Dr. Phil didn't care who he hurt with his "monsters" PTSD connection

Dr. Phil update, he blamed the media! April 28, 2012

"Some viewers expressed concern, and even disappointment, with the show’s original title, “Heroes to Monsters?” Our intent was to acknowledge the question so often cited in the media, not to make a statement, and to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering our guests say they experience. In doing so, we unintentionally offended some of our viewers, and have therefore changed the title to more accurately reflect the show’s content."

click link above for the rest

When I read this, I didn't think it was possible that anyone could be so horrible, but I was wrong.

Dr. Phil: Vets with PTSD Are “Damaged Goods”, “Monsters”

April 20, 2012 By Cassy
Posted in Military Life, Military News, Opinion

PTSD: civilians just love to paint veterans as riddled with this disease, causing them to become violent, unhinged lunatics who will explode at the slightest provocation. Look at just about any news story where a violent crime is committed by a veteran, and PTSD is almost immediately floated as the reason. In the media narrative, violence and PTSD go hand-in-hand. At the same time, troops are criticized for not coming forward and admitting they have a problem, and seeking help for it. (Gee, could it possibly be because we paint veterans with PTSD as homicidal lunatics?) Dr. Phil, arguably one of the most popular talk show hosts on the planet, decided to feature this issue on his show this week. And while he could have taken a reasonable approach, he went straight for the gut instead. Titling the show “From Heroes To Monsters”, he painted a picture of vets with PTSD as ticking time bombs of violence, describing them as damaged goods who “destroy families” and “dismantle marriages”. read more here

From Dr. Phil's site

From Heroes to Monsters?
Explosions, gunfire, violent death -- these horrific images and sounds are the reality for soldiers on the front lines, fighting for our freedom. But what happens when the horror follows them home, making them feel out of place in the life they left behind, and often unrecognizable to family and friends? Dr. Phil delves into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how it can destroy families, dismantle marriages and leave its victims reliving a nightmare. Beth says since her son, Matt, returned from Iraq, he is no longer the fun-loving and respectful son she knew, but is instead a man with a faraway, dark look on his face, with a short fuse and a temper that scares everyone around him. Matt says he’s haunted by the things he saw and did while at war, but says he wishes he could go back, because struggling to cope with his rage in civilian life is far worse. He admits he’s turned to prescription pills to numb his pain and illegal activities to feel an adrenaline rush. Can Dr. Phil help Matt reclaim his place as a loving partner to his girlfriend and father to his 3-year-old daughter? Then, Heather made national headlines when her Army Sergeant husband, Duane, beat her and set her on fire. Was PTSD to blame? In a Dr. Phil exclusive, Heather shares why her nightmare is far from over. And, Mark says his life has been destroyed by his PTSD, and if he can’t get it under control, he’s afraid of what he may do to himself and the people he loves most. Dr. Frank Lawlis, chairman of the Dr. Phil Advisory Board and author of The PTSD Breakthrough, offers new hope for PTSD sufferers and their families. You don’t have to be a soldier at war to suffer from PTSD -- if you’ve survived a traumatic event, tune in!

First, I've been working with these veterans and their families for 30 years! I also happen to be married to one of them. On this blog alone there are over 14,000 posts but that does not include all the reports I read on a daily basis. As an acknowledged expert on PTSD, I can tell you they are more likely to kill themselves than to harm someone else. I can also tell you that when it comes to helping them heal from where they've been, we suck at it.

We suck at it because of "experts" on mental health like Dr. Phil not knowing what the hell they are talking about.

First let's look at how the men and women in the military are just like us. I don't know about you but there is always a bottle of Arbor Mist wine in my house just for me. Usually it is Blackberry Merlot. I drink a glass with dinner to chill out, plus during the day I drink way too much coffee. (I don't drink soda because I will belch loud enough to scare our Rottweiler dog.) While I could just drink water with a meal, sorry but it doesn't help to take the stress off my shoulders after a day of doing what I do. They are like us when it comes to drinking and not having a huge issue with it or having one if they drink too much.

I can't drive if I have a drink when out in public. My husband drives because he doesn't drink. Maybe it is because I am old enough to understand that drinking and driving is dangerous, not just for me but for everyone else on the road. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people, especially younger people, thinking they can just do both.

They have the same issues with stress and life events changing how they think and what they think about. They have problems with the people in their lives, family as well as friends and even strangers being idiots. Problems with their jobs and if they go back to college, with professors and other students.

They have all the regular problems but because of serving in combat, they have all that to deal with. We talk about the traumas in our lives? Think about trying to avoid being blown up the next time you think you are coming unhinged when you are pissed off by another driver or traffic being backed up! They have to worry about that Afghanistan just as they had to worry about it in Iraq. The fact we avoid is that fear comes back every time they are in a vehicle back home where things like that don't happen.

They spent their time worrying about being shot at just as much as they had to worry about having to shoot someone else. Unless you're a cop back here or live in a high crime area, you don't have the problem. All you have to worry about is someone being a jerk and hurting your feelings.

We get all upset when we have to go to a funeral. It is not your favorite thing to do to go to a funeral home and walk up to a casket with someone you know posed as if they're sleeping. You don't have to worry about one of your friends being blown up right in front of your eyes or the fact that you'll have to help pick up his/her body parts.

We know what it is like to go back to where we lived after moving away and discovering everything has changed, including us. The expression "you can't go home again" is because nothing stays the same. If you are there when things are changing, then it is all "normal" to you as you change with the other changes. If you are not there, it is as if you stepped into a different world and no longer belong there. For them, they change when they are gone because of all they go through. While they may want to go back to the way they were before and their families expect them to get over it, they are ignoring the obvious. It isn't going to happen any more than anyone else can hit a reset button to go back to the way they were before.

Most people have no clue what PTSD is or what it does so they make mistakes under deluded notions and bad advice almost as dangerous as deluded experts deciding to pick words that will get them attention at the expense of someone else. As bad as the ignorance of the general public, public figures like Dr. Phil have decided to not set the record straight.

Medications the troops are given cause a lot of harm and they have been connected to violence more than PTSD has. Medications to "treat" PTSD have caused harm as well but they don't talk about any of this.

If these men and women were "monsters" then you'd see a lot more crime and a lot less suicide! We have over 2 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan yet the number of them committing crimes has not come close to the numbers of them committing suicide or attempting it. Monsters do not cry out in anguish or pray someone will be able to help them. Monsters do not grieve for the person they used to be, to feel love again, to feel joy again, to be able to find hope again.

Monsters want to kill but PTSD veterans are suffering because they had to kill, they had to see someone killed, they feared being killed. Monsters don't ask where was God when all the horror was going on any more than they try to find Him afterwards.

The truth is regular people commit domestic violence, murder and crimes but when it is a veteran doing it, well then, that's news. Why? Because as a nation of over 300 million people there are only about 24 million veterans and of that, there are a little over 2 million OEF OIF veterans. They are news but just not news worthy when it comes to reporting on what they come home to.

For them if they are involved with a law enforcement situation, that's news and you see the headline of "veteran" mixed in with whatever the story was about. If they come home and do good things in their community to make it better, you may see a tiny piece buried under a story no one wants to read. If they get divorced or abuse a spouse, again their veteran status has the spotlight on it but if they are married past 20 years, you'll never read about that. Vietnam veterans had the same problem. If they give their lives in service to others, that is not news but if they do something wrong, well then, that needs to make the front page or be the subject of a Dr. Phil show!