Every year, soldiers in the armed forces face unspeakable horrors in dangerous locations. The stress of wake up day after day to the same destruction and oblivion causes many soldiers to come home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and some do not come home at all.

The U.S. Army began tracking the suicides and self injury rate of soldiers in conflicts in 1980. In 2007 there were 89 confirmed suicides and 32 deaths still until investigation. 34 of these solders died while serving tours in Iraq, and over 2,000 additional soldiers were targeted as either attempting suicide or purposely injuring themselves. The self-injury numbers are a major jump from last year where 1,500 soldiers attempted suicide or injured themselves. When compared to the number from 2001, where suicides only amounted to 52 soldiers, the ratios dwarf previous years, with 2007’s rates translating as 17.5 deaths per every 100,000 soldiers. The lowest number the past 27 years as was 9.1 deaths per every 100,000.

These results and statistics are nowhere near surprising. There has always been a stigma about needing therapy—any episode of M.A.S.H. will show you that—and the Army is just beginning to recognize that human beings need more than just a sense of duty to live, and that getting through a war unscathed is nearly impossible. If you or someone you know is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, please consult the National Center for PSTD for health care providers in your area.