Hidden Scars of Battle

[thedrifter]

Hidden Scars of Battle <br />
<br />
A new study shows that 1 in 6 Iraq veterans has psychological damage — and the toll could get worse <br />
<br />
Monday, Jul. 12, 2004 <br />
The operation Iraqi freedom group meets on...

[SemperFiGirl79]

I read that yesterday...informative article.

[grayshade]

Marines are an ignorant bunch. Usually there's nothing wrong unless they're dead. I have PTSD, and it took me about a year to a year and a half before I saw a counselor. I use to have flashbacks and nightmares. I'd physically hurt people and myself, and have no idea I did. I'm alot better now. I still get flashbacks, but they're more visions now, just things I remember. So, I can relate and understand how they feel, but I also know sometimes it takes someone who cares to get a Marine to see a doctor.

[thedrifter]

grayshade


It took Roger 35 years before he seeked help.....His last year before his death...He felt more at peace with himself.....How he put it to me at least I know that I'm not the only one, that thinks I'm crazy......He was able to work within himself too seek solutions with the help of Fellow Vets.....I just hope more folks seek to get help sooner than Roger....No one needs that type of Life.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: December , <br />
<br />
1 in 6 Iraq combat vets at risk for mental disorder <br />
Many returning from war won’t seek help, study says <br />
<br />
By Deborah Funk <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
As many as one in six...

[earlofgray]

It's been 22years am now seeking help from the va.I was in beirut 82, I went to the doc when I got back he was no help told me to get drunk my wife has told about the anger and my willingness ,Well you guys know how willing force marines are

[Sgt. Smitty]

Once a person gets over the idea of "there's nothin wrong with me, it's everybody else" and the denial of anything being wrong with them, then they can begin to deal with their "GHOSTS"....it took me nearly 30 years to finally admit to myself that there was more goin on in my head than i was willing to accept. It only took one piece of paper with the list of PTSD symptoms on it to turn my world inside out. I sought out proffessional help through the county programs and ended up with a Vietnam vet that had more problems than I did. That's when i turned to the VA and got myself some real help, or so i thought. All the VA did was put me on meds and tell me to have a good life!! So now it's up to me and my wife to deal with all the crap in my life and try to live out the rest of my days as happy as i can. My shrink still thinks i'm a little too far out to sea cause I tell her I have a spirit of a young boy and his dog roaming around the house. No joke......my wife and I aren't the only ones that have seen him. Other people that have stayed the night said that they saw him too.........So you tell me who is crazy and who isn't.........there is a very thin line between sanity and insanity..........and i know i haven't crossed over it yet....I hope......LOL......Besides.........any vet that has been in combat has PTSD in one form or another......they go hand in hand

[BHABIT]

I couldn't agree with you more Smitty... I've past throught the simular landscape you have. My brother, my friend, has 100% disability that he recieved about 2 years ago... The VA has got him on so much that he mostly doesn't live in present time. We go back many years and I've watched him go down hill day by day. He constantly tells me that I need to go to the VA and get treatment. It's been 35 years depending on how you want to count them, some times it's good but mostly not. Two years ago was the time of my awakening, I had a compleat mental collapse and now find myself taking a handfull of pills a day. My wife, bless her, has stuck though it with me and helps me deal with the day to day life. What's really needed in society is more education and understanding of PTSD, so the innocents don't find themselves in a position of jeopardy.

[Sgt. Smitty]

It's really a shame that the only ones that are concerned with PTSD are the servicemen/women that are suffering from it's long-lasting and devastating affects. The govt. doesn't understand it or care enough to fully explore the causes and effects this crippling disease, as i call it, has on the ones that have to deal with it on a day to day basis. For me, getting past the denial stage and admitting to myself that it was me that was all messed up in the head, was the hardest thing i ever had to do. The rest has come fairly easy once i committed myself to dealing with this. And i don't me easy easy. I've gone through a total mental breakdown like you did BHABIT, and it's taken me years to get to the point to where i can deal with things on a day to day basis, ya see PTSD is not the only issue we have to deal with. Along with it goes a host of other ill feelings towards this country and this govt. for all the lies and disrespect thrown in our faces. THAT is gonna be the hardest obstacle for me to overcome.

[MillRatUSMC]

From my point of view, there's many factors that contribute to what we now know as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or just PTSD.
There the lack of sleep, body being constantly on the alerted, suppression of certain feelings.
Seeing the horrors of war.
Not being able to talk about these feelings or fears,
No normal outlet for the above.
All are suppress, so you can function in a maddening world.
What we know as PTSD has been around as long as war itself.
Its been known by several names; "the old soldier disease" "Shell Shock" to name a few.
Some say, "get over it!" but how do you get over what is in your mind?
Some try to supress it by drinking to excess, only to find that a band-aid that does not work.
Medications and talking to express the feelings we had to supress just to survive in that maddening world.
Some of us have sought relief in poetry or story telling.
Those allow you to express what deep inside.
Some are a cry for help, others are a release from our fears.
As the last line from a "Protrait of a Soldier" saying ;
"Can You See Me?"
That what many suffering PTSD which that many could see what on their minds.
Than there would be no need for words such as;
"Get Over It!"
Because they would have seen the horrors of war...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

PS They're correct when they say that tears are a sign that you need help.
So you can help adjust the anger that you came back with and did not know how to control.
Should the government that send you to war be more responsive to our needs?
When it said and done, they tend to forget you.
Those are the realities of war.

[MillRatUSMC]

We forgot &quot;survivor guilt&quot; in that mix, we question the why of it. <br />
My memory isn't what it use to be. <br />
The fog of war, I was just at the Vietnam Memorial Wall on the web. <br />
On the night of 24 -25...

[MillRatUSMC]

Let me make a few corrections
From my point of view, there's many factors that contribute to what we now know as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or just PTSD.
There the lack of sleep, body being constantly on the alert, suppression of certain feelings.
Seeing the horrors of war.
Not being able to talk about these feelings or fears,
No normal outlet for the above.
All were suppress, so you can function in a maddening world.
What we know as PTSD has been around as long as war itself.
Its been known by several names; "The Old Soldier Disease" "Shell Shock" to name a few.
Some say, "get over it!" but how do you get over what is in your mind?
Some try to supress it by drinking to excess, only to find that its a band-aid that does not work.
Medications and talking to express the feelings we had to supress just to survive in that maddening world.
That the way to get out of PTSD.
Some of us have sought relief in poetry or story telling.
Those allow you to express what deep inside.
Some are a cry for help, others are a release from our fears.
As the last line from a "Protrait of a Soldier" says ;
"Can You See Me?"
That what many suffering PTSD wish that many could see what on their minds.
Than there would be no need for words such as;
"Get Over It!"
Because they would have seen the horrors of war...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

PS They're correct when they say that tears are a sign that you need help.
So you can get help in adjusting the anger that you came back with and did not know how to control.
Should the government that send you to war be more responsive to our needs?
When it said and done, they tend to forget you.
Those are the realities of war.

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[Sgt. Smitty]

It would be real nice if the military gave vets some idea of the problems that they will face in trying to readjust to civilian life before they are discharged.........at least give them a clue as to...

[Sgt. Smitty]

As far as SURVIVORS GUILT goes, only the ones that came home alive will ever have to deal with that question, and after 35 years i still have no clue as to why i came home in one piece (physically) and so many others never got to see the WORLD again. That's one question that has no answer...it just makes more questions. The only way i can deal with it is that i did come home, and that i was 20 goin on 40. There is no good that can come from war as far as the individual Marine or soldier is concerned. I quit wondering why i came home and so many others didn't because there is no answer to that question.