Air Force wife helping other families with PTSD

Wife helps local families with PTSD sufferers
WAVY.com
By Lauren Compton
Updated: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) - Post-traumatic stress disorder cripples many service members, including some of the thousands in Hampton Roads. A local veteran's wife took it upon herself to help families in the area who live with PTSD-affected loved ones.

PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that can happen after extreme emotional trauma, and Amy Fulson knows all too well how the condition can drain a person and a person's loved ones. Her husband was active duty Air Force for more than 15 years, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and developed PTSD. Once he was out of the military, his PTSD symptoms worsened and he went through two inpatient hospitalizations.

"PTSD affects more than just the soldier or the veteran, it affects the family. Neither of us have family here; they are states away," Fulson said. "Through all of this, I was alone. I could not find any support groups for spouses who were going through this."

In an area swarming with military families, Fulson found it difficult to find resources to help her husband and herself. She turned to the internet to find support and created an online support group for military wives in 2011.
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