Be part of the solution of PTSD or get out of the way

I received an email today asking me what my agenda was. Not sure what they meant, I wrote back asking the sender to clarify it. I got back a nasty email in return. It is one I won't be answering, but will address it here. His email is blocked.

My agenda is to make sure that every single person in this country and around the world, not only knows what PTSD is, but that the help they need is there for them. This is especially important to be with veterans, police, fire fighters and all emergency responders because they put themselves between trauma and other victims by their willingness. We think of them all as heroes but we fail to see how human they all are. We know we need them, but then we can't figure out why they would ever need help.

The emailer wrote that I was causing problems for other veterans who do not have PTSD as if there is something to be ashamed of, or that those who do have PTSD should just suffer in silence to not "make the others look bad" as if they are all "damaged" goods, among a long list of other rants. Ignorance will not be tolerated by me and should not be tolerated by anyone. Asking questions, trying to learn and understand what the media is finally focusing on should always be regarded with patience and those of us dealing with this kind of work, should always be mindful of the difference between them and someone attacking others. It is for this reason this post comes long past due.

There are a lot of people in this country dismissing PTSD as if they are so much better than to ever be a "coward" or "lazy" or "sucking off the system" to ever need help. Others regard anyone filing a claim for disability as one who is looking for a free ride the rest of their life. What I've found is there are two types of the deniers of PTSD. One, is denying they have it themselves. The other type thinks that everyone in the world is out to get something from them. Be it their portion of the tax dollars they pay, or their own twisted sense of pride in themselves. People tend to dismiss things and then don't even waste their time reading about it, discussing it or posting about it. They certainly don't waste their time firing off a couple of pages worth of an email rage.

The deniers who have PTSD will most likely email several times and questions come as attacks fade. Yet those who fall into the other category are people no one will ever reach and that's a shame. They will never know what they have done to others unless it happens to someone they not only know, but admire as well. Then it will be personal to them. Until that day comes, if it ever does, they will stand in the way to make sure no one gets anything they do not have. If they have to work for a living, no one should be able to be supported no matter how serious their wounds or how damaged their minds are. It doesn't matter how much suffering they go through or the families falling apart over this. They will come up with excuses until they run out of air. The only thing I can suggest is avoid them. You are wasting your time when you come into contact with people like that.

We, on this side, need to remain focused on the work ahead. There is too little time to reach everyone needing help and for all the time we take with people who will not even open up their minds, we lose time we could be spending with those in the most need. Take this as an experienced suggestion. Block their email address in the future. If they ever do get to the point where they are willing to listen, they will be determined enough to find someone else. This does not come to this point often. Over the years I must have blocked out 30 people and no more than that.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com


This is why I do it after all these years.

The nearly 50,000 VA-documented PTSD cases far exceed the 30,000 military personnel that the Pentagon officially classifies as wounded in the conflicts. The discrepancy underscores the view by military and civilian health officials, such as Lt. Gen. James Campbell, director of the Army staff, that troops tend to ignore, hide or fail to recognize their mental health wounds until after their military service.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/
2007-10-18-veterans-stress_N.htm?csp=34&loc=interstitialskip

This is why I started doing it 25 years ago.

Vietnam Veterans
The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) was conducted by the U.S. government following a congressional mandate in 1983 to better understand the psychological effect of being in the Vietnam War. Among Vietnam veterans, approximately 15% of men and 9% of women were found to have PTSD at the time of the study. Approximately 30% of men and 27% of women had PTSD at some point in their life following Vietnam.

These rates were much higher than those found among non-Vietnam veterans and civilians. The rates are alarming since they indicate that at the time of the study, there were about 479,000 cases of PTSD and 1 million lifetime PTSD cases as a result of the Vietnam War.

Persian Gulf War
Although the Persian Gulf War was brief, its impact was no less traumatic than other wars. From the time the Persian Gulf War ended in 1991 to now, veterans have reported a number of physical and mental health problems.

Studies examining the mental health of Persian Gulf War veterans have found that rates of PTSD stemming from the war range anywhere from almost 9% to approximately 24%. These rates are higher than what has been found among veterans not deployed to the Persian Gulf.

Iraq War and Afghanistan
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are ongoing. That's why the full the impact the war has had on the mental health of soldiers in Iraq in not yet known. One study looked at members of four United States combat infantry units (3 Army and 1 Marine) who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The majority of soldiers were exposed to some kind of traumatic, combat-related situations, such as being attacked or ambushed (92%), seeking dead bodies (94.5%), being shot at (95%), and/or knowing someone who was seriously injured or killed (86.5%).

After deployment, approximately 12.5% had PTSD, a rate greater than that found among these soldiers before deployment.
http://ptsd.about.com/od/prevalence/a/MilitaryPTSD.htm

For the jerks out there, if you have any more questions, look in the mirror and ask yourself why you bother to attack people who want to help while you stand in their way from getting it.