PTSD, Is It Contagious or Just Politically Correct ?

[PanzerBob]

If any part of your soul shared here helps even one person I personally figure it's worth it.

I never saw the deleted posts or the Thudf##ker who was spamming this thread. I agree with what I have seen here. PTSD (a term I've come dislike) runs at so many different degrees, and is not as well understood by the Medicos as one may think. I certainly have great respect for those handle their "demons" so to speak. However, I have the same respect for those not so fortunate.

In dealing with the mind nothing is ever as clear cut as a broken limb or a bullet lodged in your chest. At one point I know I would have preferred the latter. I've seen many who needed help and were scared to seek it, mainly because of our military culture. Those same men were part of reason it took me so long to get help. I belittled my own demons because theirs seemed at the time the make mine look trivial. It wasn't until I was moved from a mission critical position that I came apart. AND seeing some of those soldiers’ lives and their families spin out of control from a distance once I was removed from that environment, I was lucky enough to understand that would be me and mine if I didn’t do something.

I can't say the treatment process was the best and in hindsight I now know there was a huge experimental element to it all. However, despite it causing my career to end after 22 years service, the good outweighs the bad. I have to a large degree come to understand my demons, I still have my Family and most days my sanity. My wife also has a better understanding of when and where she can help.......................I think I may have babbled off topic.

I believe these types of problems have always been with us since "formed" Armies have been fielded. Furthermore, I believe that in the age we live in we have seen an increase in it's occurrence due to the lack of clear cut missions and enemies. Added to this the modern soldier is no longer in the dark on the issues of the world and is taught and expected to think. This combined with the shock of combat, the shock the firepower that can be delivered, plus the evil they will witness brought down on the innocent, this will not go away. (Note there are likely other points I’ve missed).

One last point I find it interesting it always rears it's ugly head after the event or events happens, never during. As long you are mission focussed you're fine. Once out of there is when it all comes down.

There is phrase I've heard used by men returning from warfare and it is "I have seen the Elephant." Frankly until I saw "the Elephant" I never understood the full impact of the statement. They had seen and something well out of the normalcy of their lives, something never to be forgotten even if they tried.

IMHO Bob out sal;

 

[03Fox2/1]

PB,
I agree that sharing or baring your soul can be cleansing but it also can be terribly frightening to someone who in the process also bares his insecurities to the world. I'm not sure if doing this is a sign of strength or a sign of weakness. Therein lies the dilemma. I know going it alone is usually not a formula for success but I also know that group therapy did not and does not work for me. Perhaps some of us were meant to not only suffer alone but also to suffer in silence, something I used to be very good at until I opened up this can of worms when I decided that speaking for others was how I would actually address my own demons. Silent suffering has a dignity about it that vocal critics will never understand. I still feel like the best way I can describe what I'm trying to communicate to others, about myself, is by talking about my buddies that can no longer speak for themselves. Perhaps I am being selfish, because they certainly didn't ask me to represent them. But I feel very strongly that too many in this modern world of blame and unaccountability have forgotten the sacrifice of so many nameless heroes that reside on the Wall in Washington, D.C.. VietNam, that was my war and the only war I lay claim to, but all wars have more in common than not. To be sure there are many more from all past wars, including one day in the far off future, those men and women from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that also will have their legacy altered or ignored by those that disagree with the merits of that particular war, instead of the deeds of those forgotten warriors who fought it. Politics has a way of not only getting us into wars but also of tainting a war with the hollow and bitter taste of what politicians are so good at, deception and lying to the people so that finally the entire war seems corrupted and distasteful, forgetting the many honorable acts by those who put themselves in harms way for their nation. Much like what 1st Lt. William Calley and Pfc. Robert Garwood did to dishonor my legacy in my war by their criminal and traitorous acts. Another burden that we must carry for eternity.
Semper Fi

 

[03Fox2/1]

Advisor,
I agree that this PTSD thing is not new. Possibly the modern terminology and the recent documented frequency has increased the awareness outside the military, but I believe all of those that see combat action, no matter what war or when in history, have always wrestled with the definition and exposure to it and the necessary steps to deal with it, professionally and personally. When I enlisted back in 1968, the mindset was to tough it out, not admit there was a problem and most assuredly, never ask for help. Anything less was to bring, in my case, shame on yourself and dishonor to your Corps and outfit. You could and probably would be labeled a malcontent or a trouble maker or even a coward, certainly someone that did not rate a promotion or more responsibility as a leader of Marines. Tradition taught you to always put the honor of the USMC first, even at personal expense. Tradition and peer pressure and the rank structure and chain of command dictated strict obedience to this. Now I'm not complaining or criticizing this, only making a statement of the circumstances I found myself in as someone that enlisted with what I thought was my eyes wide open and unaware that I was actually looking through rose colored glasses with a very limited field of vision. This mindset of tradition and honor are some of those traits that set us apart and it does influence you to put the mission first and the man next to you ahead of yourself. There has always been this personal sacrifice that befalls those who see and do and endure the hellish aspects of war. Those who do the killing and those who become wounded, body, mind or spirit, all have a heavy price to pay and unfortunately the effects linger long after the smoke clears and the dead are buried. Time marches on and people are forgotten but the incidents and memories live on as if they happened yesterday. I know that you medics and corpsman saw the very worst aspects of war and I know that you paid a very heavy price for being there in our time of need.
Semper Fi