Suicidal ideation is a mental illness under the DSM. Completing the act is undeniably mental illness. It doesn’t matter why. However it manifests itself, mental illness places others at risk, whether they are fellow cadetts, supeiriors, or subordinates.
Mental illness does indeed need to be addressed, but not within the military. There is plenty of help on the outside. The purpose of the academies is to train warfighters and the reason for the existence of the military is to win wars and protect this nation. No one person’s circumstances are more important than the overarching job they are charged with performing.
And this attitude is a strong driver of the issues we have in the AF. If the attitude is suck it up or get out, getting help is "weak" then what you get is people hiding their issues until the explode, and often put people in danger. That and the high suicide rates in many career fields (it goes FAR beyond the Academy). The Academy is the place to figure yourself out in a pressure cooker, because the pressure only increases after graduation. Strength is knowing when you need help, getting it, and getting back in the fight. Hiding and "muscling through" or my personal least favorite phrase "manning up" are NOT the way to go, and in the long run tend to end very badly - for both the individual and the unit.
I have many peers who have experienced trauma (in my friend group, it's unfortunately mostly sexual assault) and gotten help for it with no adverse career or clearance effects whatsoever. I also have many peers that have gotten medication and counseling for anxiety and ADHD. In most cases, all they needed was a little help figuring out the right way to handle stress for
them, and once they got help, they continued to crush it as officers.
In my case, I was in a severe car crash while at the Academy. It left me with some PTSD as well as debilitating, constant chronic pain. I went to the peak performance center far later than I should have. I was a wreck when I walked in, but the help they gave me was AMAZING. I had no idea that counseling could be that helpful, at the time I just knew I had to do something, because I couldn't keep going like I was. It didn't have any negative impact for me. I learned pain management techniques and ways to handle PTSD episodes. I highly doubt I would have made it to graduation without that help. It was still a long painful road, but I made it.
To the OP - take Capt MJ's advice and talk it through with a chaplain, they are a great resource even if you aren't religious. Once you do that and have a plan, you NEED to tell the clinic. This is NOT something you should hide, or should feel the need to hide. Yes you'll likely be put on some sort of temporary duty restriction (usually no flying for a period of time), but you'll get the help you need the right way. I'm guessing the additional stress of hiding it from the clinic is not helping things.
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