UK Afghanistan veteran talks about "shame" and PTSD

After all these years, far too many have gotten the wrong message about Combat and PTSD. It is not the weakness of their minds, but the strength of their feelings that cause PTSD. The stronger their ability to feel, the more they feel emotional pain.

Some people, (and we have to remember servicemen and women are still just as human as the rest of us,) have a sense of self more than for others. Some people have a stronger sense for others. Some have a blend. Everyone feels things at different levels. The vast majority of the veterans I talk to have been very caring in their lives and that was what caused them to want to join the military. Instead of seeing how unselfish they are, they end up thinking PTSD is a sign of weakness instead of strength.

If you need more evidence of this, stop and think of the majority of military suicides do not happen while they are deployed. They happen when they are back home and their friends are out of danger. If they manage to live through all of that comes with combat deployments but can't survive being back home, that says a lot about how mentally tough they really are as much as it says how much they need more help back home.

Skelmersdale man Mark Minton urges veterans to confront post-traumatic-stress-disorder
Jan 31 2013
by Tom Duffy
Skelmersdale Advertiser

FORMER soldier Mark Minton hopes other veterans will speak out about their emotional problems after he told the Advertiser about the horrors of Helmand.

Last week the Digmoor man revealed that his life had fallen apart after he completed a five-month tour of duty with the Army in Afghanistan.

Now the dad-of-three hopes other soldiers will consider talking about their problems despite the stigma still surrounding post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD).

Mark said: “I had to reach rock bottom before I could move forward. You have to lose everything and then you seek help.”

Mark has now made contact with Combat Stress, which provides care to veterans struggling with mental health problems.

The charity, which was founded in 1919, currently supports around 5000 veterans including 284 who served in Afghanistan and 638 who fought in Iraq.

A spokesman for Combat Stress told the Advertiser that the majority of veterans are reluctant to talk about their mental health problems.

He said: “Over 81% of veterans who responded to our survey said they were ashamed or embarrassed about their mental health problems, and one in three veterans were reluctant to talk to their families about it.”
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