Wise men would still be lost if they had help like this

Three wise men (kings) prayed for a sign the deliverer, the answer to their prayers had finally show up. They checked and rechecked their charts and knew what to look for so that they would be ready when the evidence was there. When the star started to shine in the sky, they knew they had to follow it because it was exactly what they had been waiting for. All the evidence told them they were right so without hesitation, each left their own part of the world, traveled their own road, at their own pace, but managed to get to the place where they would find the answer to their prayers. Christ was born and they had arrived to greet him.

Ever wonder if they didn't have a clue what the star would mean? Ever wonder if they never bothered to look up and see the star? That's the biggest problem of all. It's not that help and the answer to prayers is not out there. It's just that people don't have a clue what to look for or how to get there from here. Sorry the DOD and the VA have yet to figure out how to get up a star to shine the way. What we do have is an archive filled with 30 years of research and news reports, letters to the editor printed in local papers, divorce filings, arrest reports and the conclusion of research papers in most colleges plus a ton of thesis papers. We also have the living veterans from combat going back to WWII, although few of them remain.

So what's the problem? Why are we still doing studies, funding research on what was already done instead of taking what is already known and then taking it all forward? Wouldn't that be the best way to get to where we need to go? Veterans are waiting for what they were promised. Families are waiting for hope and what they need. The facts are waiting to be used so that people stop suffering needlessly. Isn't it time someone gave the road map to the DOD and the VA to get them where they need to be?

NONE OF THIS IS NEW and there are too few new programs to justify the waste of time and money repeating it all over again.

They need medication and I won't argue against it. It cannot be the answer to everything though. They need therapy. They are getting it.

They need their families support as well as being involved in their care. This isn't happening all over the country. It's only available in certain parts of the country. Too many mental health providers think they shouldn't have to waste their time with the families instead of considering the likelihood the veteran is holding back instead of being totally honest and the instead of the family telling the provider what is really going on with them, they trust the person needing help instead. A veteran has a hard time saying they haven't had sex in years when they see Viagra commercials on every program they watch. They will minimize sleeping problems in general just as they will minimize what is being done to the family simply because they are oblivious to it.

They need the support of the community to honor their service but above that, understand what their service did to some of them and not fear it. Crimes in PTSD veterans are not what you think. Considering how few of them are actually involved in crimes, that's pretty obvious. They need jobs and friends that will really listen to them talk and be there for them. They need them to be aware of what PTSD and how they can help.

Most of the time, when people feel lost they just need a little help to get to where they are going. If they pull over on the side of the road and keep getting wrong directions, they are more lost and finding it very hard to find hope enough to ask for help again. That's what we're seeing today. So as we celebrate the day Christ was born, think about the wise men and the star and finally, once and for all, remember the veterans are feeling lost because the signs are not clear showing them were they need to go or how to get there from here.