Iraq veteran copes with PTSD through laughter

Army veteran copes with PTSD through comedy, communication
LaCrosse Tribune
By ALLISON GEYER
November 8, 2013

When Army Staff Sgt. Joe Stojek returned home after his first tour of duty in Iraq, doctors gave him a bag of pills and sent him on his way.

It was 2004, a year that marked battles in Fallujah and the trial of Saddam Hussein, and Stojek had post-traumatic stress disorder — a debilitating anxiety condition caused by exposure to terror and violence.

Formerly known as shell shock, battle fatigue, combat exhaustion and war stress, PTSD affects nearly 30 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a 2012 VA report.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Stojek grew up in an “abusive, volatile environment,” eventually quitting school and working dead-end jobs for the remainder of his teens.

“I was a typical person with no future,” he said. “I had dreams, I wanted do to radio, comedy, even then, but I didn’t know how to break the cycle.”

For Stojek, the military was a way out. He wanted to go back to school on the GI Bill, but the year after he enlisted, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks catapulted the nation into warfare.

“That set a different course for me,” he said. “Thirteen years later, I didn’t plan on being in the Army still.”
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