No matter the service, the results of suicide are felt nationwide.

‘‘Suicide is a terrible tragedy and is wide reaching in its effect,” said Capt. Margaret McKeathern, director of Bethesda’s Behavioral Health Department.

Lt. Tod Hazlett, Bethesda’s Health Readiness Clinic division officer, said service members are having different combat experiences than their fathers or grandfathers. The battle lines are not clearly drawn, he said, which affect people in a variety of ways.

‘‘[Service members] are seeing some pretty terrible things right now,” Hazlett said. ‘‘Often times, there are warning signs that can be detected early enough to prevent suicide.”

McKeathern said personal issues like relationship problems, legal or financial trouble are also contributing to the military’s rising suicide levels.

Bethesda’s Behavioral Health Department is implementing measures to counteract the mental wounds of combat and the rising number of suicides amongst military members, McKeathern said. Antidepressants and new suicide prevention programs are helping to resolve mental health issues, she said.

‘‘A certain percentage of the general population has depression or anxiety disorders that respond very well to medication,” McKeathern said. ‘‘The medications help them achieve a baseline to function [normally].”

Hazlett said service members suffering from mental health issues should not feel like they are alone — treatment is available. Bethesda’s Health Readiness Clinic offers both pre- and post-deployment health assessments to servicemembers. The assessments, he said, provide the patients and caregivers necessary for physiological and psychological recovery, he said.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Adrian Paschal, temporarily assigned duty in Bethesda’s Periodontics Clinic, will deploy to Iraq next month. He said the pre-deployment health assessment provided him with a better understanding on how he may be affected in Iraq.

‘‘It helped me out — even though I’m not suicidal — because the emphasis was on me and my mindset,” Paschal said. ‘‘They’ve told what to expect so once I get over there I won’t be in shock.”

‘‘Seek help, it’s out there,” Hazlett said. ‘‘There is nothing to be afraid of because there are people out there who want to help.”

McKeathern said there is a stigma tied to mental health, so military members might have a hard time admitting they have a problem. Recognizing a mental health issue is a step in the right direction, she said. A service member who admits he’s having thoughts of harming himself should be reported immediately, she said, but there are positives signs there, too. The admission also means they are willing to seek help, McKeathern said.