New Report Shows A Quarter Of Veterans Have Had Suicidal Thoughts

One in four veterans have had suicidal thoughts after leaving the services, a new YouGov report has stated.

41% of veterans have felt lonely or isolated, and a third have admitted to having just one or no close friends.

Almost a third have confessed that they struggle with relating to people in civilian life.

Over a quarter (27%) of the veterans stated that they felt they would benefit from meeting someone regularly from a military background who can empathise.

The research was commissioned by SSAFA and calls on the public to join the fight to end isolation in veterans through SSAFA’s face-to-face support service.

The most common reasons veterans gave for feeling lonely and isolated included: losing touch with friends in the Forces (41%), physical or mental health issues (33%), and struggling to relate to anyone in civilian life (30%).