Nation's veterans need help

Nation's veterans need help
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can lead to suicide if left untreated
By Ingrid Mitchell THE EASTERN ECHO
Added January 13, 2010 at 8:15 pm
One tends to assume, once a military member has returned from a combat zone alive, whether harmed or uninjured, all should be well once the member is removed from the hostile sector.

This is the scene most of us may want to paint. It is a fairytale filled with unicorns, blooming flowers and fixed smiles.


The truth is, the Suicide Prevention Network reports that approximately one in five suicides involves a veteran.

This report also suggests veterans make up 19 percent of deaths by suicide in the United States.

However, veterans make up only 11 percent of the nation’s population, and approximately 12-20 percent of those serving or who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In the Veteran’s Hospital of Ann Arbor, I sat on a bench, a veteran with no apparent injuries, no visible war wounds and with no documented disabilities.

One, two, 20, countless wheelchairs rolled by, occupied by wounded war heroes. Strangers paused their actions to help the disadvantaged.

Then I caught my reflection in the glass doors opposite my little bench and noticed a wounded veteran was staring back at me.

No one rushed me to see a physician or inquired about my injuries. I did not receive a Purple Heart for my wounds. They are hidden, but I can guarantee they are there.

My mind is like a pressurized bag right before the air escapes. It wants to release the abundance of information that I have stored, but the seal is too tight.
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Nations veterans need help