Caring for a sick spouse

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:25:26 -0500

This is a pretty long read, but it is an interesting journey in to an area that sadly veterans fall all to often a part of.

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/lovely-wife-psych-ward-95567/

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2015 7:50 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:50:44 -0500

Excellent article, TSgt Joshua Copeland. The husband's pain comes through loud and clear, and the problems they both endure through her bouts with mental illness are heart wrenching.

I've seen something like this with older relatives who have dementia or Alzheimer's. It's such a strain on the care givers. A cousin of mine took care of his father through his Alzheimer's disease (until his father died), and now his mother has dementia, can't remember people ... can't even remember him at times. And the son (my cousin) is 70 years old.

What a toll mental illness takes!! Thank you for sharing this story. It does help me to understand what mentally ill veterans must be going through. And the mental illness problem likely helps explain why there's such a homelessness problem among vets.