When communities rely on each other Post Traumatic Stress is not as strong

During the years of trying to eliminate the stigma of PTSD, one of the suggestions I've been making, especially in the videos, was that veterans reach out to help each other heal. Most experts thought if anyone could understand, lend support, compassion and a listening non-judgmental ear, it would be a combat veteran. Isolation is a big problem with PTSD. They are afraid to talk about what's going on in their minds. They think it is all too "crazy" while they are dealing with it on their own terms in silence. This is one example of how a community can alleviate part of the problem.

It does not matter if the trauma came from combat, which is the number one cause of PTSD, from public service, from natural disasters or from crime, when it comes to the aftermath of trauma. All humans with PTSD will suffer the same, endure flashbacks and nightmares as their characters are attacked. The greatest strength comes from leaning on each other.


Vietnamese community relies on each other
Groups monitor mental health
By JOSHUA NORMAN
jdnorman@sunherald.com

BILOXI --Bien Bo lost track of his love, Tuat Nguyen, about 40 years ago when he joined the South Vietnamese army and war tore his country apart before expelling him from his homeland altogether.
Bo, 71, lost everything again in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina; his Biloxi home, two cars, his shrimp boat that was his livelihood, all of which were uninsured. He wandered in a daze around town following the storm after barely surviving the surge, depressed and mentally adrift, until he decided to visit an old friend.
He walked into the living room and there she was, Nguyen, his love lost so long ago.
Bo's friend was Nguyen's sister, and Nguyen, 63, was visiting from California after Katrina to help.
They cried, hugged, laughed and have been merrily side by side ever since, she a widow and he with a wife severely disabled by stroke.
Bo and Nguyen's story illustrates how South Mississippi's Vietnamese community has survived the sometimes debilitating mental strain of post-Katrina life. The Vietnamese community came together for support and healing. Despite the destruction in the center of their community, Point Cadet, they have shown remarkably few outer signs of strain or mental decay.
The Vietnamese community, already slightly separated from their neighbors by language and cultural barriers, sought refuge within themselves. The post-Vietnam war Vietnamese community service organization, Boat People SOS, set up offices in Biloxi for the first time ever post-Katrina, and many in the Vietnamese community received help and support from it.
go here for the rest
http://www.sunherald.com/living/health/story/154205.html