Fayette Court program supports troubled veterans with PTSD

Judge John Schrader: Fayette Court program supports troubled veterans
Kentucky.com
BY JOHN P. SCHRADER
December 13, 2013

Over 20,000 veterans currently live in Lexington and substantial growth in this population is anticipated over the next 18 months as troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan.

At least 20 percent of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are known to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and over 80 percent of the veterans injured have sustained traumatic brain injuries not detectable by casual observation.

The impact of these conditions may be debilitating with long-term complications including depression, anger, anxiety, memory loss, flashbacks and sleep disturbance. The emotional and psychological damage sustained by these veterans is fully understandable given their experiences: engaging in personal hand-to-hand combat, killing aggressors or innocent non-combatants, being injured by a sniper or an IED, seeing friends injured or killed in battle and enduring the wear and tear which results from carrying 75 pounds of gear several hours per day.

Back home, veterans are challenged to find an outlet for the hyper-vigilance to which they became accustomed while in combat. Many unfortunately resort to self-medication of their emotional and physical injuries by excessive drinking and abuse of illegal drugs. With diminished impulse control and substance abuse concerns, routine incidents such as road rage, being startled by fireworks or even a child's playful squeal can lead a veteran suffering from PTSD to criminal conduct which results in an arrest.

While these veterans must be held accountable for their behavior, we know that, without appropriate treatment, the problems which caused the criminal activity will continue to haunt them and their families long after they are released from jail or prison.
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