Military couple combats war and PTSD

Couple combats war, post traumatic stress disorder together
By Rusty Dornin
Special to CNN
September 8, 2012

(CNN) - Roberto and Amanda Melecio share many of the same nightmares.

They don't like crowds, rarely trust anyone and both suffer serious bouts of depression. Married since 2005, they are both Iraq War veterans, and each has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

When Amanda Melecio came back from Iraq in 2005, she struggled to be the person she once was. "When I came home I couldn't socialize," Melicio says. "I have a lot of anxiety."

Her husband Roberto served as a scout and an Army combat engineer and disarmed bombs.

"I was a human bulletproof vest," he jokes. He rarely sleeps and suffers from horrific nightmares. He struggles with his temper.

"We're not the normal couple. My wife and I are a rare breed." he says. "We happened to meet in the war."

While studies show women in the general population are twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress as men, the rates for returning veterans are about the same - 20% for both men and women.

"We're definitely seeing more duel PTSD cases with returning vets," says Candice Monson, a clinical expert on how post-traumatic stress disorder affects couples. "It's largely a product of the changing policy of women in the military. While women are not supposed to be in combat, the reality is they are."

For Amanda, her own anxieties tear her apart. And being married to a man suffering the same afflictions has been a test at times.

"I've become very distant from him," she says. "We are like ticking time bombs when we fight."
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