Be un-intimidated by PTSD

Be un-intimidated by PTSD
by
Chaplain Kathie

There has been an approach by the military to train servicemen and women to become "resilient." When you look at the meaning of the word, this was an easy leap for them to make considering the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but when you understand the basis of making this choice of wording, it's part of the problem.

Resilient
Main Entry: re·sil·ient
Pronunciation: \-yənt\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin resilient-, resiliens, present participle of resilire to jump back, recoil, from re- + salire to leap — more at sally
Date: 1674
: characterized or marked by resilience: as a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

In other words, "get over it" and this is one of the biggest reasons the rates have increased of suicides and attempted suicides. When you consider the fact these people are far from your average citizen, brave enough to face anything they are sent to do, courageous enough to not only carry out their orders, but then "stuff" whatever they face while others are in danger. Usually they will not allow themselves to feel any kind of distress until their company is out of danger. More often than not, they will not show any symptoms until long after they have returned home. Between the emotional/psychological assault and the time it is truly felt, it can take many months or years, depending on the severity, to begin to take over their lives and begin to destroy their futures. Keep in mind that PTSD gets worse as time goes by and just living lives with all the pressures, trails and problems, adds to the stress they are under.

They are already resilient each time they stand up and walk away from being shot at. Every time they watch a friend die or attend a Memorial service, they are resilient because they return to duty, doing whatever is asked of them. When they are already dealing with sleep deprivation robbing them of rest, they also face nightmares when they do manage to fall asleep. Yet no matter what they have going on inside of them, they get up and carry on doing what they need to do until they are sent back home, duty done, danger over, mission accomplished.

Their bravery should never have been questioned.

The military up until recent years, has been punishing men and women for having been affected by the traumatic events in combat. This has been going on in this country since the beginning and we have evidence of this from Civil War records.

The Irritable Heart
Increased Risk of Physical and Psychological Effects of Trauma in Civil War Vets
From K. Kris Hirst

A total of 43 percent of the men had mental health problems throughout their lives, some of which are today recognized as related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

To quantify trauma experienced by Civil War soldiers, researchers used a variable derived from percent of company lost to represent relative exposure to trauma. Researchers found that in military companies with a larger percentage of soldiers killed, the veterans were 51 percent more likely to have cardiac, gastrointestinal and nervous disease.

The Youngest Soldiers were Hardest Hit
The study found that the youngest soldiers (ages 9-17 at enlistment) were 93% more likely than the oldest (ages 31 or older) to experience both mental and physical disease. The younger soldiers were also more likely to show signs of cardiovascular disease alone and in conjunction with gastrointestinal conditions, and were more likely to die early. Former POWs had an increased risk of combined mental and physical problems as well as early death.

One problem the researchers grappled with was comparing diseases as they were recorded during the latter half of the 19th century to today's recognized diseases. Post-traumatic stress syndrome was not recognized by doctors--although they did recognize that veterans exhibited an extreme level of 'nervous disease' that they labeled 'irritable heart' syndrome.

As you can see, when we talk about PTSD today, it was, as it is now, afflicting the warriors. They just didn't know exactly what it was but they were very close considering the term they used to explain it "irritable heart syndrome."

It is a human wounding set off by "normal" people facing "abnormal" events in their lives. Some walk away stunned but recover without it afflicting the emotional part of their mind to the point where it lingers and takes over. Others however face it becoming a part of them and taking over the way they feel, think and relate to others.

We should really stop using the term "resilient" since it has been such an issue with how that word is heard by the ears of people trained to listen very carefully to others words used during training them how to use weapons and face death. To them it means that they are supposed to train their brains to prevent PTSD. If they end up with PTSD, they then blame themselves for not training properly. Yes, this is a real problem and while soldiers feel this way, it is the Marines bothered by this the most.

They end up intimidated because they feel. Feeling grief and loss are not bad things any more than feeling love, joy, passion and compassion are, yet when they end up with all that comes with PTSD, they must overcome admitting they need help because they link needing help to being weak. They never allow themselves to contemplate one simple fact. They carried out their mission, did their duty, watched the backs of their brothers and faced the enemy with all they had even though they were dealing with pain engrained in their soul. The stigma they carry is based on false assumptions simply because they are not looking at the totality of their deployment.

So let the term change in addressing healing these men and women. Stop using "resilient" because it is doing more harm than good. Use the term "un-intimidate" since it reflects what is already a part of them, the ability to carry on without being intimidated by what they faced. No matter how strong the enemy was, they faced them. No matter what was happening, they did what they needed to do. No matter how many physical challenges they endured, they carried on un-intimidated by constant hardships.

Intimidate
Main Entry: in·tim·i·date
Pronunciation: \in-ˈti-mə-ˌdāt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): in·tim·i·dat·ed; in·tim·i·dat·ing
Etymology: Medieval Latin intimidatus, past participle of intimidare, from Latin in- + timidus timid
Date: 1646
: to make timid or fearful : frighten; especially : to compel or deter by or as if by threats

Being un-intimidated was there when they decided they would risk their lives to serve in the military in the first place.

Now they have a need to recover from it. The human enemy did not intimidate them and this enemy caused by combat traumas should not intimidate them but they have not been provided with the knowledge of what PTSD actually is, what it does any more than they know why they ended up with it but their buddies didn't. They don't understand it came with their ability to feel more deeply than others, with a level of compassion beyond what others are able to feel, thus creating a condition where they are also able to feel emotional pain more deeply. Once provided with this knowledge, they then understand they can heal after having PTSD no longer intimidates them.

When they are more afraid to live than die and attempt suicide, this is caused by the intimidation of fearing they are doomed to being under this assault for the rest of their lives, we need to change how we address them. When they are more willing to be thought of as a "drunk" or drug addict than they are willing to be treated for PTSD, then we should learn how to talk to them so they fully understand what it is and give them the tools/weapons to fight it off. They can defeat this enemy within them and be as un-intimidated to heal as they were to face the human enemy they were sent to defeat.