thoughts on ptsd

[alxone]

ok so im kinda on the fence about the subject while yes i do acknowledge that it is a real thing but a part of me thinks that far too many people use it as an excuse to get out of real life .

ok before i have a bunch of pissed off vets crying or asking questions like has the op ever seen his buddy shot ,been shot at or had to run for his life ect . the answer is yes and lets leave it at that . i do not want to start any pissing matches on who had it more ruff ect . this is meant to be a civil conversation on the subject of ptsd

1 . what do you think causes ptsd
2 . what should the recovery time be (believe me when i say some things stick with you forever, but when should real life begin again and you just live with your memories like the rest of us)
3 what do you think the treatment should be , therapy drugs ect. (i personally think drugs are not the way to go because when you sober up you still have to deal with it )

this should be a good read provided everyone keeps it civil [Beer]

[mcantar18c]

Check out On Killing and On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Gives you a whole new level of understanding PTSD, among other things.
I have both if you'd like to borrow them.

[tmleadr03]

I have told people that were getting on my nerves that they we're pushing my PTSD button and they needed to back the **** off before I went full flash back on their ass. But I do not think that counts.

That said it is a legitimate thing. I worked with a guy who on his bad days would start and just about crawl under anything he could find for cover if a loud noise would go off.

[DD977GM2]

Its real and like anything, ****stains take advantage of it.

1. Everyone deals with PTSD diffrently as far as "recovery" time
2. With the right combination of meds & therepy, "recovery" is possible
What one man considers traumatic is not the same as the person next to him or not. It doesnt necessarily have to be combat related.

I had a short spell of PTSD from a month of seriously bad rock climbing that almsost killed me and my climbing partner. So it can happen in any instance.

I dont volunteer info but when ask I am can open up. In fact I cant sleep right now just because of my mind being a dick to me right now thinking too much of bull****.

My Dad, USMC 66-72, has never told me a ****ing thing about his time in except the week before I left for boot camp and gave some solid advice and it has served me well. He congratulated me when I came home after my enlistment was up and thats been that really.

[Mick-Boy]

1 . what do you think causes ptsd


It's different for everyone. Look at 100 guys in a company who have all gone through BS for 12 months. Some get it, some don't. Of the guys who get it, they all tend to fixate on different things (rockets, IEDs, killing, seeing buddies killed, whatever).



2 . what should the recovery time be (believe me when i say some things stick with you forever, but when should real life begin again and you just live with your memories like the rest of us)


Again, different for each individual. Some guys just need to talk it all out a couple of times with others who have seen the elephant. Some people just don't want to or can't let go.



3 what do you think the treatment should be , therapy drugs ect. (i personally think drugs are not the way to go because when you sober up you still have to deal with it )


I don't think drugs are the answer but I really don't know one way or the other.

I've known a few guys that have been hit pretty hard. I've known other guys that were standing right next to the first group who don't give it a second thought. It's a very personally dependent thing.

I do believe there is a percentage of people whose PTSD is self induced. They're screwed up because they think they're supposed to be. You go to war, you come back screwed up. That's what hollywood teaches so it must be true. I don't much care until they start confessing made up war crimes in the bar. At that point I tell them to STFU.

[BPTactical]

Disclaimer- Never been there-Never done that. You who have been there have. You have my utmost respect.

I lived with a Vietnam vet who had it pretty badly and my father who is a WWII vet battled with his demons.
I think it is the brains way of coping when it is overloaded with terrible events. It shuts down to a degree and disconnects during highly stressful situations such as combat and such.
Certain "triggers" can cause the brain to recall aspects that it had shut out.
The guy I lived with for a while could not stand loud noises, they would send him into a rage. You did not want to startle him either. His coping mechanism was alcohol. He was a functioning alcoholic. He never did get help, at that time the Vietnam vets were demonized by society. He died a tormented man.

I never realized my dad had issues with it until just a few years ago when my mom told me. He would have difficulty sleeping and would be withdrawn at times. My mom said nothing ever triggered him but he would just go quite. I know he saw some heavy combat in northern Italy, he was awarded the Bronze Star for pulling some wounded guys out during an artillery/mortar barrage. He and his driver made 3 trips under fire, after the second trip they had to get another jeep and his driver was full of shrapnel on his left side but they went back in. 12 men lived to survive the war because of them. All my dad ever said is "We went into a sticky spot and pulled out some boys that were hurt pretty badly".
In 86 he went with the 10th Mountain Division Association back to northern Italy where they had been during the war. My mom said he teared up a couple of times but bawled like a baby when they got near the hill where his best buddy from boot camp got hit and died. Mom said once he got over that hurdle is was if a huge weight had been lifted from him. She said "I think he was able to let some ghosts go finally". He has been a changed man ever since, sleeps well and will finally talk about his experiences over there. He never would before.

I fail to see how you can ever really "Heal" from something like that. Memories never really go away. I think it is more of being able to put things in place, realize you can't change what happened, realize you had very little control of what happened, understand it is something that is a part of you forever and make peace with it.

God Bless you guys that have to deal with it. You have seen and done things most have no comprehension of. Don't let it control your life, it was a part of your life that is behind you now.

Yesterday is our history
Today is our responsibility
Tomorrow is our challenge

God Bless you guys[Beer]

[StagLefty]

^ Well said BP [Beer]

[Byte Stryke]

1 . what do you think causes ptsd
Anything that the Human mind has difficulty processing, usually the darkest sides and actions of humanity

2 . what should the recovery time be (believe me when i say some things stick with you forever, but when should real life begin again and you just live with your memories like the rest of us)
The recovery time is going to vary depending the the events, the exposure to those events and the individual persons ability to process them and come to terms

3 what do you think the treatment should be , therapy drugs ect. (i personally think drugs are not the way to go because when you sober up you still have to deal with it )
Drugs are a crutch for the emotional aspect of it, the can help alleviate some of the physical.
The only way I get by day to day with mine is by getting by day to day.

[trlcavscout]

I know people that have it and people that "claim" to have it. Some are really effected by others have triggers. Its real, its abused.

[brokenscout]

I saw a guy on the news out of Carson that was a Meth addict, total POS. Alot of guys said they had PTSD, as soon as they pissed hot on a UA.Up in Denver they have a 7 week PTSD program and %60 atleast said they were there because they heard they could get there VA rating bumped up. Its a very touchy subject, some people are just crazy or can't fit into society's "Norm's". The WW2 vets had it rough but drinking was still accepted.
As far as living life you have to do it, if you want the VA to take care of you. Your in for a ****ty life, it helps to have a good family.

[jplove71]

^ Well said BP [Beer]
+1 [Beer]

[Mazin]

Disclaimer- Never been there-Never done that. You who have been there have. You have my utmost respect.

God Bless you guys that have to deal with it. You have seen and done things most have no comprehension of. Don't let it control your life, it was a part of your life that is behind you now.

Yesterday is our history
Today is our responsibility
Tomorrow is our challenge

God Bless you guys[Beer]

Damn it Bert your a freakin poet...
Thank you to all that have served!

[Chad4000]

I know a guy who bawled on my shoulder about a buddy of his that was shot right in front of him...........

I found out later it was a lie.....

It's hard to say how people deal with ****....... After my motorcycle accident, I go quite (I've been told) and I have a more cynical view of this bull**** existence. but screw it right... Nobody else gives a ****, neither do i.. Just pay the mortgage, and try to have a little left over for a rifle or two..

[El Caballo Loco]

... reserving for later post.

[Scanker19]

Disclaimer: I am not a Doctor nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I am simply a man who like to question everything and think out side the box.

While I have deployed 3 year long times, I do not "suffer" from PTSD. My personal Integrity will not allow me to fake it. While I do have some funny things. I do not like loud noises that sound like explosions. People who have heard them know that they do not sound like a boom. There is something different about them.

With that I BELIEVE there is a difference between combat stress and PTSD. Anyone can have PTSD. I think PTSD happens when you see something you really are not prepared for. Seeing a buddy killed tragically, or seeing a random person killed in a horrible manner. PTSD does not only exist in soldiers. Someone already said that most think they have it cause they're "suppose" to. I think that is a big problem.

I think "combat stress" is that constant on edge feeling, that extra stress that some people can't keep inside which is why you get soldiers raping and killing 14 year old girls or a police officer snapping on a guy for telling him he has a CCW on him. Those are of course the extreme cases. Many, and I mean many people who come home from Iraqistan do not like being in crowed places (guilty) I believe this is from combat stress, and not necessarily PTSD.
These insurgent wars put a lot of undue stress on people due the fact you don't know where the enemy is, there are no front lines, and nowhere within those boarders is safe.

[Big Wall]

My wife is majoring in social work. She attended a seminar where a social worker who specialized in working with veterans spoke. He said that a soldier with PTSD needs to talk about what happened to him to get over the PTSD. The problem with that is the soldier doesn't want to talk about what happened and doesn't want to appear not strong enough to deal with his problem on his own.

[Mick-Boy]

Talking definitely helps.

When I was on the boat back from the invasion in '03 we had a Navy shrink try to talk to us. When I was leaving Iraq in '04 we had to fill out a bubble sheet and have Navy shrinks try to talk to us.

I don't know what the troops have now but filling out a bubble sheet (I saw terrible things. A:Strongly agree B:Neither agree nor disagree C:Strongly disagree... I mean Come on!) and talking to someone who lived in the greenzone wasn't going to be a very healing process.

That healing was going to happen when we got home and were able to decompress a little. Get enough booze in us to loosen up the tough guy persona and actually talk about some of the BS that happened with people who were there and understood. In my view, initial healing for young service members is largely a team/squad internal event. It's based on the shared experiences and camaraderie built over the deployment.

My heart goes out to the National Guard and reserve guys who are shoved right back into civilian life when they get back to the US.

[hollohas]

Check out On Killing and On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Gives you a whole new level of understanding PTSD, among other things.
I have both if you'd like to borrow them.

Yes. Read these, great books. These are not only good books for those in combat or LEOs they are good for anyone who believes in self defense and even has a remote possibility of using deadly force (those with CCW, etc.).

[Elhuero]

not just soldiers and police get PTSD.

everyone reacts and copes differently to stressful or near death situations. some cope better than others.

things are better now that we're aware of the existence of PTSD and can take steps to treat it. in decades past they'd just call it "shell shock" and send you on your way.

but (and you knew I was going to say this) using it as an excuse for your actions is bull****. the screaming CCW cop in ohio is now claiming he has PTSD.

[Ridge]

Guess I'll have to be the tasteless one this time...

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l112/Kamikaze102/0d939574.gif

[tmleadr03]

Guess I'll have to be the tasteless one this time...

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l112/Kamikaze102/0d939574.gif

Thouse look tastie.

[Ridge]

You don't know, man! You weren't there!

[Seamonkey]

1 . what do you think causes ptsd
2 . what should the recovery time be (believe me when i say some things stick with you forever, but when should real life begin again and you just live with your memories like the rest of us)
3 what do you think the treatment should be , therapy drugs ect. (i personally think drugs are not the way to go because when you sober up you still have to deal with it )



Don't know the scientific name for what I've got but I just lump it under PTSD since I've got all the categories of symptoms covered: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/

2 - Time. Like everyone else has said I think it depends on the individual, the support group around them and their ability to come to terms with what happened. Could be a single event like rape or prolonged domestic abuse and would really depend on the individual.


3 - Drugs can be very helpful under the proper conditions and with the proper support/counseling, especially in the initial phases. Many people who suffer from mental illnesses have the negative stigma associated with those illnesses and do not want to appear weak by seeking help or taking drugs yet those are the very things that can help break the negative cycle and give them the tools to deal with daily life. Some people have chemical imbalances and need certain drugs to simply function normally. Sadly many people turn to alcohol or recreational type drugs since it's a quick easy way to numb the pain but don't seek the help to address the root issues.