Dallas-area veterans try to leave battle behind

Dallas-area veterans try to leave battle behind
NECN.com
Aug 12, 2012

DALLAS (AP) — Just after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Mike Rials was on track to graduate from Richardson's J.J. Pearce High School and start his freshman year at Texas Tech. But at the last minute, Rials decided he wanted a bigger challenge: He enlisted in the Marines.

Nine years later, Rials, 27, will finally get his diploma when he graduates next week from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in psychology. He credits UTD's Center for BrainHealth, and its work with him and other recent war veterans struggling physically or emotionally from their time in combat.

Many recently discharged veterans have difficulty adjusting to civilian life, especially those dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury, the two signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That adjustment can be even more difficult when the veteran goes from the battlefield to the classroom.

"When they come off the battlefield, where they've had to be hyper-vigilant to so much that's going on, it triggers the brain to do the opposite of what you need to do for a higher-thinking job," said Dr. Sandra Chapman, the center's founder and chief director.

"You're hyper-focused, stressed and not sleeping well."

In five years with the Marines, Rials did three combat tours. Assigned to the infantry, Rials was just 19 when he deployed to Iraq during the height of the insurgency. In his first two tours, in 2004 and 2005, he fought in Fallujah and Haditha, two major hot spots.

His last tour of duty, in Afghanistan in September 2007, left Rials physically and emotionally scarred when a roadside bomb destroyed his Humvee. A close friend was badly injured and trapped in the burning vehicle. Rials pulled him out, but the Marine died soon after. Rials, who was briefly knocked unconscious by the blast, suffered second-degree burns to his arm. The wounds to his psyche lasted much longer.

After his discharge in 2008, Rials returned to the Dallas area. But the veteran, who had risen to the rank of sergeant and commanded up to 40 Marines, could barely make it through an average day. He couldn't turn his mind off of potential threats. Going into grocery stores, restaurants or other public places turned into a nerve-racking, heart-pounding experience. He isolated himself and used alcohol to self-medicate.

He hated what he'd become.
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