Chip away at PTSD? Try a jack hammer and get it done!

Health officials chip away at PTSD stigma

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 19, 2007 12:55:30 EDT

The concept of getting rid of a stigma can be a little nebulous, but experts on a post-traumatic stress disorder panel offered up some concrete changes that could help people overcome years of stereotypes.

“Mental health issues are in many ways the top issue of veterans of our generation. It needs to be treated like a pulled hamstring,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, at a forum sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America and the U.S. Naval Institute.

And he said he thinks the military is ready for that change.

“Beyond all the macho and hard-headed culture, I think we understand we have to perform,” Rieckhoff said.

If service members get the help they need, they’ll perform much better on the battlefield, he said. But convincing them that a trip to mental health won’t ruin their careers can be the toughest issue.

Marine Col. Keith Pankhurst, Combat/Operational Stress Control Program Coordinator for the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, said it wasn’t very long ago that he believed Marines who had PTSD just didn’t have what it takes to serve.

“I would have been the first to say, ‘What kind of weakness is that?’” He said. “It took a lot of education to overcome that attitude.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/military_ptsd_070919w/

It's great they are doing this but it is so late in coming they need to pull out the biggest jack hammer they can find to totally get the stigma out of PTSD. I can't count how many blogs I go into and get sick because they are attacking veterans with PTSD as if getting wounded is now something they should be ashamed of.

The recent "war" movies coming out cause outrage from "war bloggers" when they say it makes the rest of the "troops" and the "veterans" look bad. It makes them all come of as "crazy" and all kinds of other remarks. They do this because they don't understand what PTSD is. In the process of defending their own ego problems, they end up attacking combat wounded veterans instead of helping them heal. What is it with these people when they think the "brotherhood" should end when one of them needs help? Twisted!