If you or someone you know is living with PTSD, what kind of treatments do you or do they find most helpful?

I like to grow vegetables. I love sweet corn but it's tough to grow. I've been out picking wild black raspberries lately. I got 3 1/2 quarts so far. You got to fight sun, rain, spiders, mosquitoes, worms, poison ivy, and sometimes snakes to get those little berries but they make the best jelly you've ever had. If you fall in a raspberry patch it's like falling in concertina wire. Been there done that. I like being in the woods and fields alone. Like running, it's one of those things that nobody else will do. We strain the seeds out with cheesecloth then I replant the seeds. I have the most awesome potatoes this year too (Klondike Gold). I have to guard my gardens from the dog gone rabbits. Dirt therapy gives me a chance to be alone. I don't feel claustrophobic, paranoid, or nervous, and I can grow things for myself and to give away to others. I work hard and sweat. Something about the solitude and peace keeps me level headed and the food is good. I grew Romaine lettuce this year for fun and salads. The rabbits love it. I thought the Hawks and Owls would have got them by now but not yet. We saw a falcon though who was here last year and he'll be eating some rabbit soon. Who gets to live wild and in nature like this now a days? I could talk a lot about it because I've been doing it a long time. It looks easy but it's not. I try different things too. I made a mistake and planted before Mother's day and had to replant three times to fill in the patches but now everything is looking pretty good. I bought a small freezer from an Air Force guy to store the beans and corn in bags over the winter. It was easier than canning.

I think everyone has to find what works for them...... I know for a fact when i first got back after my last deployment that people noticed the difference in me as i was constantly agitated and wold sometimes find myself being a bit off put by certain situations...... i found that identifying my triggers was the first step in coping with life after deployments..... then i had to find coping mechanisms to help me readjust to the life i was now living..... i had seen alot of my buddies come back and go straight to drinking to cope with the issues they were facing which inevitably lead them into trouble with the command..... As such i knew alcohol could not be one of my coping mechanisms in dealing with life after deployment..... i soon found that sometimes just talking with other veterans who had been through similar situations or who had just served helped me keep myself maintained.....

If it sounds stupid but it works, its not stupid. Hang in there SGT.

SPC Ryan Taintor - I am doing okay. I have to manage my temper. I have 3 acres that is partially wooded. I could work outdoors all day everyday and still not get everything done. 9 quarts of berries, 5 quarts of green beans, 1/2 bushel of leaf lettuce so far and the corn is coming on. I'm growing potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, pears, and apples too. Gardening and yard work gets me out of thinking about my problems and helps me to calm down. When I'm angry, I take my frustrations out on nature. Nature is tough and fights back.

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth Right on! Being able to talk to others can definitely be beneficial.

SPC Sean Slaughter I have heard that as well.

I have no idea what those are.

SGT Todd Miller The wiki on them explains both forms well https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_experiencing

I served from the mid 80's to the mid 90's. I have had my problems and seen my share of psychiatrists and counselors. We were so much further along than the Vietnam era guys and still the medical community really didn't have a good handle on treatments for PTSD and other psychological problems. These guys who fought in Desert Storm, Panama, Grenada, and Columbia are still walking around and not very effectively treated. I have paid for my own treatments and have struggled over the years. I'm not sure it's PTSD related but something happened to me, it changed me. I'm not upset. I can't even pin point exactly when and where it happened. I have done some of these things described in CBT before it had the fancy title and structure described in Wikipedia. My generation is getting through it and behavior and thought modification has helped us too. It has helped my Marine friend I describe in a comment below. However, I have a Ranger friend and I don't think he has gotten the treatment he needed. He drinks constantly. He is a good man but in the past he was flat out dangerous. He was truly a door kicker who ran 10ga. shotgun. Thanks for sharing.

I would like to make one personal observation less public. I have known several warriors. I say warrior politely. They have taken many lives. It is fascinating that they are almost as equally capable of saving lives as they are taking them. Training lasts long after the military career has ended. A lot of these guys have theological belief problems. They believe they will not be allowed into heaven because of what they have done. I do not agree and I would like to know what a SF chaplain tells his troops about this situation so that I can pass it along. I think that would also help.