Posted on Oct 25, 2016
Who Gets PTSD and Why? - PTSD Monthly Update, October 2016
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It's NOT a sign of weakness. It's a mental condition that needs to be treated like an infection.
You or your loved one can develop PTSD after going through, seeing or learning about an event involving actual or threatened death, such as combat, serious injury, natural disaster, or sexual violence. PTSD can happen to anyone. It is not a sign of weakness.
You or your loved one can develop PTSD after going through, seeing or learning about an event involving actual or threatened death, such as combat, serious injury, natural disaster, or sexual violence. PTSD can happen to anyone. It is not a sign of weakness.
Who Gets PTSD and Why? - PTSD Monthly Update, October 2016
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Any exposure to a traumatizing event can cause PTSD. Many claim that they can "push" through the situation, but they are fooling themselves. Constant exposure will bring down the strongest woman or man. Much education has to be done in order to make people realize that this is not a "game;" rather, it is a real situation that warrants attention and care to those who suffer from it.
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MSG David Johnson
During combat operations we do tend to push things to the side and 'Soldier On'.
After returning from a particularly hairy mission one night, there were a few who quietly went to the Chaplain, and or the Combat Stress team. I was one of them, I requested and was prescribed a medication that would allow me to function and still operate on mission.
My mission? Route clearance operations in and around Ramadi, Iraq. With IED's ranging in size from 5 pounds, up to an estimated 150 pounds of bulk HE. Even with as good as we were at our jobs, we still missed some. Some were command set, others were pressure actuated.
But we still continued to do our jobs.
Fast forward to the end of rotation, there were a lot of Soldiers who were diagnosed with PTS(D), some minor, some severe. But the point of PTS being stigmatized while in country, our company made the point of talking about what was going on with each individual. There were a few that were pulled from mission and were placed in other jobs, but they were never looked at any differently. Granted, we were probably the exception to what has been going on. Good leadership, instead of 'mission first' is what these individuals deserve.
I personally think that anyone who actually went outside the wire shouldn't be looked at any different than anyone else, that's not saying that PTS is only a 'combat' related issue either.
After returning from a particularly hairy mission one night, there were a few who quietly went to the Chaplain, and or the Combat Stress team. I was one of them, I requested and was prescribed a medication that would allow me to function and still operate on mission.
My mission? Route clearance operations in and around Ramadi, Iraq. With IED's ranging in size from 5 pounds, up to an estimated 150 pounds of bulk HE. Even with as good as we were at our jobs, we still missed some. Some were command set, others were pressure actuated.
But we still continued to do our jobs.
Fast forward to the end of rotation, there were a lot of Soldiers who were diagnosed with PTS(D), some minor, some severe. But the point of PTS being stigmatized while in country, our company made the point of talking about what was going on with each individual. There were a few that were pulled from mission and were placed in other jobs, but they were never looked at any differently. Granted, we were probably the exception to what has been going on. Good leadership, instead of 'mission first' is what these individuals deserve.
I personally think that anyone who actually went outside the wire shouldn't be looked at any different than anyone else, that's not saying that PTS is only a 'combat' related issue either.
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SGT (Join to see)
MAJ Rene De La Rosa, You're very correct about any traumatic experience can cause PTSD. Sometimes they are compounded. I had PTSD back in the 90's, but didn't realize it. I just thought I was a drunk. In '94 one of our boys was killed in an auto accident. In '96 our house burned down. In '99 I was concerned about being laid off at my job of 30 years. One day, I lost it and all of those traumas came out at the same time, while I was at work. I was confused. I couldn't decide which trauma caused me to lose it, so I think it was all of it. Vietnam, son died, house burned, I drank too much, and finally, we were told we might get laid off. You can't realize how much I wish my life would have been different. But, I still have a wonderful wife, three of the best grownup kids, and seven grandchildren. That's what keeps me going every day.
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MAJ Rene De La Rosa
Your focus on the good things going on in your life has given you the resiliency needed to "muscle forward' in this situation. It was unfortunate that you were overwhelmed with the circumstances. I hope that you are somewhat better.
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