For Veterans, Finding Out The Facts About PTSD Is Half The Battle

I've taken a great interest in what MTV is doing on PTSD and I think it's fantastic.

Meaning

Literal meaning. That literal meaning may be misinterpreted somewhat as this phrase is commonly misreported as 'music has (or occasionally 'hath') charms to soothe the savage beast'. In fact, at the time of writing (Nov 2006) there are twice as many hist for the incorrect version of the phrase as for the correct one.

Origin

The phrase was coined by William Congreve, in The mourning bride, 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/252000.html

Admittedly, I do not watch MTV, because at my age it's not my type of music. I still enjoy the songs I grew up with as much as the newer generation enjoys their own music. We have a new generation of veterans fighting the battles against PTSD, much like all other generations did, so it is very important that programs from their own media are provided.

What I've found is that no matter how much I write, post on their stories or try to reach out, the most successful avenue has been through the videos I make. Music, pictures combined with the messages are quick and penetrating, plus a lot easier to get through than a blog post or a book.

MTV has accomplished a fantastic thing with what they're doing because the sooner PTSD is addressed, the better the recovery rate. Most of them will not watch the news or view documentaries. Their lifestyles limit how much research they are willing to do. The information has to be brought to them. This generation is far ahead of where the older generations were on PTSD because of communication outside the traditional ways and it's a good thing.

When young veterans turn on MTV for the videos of background music, they are provided with knowledge that was not available before. When they turn on their computers they are provided with a connection to the rest of the nation along with the rest of the world. They are able to understand they have plenty of company dealing with this wound, find support, find ideas by how others are getting along, new treatments but above all, they are finding hope.

I truly believe that if there were programs like what MTV is doing when men like my husband came home from Vietnam, we wouldn't have lost so many to suicide, we wouldn't have had so many going through serial marriages, ending up homeless and forgotten. The survivors wouldn't have been suffering all these years without a clue what was wrong with them and years would not have been wasted when they could have been healing. I applaud MTV for their efforts because PTSD is not an easy topic to cover. It tugs at your heart. It's easier to just ignore it but ignorance is deadly for them. I really hope that MTV does more of this kind of programming so that they provide a service that reaches the troops and the younger veterans. It will also help them understand their own parents.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

For Veterans, Finding Out The Facts About PTSD Is Half The Battle

Published by Kim Stolz on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 8:00 am.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is an illness that most people have a surface knowledge of, at best, even though its earliest reports date back to 6th century B.C. In the post-Vietnam War era, it made a more frequent appearance in the media, as combat veterans returned home and struggled with anger, insomnia, hyper-vigilance and flashbacks, among other symptoms. Since then, some people owe their knowledge on the subject to Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” or even the current presidential election, as political pundits have accused John McCain of being unfit to run the country because he may have been traumatized by his POW experience.

But what do we really know about it? How close have most of us ever been to someone suffering from the disorder?

(Watch Iraq veteran Bryan Adams’ story after the jump.)


Last week, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with 24-year-old Iraq war veteran Bryan Adams, who has not only had an intense struggle with PTSD, he has overcome its obstacles and turned his life around. There were many factors that were strong contributors to the healing process for Adams, a sophomore at Rutgers University at Camden. The underlying theme in all of them, though, was the recognition and understanding that he is not alone. (Learn about veterans’ issues and sign the petition for BRAVE, the Bill of Rights for American Veterans, here.)

The aspect of my interview with Bryan that stuck with me most was his openness about everything from his injury to his struggle with PTSD and the other obstacles he faced along the way. He talked about the challenges he encountered personally. “With a couple of my girlfriends, I was just mean, forceful, I guess you could say,” Bryan admitted. He also talked about his frustration and anger with his classmates, whose conversations and interests he could not relate to. As Bryan explained, “I felt very isolated. … I had been through all this stuff, and [my friends] can’t even begin to imagine what it was like. They try, you know, but it’s just hard to convey.”
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Here is the link to sign for BRAVE Petition. I just signed it. Why don't you?
http://think.mtv.com/Issues/politics/