The Doppelganger of PTSD

May 04, 2008
The Doppelganger of PTSD: the Unwelcome Stranger Who Follows You Home from War

Over time, more and more grassroots efforts spring up as veterans try to help one another deal with the effects of combat trauma and PTSD. Some of these are simply conversations, where those who went share what the experience was like, and how they've suffered since -- and ideally, also what they've been able to do about it that helps. The Peoria Journal Star in today's paper has an article about just such a conversation, held by local central Illinois veterans in conjunction with a traveling exhibit of the Vietnam Wall. The article is short but poignant in the reminiscences shared by predominantly Vietnam veterans about how combat trauma and resultant PTSD has changed their lives, and not for the better. Click here for the link to that story.

There's nothing particularly "extraordinary" or "dramatic" about these men's PTSD or their comments about it -- but that's the thing. They've very representative of what actual people go through who weren't expecting the experience to scar them for years after combat. Just one example: a combat photographer with a Ph.D. talks about his own experience. "Divorce, alcohol, drugs, jail, attempted suicide ... I've done them all," he said. If combat trauma is the stone thrown into the pond, just think of the ripple effects of every item he just mentioned. Sadly, combat trauma affects not only the participants, but also many of the people in their lives.
go here for more
http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/05/ptsd-the-unwelc.html