SCHARF: The power of his story

Pay really close attention to this for now.

SCHARF: The power of his story
By GREG SCHARF

Last year, I attended a seminar on treatment for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. The speaker was Capt. Paul Hammer, the psychiatrist who was in charge of that unit at Balboa Naval Hospital. What he said was very simple and revolved around two themes. The first is that only a psychopath can go into battle and come out unchanged. Some people come out devastated, some people come out stronger, for most, it's a combination of the two.

The second was that the road to mental health for those experiencing PTSD was simple: Let them tell their story repeatedly until it loses its power.

We have lost another hero in this Valley, Army Sgt. Eric Williams of Murrieta. There is power in his story, his sacrifice and his blog (myfriendthemedic.blogspot.com) are his testament.

He talks of the change our warriors undergo under the force of the uncertainity, the atrocities of war, the chaos, "the sting of losing someone we tried hardest to save" and how, when they come home, they take with them "the weight of a thousand missions" ---- something that few civilians will ever understand, at least on the visceral level Williams describes.

Williams then talks about the world to which he's returning and how alienated he feels from the country he fought for.

"The truth is that the general American public couldn't give a (expletive) about us. They want their Starbucks and celebrity gossip, and their '16 And Pregnant.' We are breeding a generation of young people who have no idea what this country is founded on or what its citizens had to go through to make this country great and more about what time Jersey Shore is on."
read more here

Between 2008 and 2010 I was certified as a Chaplain and trained in crisis intervention with almost every group down here in Florida for this reason. Everything I read from trusted experts said talking after trauma is vital to healing from it. This was all a reenforcement of what I grew up with. My family, unaware of it, did what psychologists have been doing. They got me to talk. I had their time, patience and naturally their two cents but what I didn't have was their judgment. I talked until I didn't have to talk anymore.

I saw a psychologist when I was younger, dealing with the way my father was when he was a violent alcoholic but stopped drinking after the damage was done. When I was done talking, I stopped going. The last time I went to a psychologist was when no one in my family could understand what Vietnam did to my husband anymore than they could understand PTSD. Again, I talked until I was done talking, well almost. My psychologist had me write in between appointments. The last time I saw her I promised what I wrote would be turned into a book and I did it, but it proved I really wasn't done talking even though I didn't need anyone to "hear" me.

You don't have to take my word on how important it is to talk, especially after combat. You can hear Medal of Honor Sammy Davis for that.



The only problem with this comes when no one is talking right after the event. Talking is still necessary in healing but it gets more complicated as time goes by.

When Combat PTSD has taken hold, it has invaded every part of the veteran. Anyone treating these men and women has to address the whole person or nothing will really work.

For veterans, I wait until I have their trust, then ask them what their worst nightmare is. It is usually centered on something that happened for real. I have them talk about it and tell me what happened. I listen carefully as they try to piece it all together. I give them time to go back and put in things they had forgotten about. When they are done, I'll ask them about something I think is missing from what they told me, usually it is the beginning of their remembrance of the event. Getting them to look at everything from start to finish opens the door for me to help them get to the point where they can either forgive themselves or someone else. In other words, they make peace with it. They cannot change what happened but they can change what "it" turns into. When they actually say the words, the power hold is broken. Needless to say, I love the article I read above.