As hard as it is to convince the families they need to pay attention, it's harder to get the clergy involved. This is imperative especially with the National Guards and Reservists coming home to communities around the nation. When the mind-body-spirit are all treated the healing rate is greatly increased. There are not enough psychologist and mental health professionals to go around and then when you add in claims being tied up, the clergy could play a vital role in filling in the gaps. The problem is when you try to talk to most of them, their eyes glaze over as if you're speaking in a foreign language.
It's been over a 26 year battle for me to get the information out there and with that I also have to add that I have never had so much hope for our veterans. They are coming forward and talking about it to the media finally willing to cover it and give PTSD the attention it deserves, even if it is sparse.
I left this comment on Veteran's For Common Sense after reading this.
Dec 1: More than Two Thirds of Americans Unaware of Post Traumatic ...
By contact@veteransforcommonsense.org
Ad Council and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Army Times
Dec 01, 2008
December 1, 2008 - In a survey conducted Oct. 24-27, most of the 1,008 respondents said they had never even heard of the acronym PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Of the respondents, 9% answered "Yes, I have heard of it but am not sure what it stands for."
24% said "yes, I have heard of it and know what it stands for," and a whopping 68% of respondents stated "no, I have never heard of it."
* Veterans for Common Sense note: We need your help to get the word out that PTSD is real, that one-in-five (or more) of our Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans may return home with PTSD, that it is OK for veterans to seek care for PTSD, and that DoD and VA need to hire more doctors to meet the tidal wave of demand for PTSD treatment and recovery.
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