Iraq vet recounts struggles at suicide prevention conference

Iraq vet recounts struggles at suicide prevention conference
BY DEBORAH CIRCELLI
EDUCATION WRITER
June 8, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH -- Just five days into his deployment in Iraq, Bryan Adams' close friend and his company commander were killed when an explosive device buried in the road detonated.

Later, during that same Army deployment as a sniper in 2004, he and two other soldiers were ambushed while walking back to their unit. He was shot in the left leg and another bullet grazed his hand.

"As I was running, there were bullets everywhere," the 28-year-old told more than 200 people at Thursday's third annual Matter of Life & Death Suicide Prevention Conference, which partly focused on veterans.

"I could feel the heat and hear the noise -- boom, boom, boom. My future was flashing in my face -- everything I wanted to do."

The Rutgers University senior from New Jersey shared the anxiety he lived with daily while in Iraq waiting for the enemy to attack.

"It's a terrifying environment to be in. You can feel the anxiety in the air," he said.

That anxiety followed the Purple Heart veteran home as he tried to reintegrate back into society where he described feeling like "an alien." His struggles trying to fit back in included alcohol binges, depression and being angry until he was diagnosed and sought treatment from the Veterans Affairs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Adams now speaks around the country for a student group called Active Minds, which raises mental health awareness on college campuses. His message is "seeking help is a strength as opposed to a weakness."
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