The only thing I want to hear is, they are worth fighting for.

Are You Ready to Fight For Love?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 2, 2017

"I'm telling you I'm not going." Words to a song or words we live by? The choice is ours, but if we stay, we better ready for the war that hasn't ended after any war. 

I don't want to hear it is too hard to stay. I did it for 35 years and we're having our 33rd wedding anniversary. I get it. It sucks to be in a position where you're fighting a battle no one trained you to fight. THEN TRAIN YOURSELF! This is a war that was brought to the front door of you heart.

I don't want to hear it is too hard for you to understand. I went to work right out of high school but ended up reading clinical books at the library with a dictionary because I had no clue what the psychiatrists were writing about. I didn't understand Vietnam because when my Vietnam veteran was there, I was only 11 years old. 

You don't even have to get out of your PJs. All you have to do is turn on your computer or power up your tablet or get online with your cell phone to find what you're looking for. The problem is, if you are not looking for the thing that will help change your life and your veteran's life, then you are not going to find it.

The only thing I want to hear is, they are worth fighting for. Mine was and still is. Frankly that is what pisses me off the most. Too many take the easy way out and walk away from them because "rough times are showing" and they find excuses to leave instead of expectations to hope for.

My buddy Gunny just called me an ornery PITA, "pain in the ass" when I told him about being set off with Suicide Awareness Month. We are not even close to getting to the point where we're talking more about marriages like mine than widows visiting graves.

I'm Not Living Without You
And I am telling you I'm not going
Even though the rough times are showing
There's just no way - there's no way

We're part of the same place
We're part of the same time
We both share the same blood
We both have the same mind

These are the things you should be reading and you don't even have to search for them. Here are the links.

National Center for PTSD

• What is PTSD? | ¿Qué es el TEPT?
  Find out about the symptoms of PTSD and how they develop.
• Symptoms of PTSD | Síntomas del TEPT
  Learn about PTSD symptoms and when to get help.
• How Common is PTSD?
  Find out how many people have PTSD and who is most likely to develop PTSD.
• History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5
  Learn about the history of the diagnosis of PTSD in a timeline that reflects military events and the importance of Veterans.

• Early attempts at a medical diagnosis
  Accounts of psychological symptoms following military trauma date back to ancient times. The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) mark the start of formal medical attempts to address the problems of military Veterans exposed to combat. European descriptions of the psychological impact of railroad accidents also added to early understanding of trauma-related conditions.

• Understanding PTSD and PTSD Treatment
  Find out more in this quick guide to PTSD Basics.

It PTSD isn't new at all!

The Civil War killed and injured over a million Americans, roughly a third of all those who served. This grim tally, however, doesn’t include the conflict’s psychic wounds. Military and medical officials in the 1860s had little grasp of how war can scar minds as well as bodies. Mental ills were also a source of shame, especially for soldiers bred on Victorian notions of manliness and courage. For the most part, the stories of veterans like Hildt have languished in archives and asylum files for over a century, neglected by both historians and descendants.

You may have been waisting your time with nonsense yesterday, but you just ran out of excuses. It is all there if you bother to look for it. The question is, are you ready to fight to stay, or not?