that it’s not relevant to them. Other times, it’s because of the stigma surrounding mental health.
Military to Civilian Transition: How Soon Should I Start Planning?
Deciding to join the military is a big step, and so is deciding to leave. The transition from Service member to civilian can be just as difficult as the transition you experienced when you first joined. You might look back and think that you were uninformed and unprepared then – but the truth is that it’s likely that you’re unprepared now. According to one survey published on the veteran-run website military-transition.org, nearly half of respondents (48%) felt that their transition from the military was more difficult than expected.
Can I Get Off of Drugs or Alcohol by Myself – Or Is It Really That Dangerous?
There are a lot of reasons some people choose to quit using drugs or alcohol on their own, but, depending on your situation, doing so could be risky. If you have a dependence on a substance, you’ll experience withdrawal, sometimes within a few hours. Withdrawal from certain drugs can lead to dangerous symptoms including seizures, organ damage, and sometimes death.
After a Suicide in the Family: Coping With Trauma
The death of a loved one is one of the hardest things we can go through in life – and losing someone to suicide is especially painful. After the suicide of a close family member or friend, you may feel lots of different, complicated emotions. You may even be angry with the person you lost. Everyone grieves differently and that’s ok. But when grief turns into trauma, how do you cope?