thedrifter
04-30-06, 08:52 AM
Therapy gave Iraq veteran the weapons to reclaim his life
Sunday, April 30, 2006
The Plain Dealer
In the shadow of a monument to Civil War combatants, many of whom came home with what was then called "soldier's heart," Aaron Reedy recalls the nightmares, anger and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress that he brought back from Iraq.
Aaron Reedy recently joined the rusting can nons, stone memorials and other artifacts of war sitting on his hometown square in Willoughby.
"Desert Storm was a vacation compared to Iraq," Reedy, 34, said with a resignation reflecting the battles he waged long after leaving that latest war.
Reedy was an active-duty Marine in Desert Storm who later served in an Ohio National Guard armored unit in Iraq.
Following that last combat tour, he fought recurring dreams of getting blown up and about the time he discovered a checkpoint manned by slaughtered Iraqis. He'd thrash awake, shouting to his fiancée to take cover because incoming rounds.
He had a seething anger with complacent, complaining civilians back home. A guilty sense of "Why not me?" after seeing news reports of local Marines killed in Iraq.
Following his return in late 2005, Reedy became tense, irritable and downright scary to his fiancée and his 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. They, and other relatives and friends, persuaded him to seek help.
He joined group therapy with fellow veterans of the war in Iraq being treated at the Brecksville VA Medical Center for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Reedy said he was finally among soldiers who had the same problems and could teach each other how to navigate a suddenly unfamiliar civilian world.
The group provided much the same kind of team support as the military did in Iraq, "helping you understand that people aren't out to get you and that you have to think before you act," he said.
"In Iraq, you don't have time to think. You just respond," he added. "If somebody's doing something to you that you don't like, you get right in there, hands-on, and do something about it."
Now, after therapy, he said, "I'm sleeping better, I'm not as quick to get angry or jump at things. Knowing that other people are dealing with the same issues, that I'm not alone, is reassuring."
Reassurance also comes in the knowledge that he can call a VA therapist if he's having a rough day -- and those times occasionally arise.
Reedy, a postal employee working in Collinwood, said that seeing students at a local Islamic school, dressed in clothing typical of Iraq, sometimes "puts me right back there."
He can deal with it. "You can't take the experience of Iraq away from us. I think there will always be times when I feel threatened and have a tendency to want to respond the way I did in Iraq," Reedy said.
"But the group is like having a guardian angel in the back of your head, saying, Don't do it,' " he added. "The group said don't forget what you went through, but don't let it be an excuse."
Reedy believes the burden of post-traumatic distress could be further eased for veterans and families if terms of combat duty were shortened (six months maximum) and deployments were separated by at least a year.
He also suggested more and easily accessible programs to help families prepare for the return of loved ones from war.
Such programs could offer advice to "be patient, don't overload them with questions, and let them know that when they need help, you're there for them," he said.
Reedy's experience in Iraq didn't alter his plans to complete a 20-year military career. After returning home, he transferred to an Ohio Air National Guard engineering unit that has already been deployed to Iraq, and could be again.
"Hopefully, I won't have to do it again," he said. "But, yeah, I'd go back."
-- Brian Albrecht
Ellie
Sunday, April 30, 2006
The Plain Dealer
In the shadow of a monument to Civil War combatants, many of whom came home with what was then called "soldier's heart," Aaron Reedy recalls the nightmares, anger and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress that he brought back from Iraq.
Aaron Reedy recently joined the rusting can nons, stone memorials and other artifacts of war sitting on his hometown square in Willoughby.
"Desert Storm was a vacation compared to Iraq," Reedy, 34, said with a resignation reflecting the battles he waged long after leaving that latest war.
Reedy was an active-duty Marine in Desert Storm who later served in an Ohio National Guard armored unit in Iraq.
Following that last combat tour, he fought recurring dreams of getting blown up and about the time he discovered a checkpoint manned by slaughtered Iraqis. He'd thrash awake, shouting to his fiancée to take cover because incoming rounds.
He had a seething anger with complacent, complaining civilians back home. A guilty sense of "Why not me?" after seeing news reports of local Marines killed in Iraq.
Following his return in late 2005, Reedy became tense, irritable and downright scary to his fiancée and his 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. They, and other relatives and friends, persuaded him to seek help.
He joined group therapy with fellow veterans of the war in Iraq being treated at the Brecksville VA Medical Center for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Reedy said he was finally among soldiers who had the same problems and could teach each other how to navigate a suddenly unfamiliar civilian world.
The group provided much the same kind of team support as the military did in Iraq, "helping you understand that people aren't out to get you and that you have to think before you act," he said.
"In Iraq, you don't have time to think. You just respond," he added. "If somebody's doing something to you that you don't like, you get right in there, hands-on, and do something about it."
Now, after therapy, he said, "I'm sleeping better, I'm not as quick to get angry or jump at things. Knowing that other people are dealing with the same issues, that I'm not alone, is reassuring."
Reassurance also comes in the knowledge that he can call a VA therapist if he's having a rough day -- and those times occasionally arise.
Reedy, a postal employee working in Collinwood, said that seeing students at a local Islamic school, dressed in clothing typical of Iraq, sometimes "puts me right back there."
He can deal with it. "You can't take the experience of Iraq away from us. I think there will always be times when I feel threatened and have a tendency to want to respond the way I did in Iraq," Reedy said.
"But the group is like having a guardian angel in the back of your head, saying, Don't do it,' " he added. "The group said don't forget what you went through, but don't let it be an excuse."
Reedy believes the burden of post-traumatic distress could be further eased for veterans and families if terms of combat duty were shortened (six months maximum) and deployments were separated by at least a year.
He also suggested more and easily accessible programs to help families prepare for the return of loved ones from war.
Such programs could offer advice to "be patient, don't overload them with questions, and let them know that when they need help, you're there for them," he said.
Reedy's experience in Iraq didn't alter his plans to complete a 20-year military career. After returning home, he transferred to an Ohio Air National Guard engineering unit that has already been deployed to Iraq, and could be again.
"Hopefully, I won't have to do it again," he said. "But, yeah, I'd go back."
-- Brian Albrecht
Ellie