Since 2005, the Veterans Administration has seen a 154% increase in the number of women accessing mental health care. During the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Phoenix this week, the advocacy group called for more investments in mental health for women veterans.
When Naomi Mathis returned home from Iraq in 2003, she didn’t feel like she belonged in her own skin. The Air Force veteran was tormented by the sounds of gunfire and bombs and grieving the death of her friend and colleague, Staff Sgt. Patrick Griffin Jr., who was killed in a convoy. Diagnosed with PTSD, Mathis got by without therapy — until a terrifying experience after the birth of her son.
“My baby was laying there on the bed. I started having really bad thoughts — let's just say that — and that scared me. It scared me into seeking help,” she said.
Mathis medically retired and, although she says the Air Force did her right, she felt abandoned without her military job.
“After everything I did, my blood — literally blood, sweat and tears, losing someone, going through all of that trauma — and here I am with nothing,” Mathis said.
She found a new mission as the assistant national legislative director with the Disabled American Veterans. Mathis worked closely on the DAV’s report examining women veterans’ mental health and shared findings at the convention.
“The risk of suicide death among women veterans with active substance use disorder is more than twice what it is for men,” she said.
Juliet Taylor recalled drinking too much and feeling disconnected from her children after 11 years as an Army combat service member in Iraq before transitioning to the Connecticut Army National Guard. Taylor felt ashamed and didn’t know where to turn.
“So I went to work and just crashed and burned at work, on the verge of suicide many times, trying to figure out what am I gonna do, how am I gonna do it, when am I gonna do it, what am I gonna do with the kids, who’s going to keep the kids,” she said.
Taylor, who was wounded and honorably discharged, credits a fellow veteran for helping her get help and a doctor who took the time to care.
“... I also saw how my children changed when I started getting better.”Juliet Taylor, Army veteran
“She was working at the women's clinic and she, you know, brought me and sat me down and started talking to me about my drinking, about different things, and then really said this is what you need to do,” Taylor said. “And then I also saw how my children changed when I started getting better. Not just the medication, but when I started sleeping better. when I started eating better. I noticed that my children were better, they were nicer even to each other, and that's what really kept me into care.”
The DAV lists suicide prevention as its highest clinical priority. Among veterans using the VA, one in three women report experiencing military sexual trauma, or MST. That encompasses sexual harassment and sexual assault.
But Mathis says DAV’s research found the algorithm responsible for flagging high suicide risk doesn’t screen for MST.
“Potentially allowing that veteran to leave their primary care appointment without getting the help that they need," Mathis said.
“We should not lose another battle sister to this epidemic.”Naomi Mathis, Air Force veteran
She said the VA is working on fixing the algorithm. The DAV wants every VA medical center to have a full-time coordinator focused on providing proper screening and outreach for MST. The report calls for all providers to be trained on identifying suicide risks and intervention tactics, including gun safety. More than half of women veterans’ suicides involve firearms.
“We should not lose another battle sister to this epidemic,” Mathis said.
Army combat veteran Kim Hubers has struggled with her mental and physical health since returning from Iraq 20 years ago. Living in rural South Dakota, she often has to travel hours for medical appointments. But Hubers is optimistic because she’s seen how the DAV’s advocacy is making a difference.
“Sen. Thune from South Dakota, him and his staff got a hold of the Women Veterans Report and they took that and contacted our local VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the director there was able to use the information from the report to get a grant to make the VA in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, better for female veterans,” Hubers said. “So, I am really proud of my state.”
Veterans encourage others to share the report with elected officials, community groups, family and friends. Hubers, who serves in the South Dakota Army National Guard, said every conversation counts.
“That's healing, that's helpful, that gives strength, that gives support,” she said.
Discussing their most personal, painful moments takes courage. These veterans hope their bravery will make mental health care more accessible and effective for future veterans.
The DAV report includes more than 50 policy and legislative recommendations to improve mental health care for 650,000 women currently using the VA system.
Mathis said the VA engages regularly with the DAV to better understand veterans’ needs.
“And I can tell you from speaking to VA, big VA and medium VA, that they are really wanting to do that. They are really wanting to bring that gender-tailored, that gender-specific care to women veterans," Mathis added.
In 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act authorized 988 as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Veterans can call 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line or text 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
Highlights from DAV’s Women Veterans: The Journey to Mental Wellness
- Women veterans are two times as likely to attempt suicide as their male counterparts.
- Firearms were used in 51.7% of women veterans’ suicides, nearly three times higher than for nonveteran women.
- Rural veterans face a 20% increased risk for suicide and are less likely to receive mental health and gender-specific health care services compared with urban women peers.
- Nearly 1 in 5 women veterans using VA primary care reported experiencing intimate partner violence in the past year, an experience strongly associated with suicidal ideation.
- Veterans using VA maternity care are more likely than the general population to have one or more mental health diagnoses, including PTSD, which can put them at greater risk for suicidal ideation.
- Menopause has been shown to raise the risk for depression in U.S. women twofold and corresponds to the highest rates of suicide in women.
- The proportion of women veterans using VA health care with a service-connected disability increased from 48% in fiscal year 2000 to 73% in fiscal year 2020.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to an editing error, this story has been updated to correct that Naomi Mathis is an Air Force veteran.
