Combat roles in Middle East more likely to cause psychological trauma

Combat roles in Middle East more likely to cause psychological trauma
De-tour Combat PTSD Survivor's Guide

I could not do this work if I did not read reports from other countries. Why? Because PTSD is not a national illness. It is a human illness that hits after traumatic events. It is the only way to "get it" which has been proven following a list of traumatic events.

Reporters tend to lump everything reported together as if there is no difference in the outcome of the experience, the duration and the factor of continuation of the threat.

We talk about how firefighters are hit by PTSD yet return to fight fires over and over again, risking their lives each time. For them it is not just the fires they rush to put out or the lives they save. It is also the threat of the alarm sounding while they are simply eating a meal together.

We talk about police officers and the treats they face on a daily basis but we don't talk about the different type of PTSD they get hit by because the nature of their work also comes with having to make split second decisions about killing someone or not. As with firefighters, a day of risking their lives is followed by a never ending chain of risks for as long as they are on the force.

With combat veterans their type of PTSD is similar because it also involves the use of force. They risk their lives everyday they are deployed as with cops on the job but they cannot simply go home at the end of the day to their families. They cannot get an emotional debriefing at the end of event to sort it all out. Most of the time they cannot even do it when they are back on base or when National Guardsmen return to their homes at the end of the tour.
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