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Storytelling can foster connection, combat isolation, and build resilience in deployed service members.

Positive psychology programs have reduced suicides and improved well-being in the military.

Expressing personal stories through art, writing, or music can help reframe bleak realities.

In recent days, there has been extensive reporting on the mental health conditions of the sailors and Marines on the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for a record-setting nine months (more than 260 days) off the coast of Iran. Additional reports highlight the physical conditions that include food quality and quantity, leading to morale issues that then circle back to mental health challenges where service members are reported to be trying to jump overboard, reportedly seeking suicide as an escape. I should also note that the Department of War and the Navy have pushed back on these claims, calling them isolated and otherwise without merit.

It’s fair to say the truth lies somewhere in between both perspectives, and as a well-being practitioner, I believe that even one suicide is one too many. I have never served in the military, no less spent an extended amount of time aboard a floating city, beyond a seven-day luxury cruise for a family vacation. Therefore, I cannot imagine the resiliency required to stay balanced on such an extended deployment where conditions are anything but luxury. That said, it’s important to explore, understand, and provide well-being tools as protective factors for these service........

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