Those with PTSD try to restore normalcy

Seeking answers, they find no easy ones
Those with PTSD try to restore normalcy

By Daniel Kittredge - News Staff Writer
Published On Friday, August 08, 2008



(Editor’s note: this is the second in a two-part series on post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD)

GARDNER — Their experiences are different, said Joe Bykowski, but their stories almost always follow a similar pattern.

One of those stories belongs to a Marine from central Massachusetts , who returned home from overseas with a “pretty severe” brain injury. Like so many others, the young man knew something was wrong, but the injury prevented him from working, driving or doing much of anything.

Many young veterans return home hoping to work as a policeman or in another civil service job, said Mr. Bykowski, and thus “sit and suffer” with their ailment — be it an injury or post-traumatic stress disorder — to avoid the stigma that comes with admitting a problem and getting help.

Others, like the young Marine, are left unable to function because of the scars they carry, and as a result sit at home collecting pension or disability checks. As in the case of the young Marine, said Mr. Bykowski, being left with nothing to do results in substance abuse, and the potential for a downward spiral grows from there.

In the case of the young Marine, Mr. Bykowski —a veteran of the Coast Guard and one of six outreach coordinators with the state Department of Veterans’ Services — worked with the Marines Corps’ Wounded Warriors program to give him a chance. They brought the young man to a treatment center, hoping for the best but understanding that the assistance has limits.

“Some of these guys just aren’t ready for the treatment,” said Mr. Bykowski. “They have to be ready to get help.”

‘They came to find answers’

At the El Paso , Texas shelter where former Marine Jim Ball volunteers as a counselor, most of the veterans that come seeking help are from the Vietnam era.

“They’ve reached the end of their rope,” he said, after grappling for years with substance abuse and its consequences. “They came to find answers.”

Some of the newest generation of returning soldiers — those coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan — have come seeking help, but their numbers have remained relatively small. Most of those young men and women, said Mr. Ball, have either not been identified as needing help or have not yet reached the point where they are ready and willing to come forward.

The small group that Mr. Ball does counseling with includes men and women. One of the women, a veteran, cuts herself, a behavior that is sometimes associated with psychological stress and disorders. Each of the group’s members, he said, deals with “different types of complexities they have in their life,” be it something they developed before, during or after their days in the service.

A former member of the Marines Corps, Mr. Ball said he was inspired to begin working with veterans after meeting a group of Vietnam-era soldiers at a veteran’s center in Ohio .

He never saw combat during his service days, but Mr. Ball said the men “opened up to me” because of his military background. That veteran center eventually lost funding and closed, but he was inspired to return to school and pursue his long-standing interest in psychology, hoping to make a difference in the lives of former soldiers.

“I wanted to do something,” he said.

A year ago, Mr. Ball began volunteering. A self-described “computer nerd,” he’s worked to provide interactive tools and is creating a library of books aimed at providing resources and support for those with post-traumatic stress and other issues.

Building resiliency

There is no cure for post-traumatic stress.

Various treatment techniques are being studied, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing — a newer method focused on altering physical reactions to memories without the use of drugs — as well as various forms of therapy, including 12-step programs. Medication can also play a role in treatment, largely through the use of antidepressants.

“It’s still in its infancy as far as the sciences go,” said Robert Stair, an Air Force veteran, chaplain and counselor with Montachusett Veterans Outreach Inc., of treating post-traumatic stress. “It’s an art and a science.”

At the outreach center, said Mr. Stair the focus is on “building resiliency” — providing veterans with life skills needed to overcome the cycle of substance abuse and homelessness. The center offers a variety of in-house and referral services, from a food pantry to counseling, and much of the center’s mission revolves around expanding the support network available to veterans in need.

“There’s a lot of people that want to help,” he said.

J.L. Vallee, a local author who has detailed her struggles with post-traumatic stress in the book “Severed Soul,” said controlling “triggers” — the external stimuli that lead to the anxiety and isolation that comes with post-traumatic stress — has played a pivotal role in her learning to cope with the disorder. Her triggers — including loud noises — may differ from those of veterans or others with the disorder, but she said the shared goal is learning to overcome fear and remain conscious of situations that allow symptoms to surface.

“I was afraid for a long time,” she said.

Among the challenges facing outreach and treatment professionals, said Mr. Stair, are the injuries — and, subsequently, the psychological scars — that veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are returning home with. Improvements in battlefield medical and security, he said, have resulted in young men and women at war surviving wounds or attacks that would have taken their lives in earlier wars, meaning more and more soldiers are now coming home in need of assistance that has never before been needed.

Faith plays a significant role in Mr. Stair’s counseling, given his background as a chaplain. Part of his initial interest in working with veterans in need, he said, was driven by his own years of trying to personally reconcile “why things happen as they do.”

Ms. Vallee said faith has played a significant role in her own recovery and outreach efforts.

Through the Internet and her book, she has reached out to a broad and diverse array of post-traumatic stress sufferers — from children to veterans — and said just knowing there are others who understand is of enormous help in dealing with the disorder.

“We all feel a connection,” she said. “We need to put our hands out with these people.”

Community

On the grounds of Mount Wachusett Community College, veterans with post-traumatic stress and their families with soon have access to a unique treatment facility.

“It’s fantastic,” said Leslie Lightfoot, CEO of Fitchburg-based Veteran Homestead Inc., of the planned Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center.

Designed specifically for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the center will offer treatment for traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress and those with amputations, severe disfiguring burns or other crippling and disabling injuries. Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday signed legislation approving a 10-acre lease for the center, and major financial assistance recently arrived through a $4.5 million grant from the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund, which is a program of the California Community Foundation.

Among the most unique aspects of the new facility, said Ms. Lightfoot, is that the families of veterans will be able to stay with them during the recovery process. Essentially, she said, the center will provide under one roof the services offered through veterans affairs.

Those who have experience dealing with post-traumatic stress agree that involving families in the process of identifying and treating the disorder is critical to success. Ms. Lightfoot noted that the divorce rate among veterans is much higher than the civilian population, and attributed that to the difficulties spouses have in recognizing and understanding the issues their husband or wife is dealing with.

“It’s so incredibly individual,” she said of post-traumatic stress, noting that the new center’s treatment program will focus on providing for those case-by-case needs.

Mr. Stair said a veteran’s family is “the first line of defense” in identifying post-traumatic stress, and said his organization often depends on a tip from a husband, wife or child to begin the outreach process. The outreach center also makes a strong effort to provide information to family members, he said.

Ms. Vallee and Mr. Ball — who began communicating through the Internet, and both of whom have started pages on the social networking Web site Myspace to help spread awareness and information — agreed that a family’s involvement in critical.

“Husbands, wives and family members are the ones that are looking,” said Mr. Ball, whose Web site can be found at myspace.com/veteransptsdportal.

“There’s so much information on the Internet,” said Ms. Vallee, who operates myspace.com/author_jlvallee. “You have to seek it out.”

Commitment

In some rural areas, said Mr. Ball, enclaves of veterans with post-traumatic stress or other psychological disorders gather and live together, finding security and comfort in a community of shared suffering and understanding.

There are other veterans — like an autistic man he once knew — whose post-traumatic stress and psychological issues have gone untreated because institutional assistance has either failed to identify their needs or is unavailable when the veteran is ready.

That, Mr. Ball, is the primary problem with the military’s approach to post-traumatic stress — not extending its assistance to veterans who have been out of the service for a period of time.

“That’s what needs to be established,” he said.

Mr. Bykowski described post-traumatic stress as a “significant issue,” and said the staff of the veterans’ services department is “very proactive” in being a presence at veterans events throughout the state.

The staff is limited, he said, and while “there could always be more” resources his agency does its best given the difficulties inherent in finding those who need help.

Having served in Iraq, Mr. Bykowski said he has experienced some symptoms of post-traumatic stress, although he described them as “not very severe” and, in some ways, typical of any service member returning home.

“I think everybody that goes over there is going to come back different,” he said.

Mr. Stair said the Mount Wachusett rehabilitation center will become part of a community that already exceeds much of the nation in terms of its care for veterans. He cited the Memorial Day parades that take place in even the smallest towns each year, and the large number of veterans that either return or relocate to the area because of its resources and favorable climate.

“This is a very strong, veteran-friendly community,” he said. “There’s a strong tradition of veterans.”

The problem remains, though, and a new generation of veterans continues to return home with scars that will never completely heal. At the veterans’ services department, said Mr. Bykowski, staff are just beginning to deal with those who took part in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Mr. Ball said he is concerned that as veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan begin to reach the point in their lives where they require support and assistance, that help will have disappeared. Once those conflicts draw to a close, he said, the likelihood is that post-traumatic stress disorder will fade from the public consciousness and become a lesser priority for veterans affairs and other governmental entities.

“That’s what I’m afraid of ... that the public will forget, that (veterans affairs) will forget,” said Mr. Ball. “How long is that commitment to these guys?”

dkittredge@thegardnernews.com


J.L. Vallee
Westminster Info Press
PO Box 62
Westminster, MA 01473
JLVallee@SeveredSoul.com
www.severedsoul.com
http://www.myspace.com/author_jlvallee

Those with PTSD try to restore normalcy

J.L. is a friend of mine. A few years ago she contacted me about what happened to her and her deep desire to help others. Her book, Severed Soul is not just a story about trauma and aftermath but it's what she did with all of it. She decided to help others and has been very active with veterans.

J.L. sent me the article that appeared in a local paper and it's very well done. It says a lot about what people can do when they have suffered. We either feel sorry for ourselves and focus only on ourselves, or we can reach back to help others stand next to us. It's a choice we all face. J.L. held onto God's hand and with her other hand is reaching out to pull people out of the depth of despair.

Seeking answers, they find no easy ones
Those with PTSD try to restore normalcy

By Daniel Kittredge - News Staff Writer
Published On Thursday, August 07, 2008



(Editor’s note: this is the first in a two-part series on post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD)

GARDNER — For those who live with it, post-traumatic stress disorder is an experience virtually impossible for others to understand.

The form the disorder and its symptoms take varies from person to person, but the initial traumatic event that causes it always involves death or violence — be it a near-death or violent personal experience, bearing witness to the death or physical injury of another or learning of the sudden or violent death of a loved one. It affects soldiers and civilians, men and women, children and adults, and spans generations..

And while each experience is different, the questions those living with it ask themselves are the same.

“When will the fear stop?” writes local author J.L. Vallee in “Severed Soul,” an account of her own struggles with the disorder. “Could it be when heaven calls my name? ... Please, someone understand and help! I feel numb! I feel dead!”

“You don’t meet many people that really get it,” said Ms. Vallee. “You never get over (the disorder), no matter what.”

Invisible

One of the walls in the main lobby of the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center Inc. on Central Street is adorned from top to bottom with photographs of soldiers. Many of the young men and women shown in the images are young — some look like teenagers — and they are often shown smiling, displaying a visible pride in the uniform they wear and the service they are providing to their country.

The photographs serve as an instant reminder of the center’s purpose — reaching out to those who went off to war young and untouched by its horrors, but returned with memories, injuries and demons that never allowed them to truly come home.

“There’s a lot of people with (the disorder) out there,” said Darrell P. Keating, the center’s executive director. “We’re trying our best to find them.”

The number of veterans in the greater Gardner area struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder is hard to state definitively, said Mr. Keating. The center keeps state-mandated statistics regarding its in-house and referral services, which range from a food pantry to housing assistance to counseling, and in 2007 roughly 48,000 such services were provided.

The last 1-1/2 years have seen the center grow markedly, said Mr. Keating, particularly through the addition of an outreach coordinator to its staff who works actively to seek out veterans at churches and support groups.

Despite those efforts, however, he said there are many veterans who continue to struggle alone.
“It’s invisible in today’s society,” Mr. Keating said of post-traumatic stress.

Robert Stair, a counselor with the center, said many will not seek help until they’ve reached a breaking point, often in the form of a job being lost or a relationship being broken because of substance abuse. Most of the veterans that the center deals with, he said, have a history of post-traumatic stress — beginning either during or after their time in the service — and have as a result had issues with substance abuse.

“Just about every person’s got a different kind of story,” he said. “Unless you’ve gone through it, you really can’t understand.”

A disorder that does not discriminate

For years, Ms. Vallee wondered what was wrong.

Her life, as documented in “Severed Soul” — through the character of Amy Howard — has been filled with traumatic experiences. Her brother drowned when she was a young girl, and as medics took him away she caught a glimpse of his feet hanging from a body bag. Later, she lived through two serious car accidents — one in which she was hit by a semi-truck, and another on Route 140 in which a boulder rolled down a hill and struck the van she was driving.

“I thought I was going to die,” she said of the second crash.

After that second car accident, said Ms. Vallee, something changed. She was “always on guard” — jumpy, afraid and unsure of why. Then married to a man she describes as distant and emotionally abusive, she found little sympathy among many family members and friends.

“I knew something wasn’t right,” she said, describing the feeling as a numbness, a fog that led her to withdraw and isolate herself. “They look at you like you have three heads. They think you have a flaw.”

Ms. Vallee was eventually diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress. Initially caught off guard — having thought the disorder was exclusive to veterans — she decided to become involved with local veterans groups in hopes of learning more. Since then she has further branched out, writing “Severed Soul” and seeking out others that have touched by the disorder.

“It’s not just a vet thing,” she said, noting that victims of sexual assault and trauma often develop post-traumatic stress.

Available statistics indicate the diversity of those living with post-traumatic stress. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 7.7 million Americans are affected by the disorder.

Women, according to the institute, are more likely than men to be affected, and while it is most prevalent among adults it can also affect children.

Carrying visions

In a military context, post-traumatic stress has been known by many names throughout history.

During the Civil War era, it was known as “soldier’s heart,” while it was dubbed “shell shock” after World War I. Veterans of World War II were described as having “combat neurosis,” and after Korea it became “combat fatigue.”

Mr. Stair began his work as a counselor in 1983 while still an active member of the Air Force. At the time, he said, his goal was to help make sense of why so many fellow servicemen had difficulty readjusting to civilian life after Vietnam.

“There wasn’t any means of getting support,” he said, noting the lack of resources available to those veterans.

Most of the veterans Mr. Stair deals with in his current role served during the Vietnam era, and most have carried the pain and trauma of their experiences through the years without seeking help.

“It takes a long time for them to come forward,” he said, noting that men especially “try to handle things on their own.”

Most members of the newest generation of veterans — the men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan — who suffer from post-traumatic stress have largely yet to come forward, said Mr. Stair. While awareness of the disorder has grown vastly since Vietnam, the intrinsic value military culture places on strength and self-sufficiency still serves as a deterrent for those in need of help.

Additionally, said Mr. Stair, many of the newest returning veterans are far from the breaking point that lead many from the Vietnam generation to finally seek help.

“They haven’t identified themselves,” he said, although — like their predecessors — “they carry around a lot of these visions.”

Leslie Lightfoot, CEO of Fitchburg’s Veteran Homestead Inc., agreed that emotional or mental issues continue to carry a serious stigma in military culture. “That’s not changing,” she said, noting she has heard similar sentiments from her two daughters currently serving in the military.

She also agreed that post-traumatic stress among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans remains hidden, for the same reasons cited by Mr. Stair.

“The drug and alcohol thing is down the road (for them),” she said. “Sometimes it takes years and years and years.”

Statistics show that post-traumatic stress has affected the newest veterans, and in substantial numbers. A 2007 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that of 103,788 veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom surveyed between 2001 and 2005, 13,205 had PTSD — a figure comprising more than half of the veterans with a mental health diagnosis and 13 percent of all veterans surveyed.

The numbers also show that the new veterans are not coming forward. The New England Journal of Medicine in 2004 released a study showing that only 24 to 40 percent of service members in need of mental health services pursued that help, largely because of fears of being stigmatized.

Another, more disturbing trend among both service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and veterans of earlier conflicts has emerged in recent years — an increase in suicide rates. A 2007 CBS News investigation found that in 2005, approximately 20 veterans per 100,000 committed suicide, with a higher rate among those aged 20 to 24.

CNN reported in February that 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007, up from 350 in 2002. The suicide rate among active soldiers, CNN reported, was 17.5 per 100,000 in 2006 — less than the civilian rate, but a drastic increase from previous years.

Suicidal tendencies, said Mr. Stair, mark the point at which groups like his can step in and force a veteran to receive treatment. While he described the problem of veteran suicide as limited in north central Massachusetts, he said the focus both regionally and nationally must be on finding ways to help before a veteran’s post-traumatic stress causes him or her to reach that point of despair.

“Even one’s too many,” he said.

dkittredge@thegardnernews.com
http://www.thegardnernews.com/index.aspx

Post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)

• 7.7 million Americans are affected by PTSD, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The disorder is more likely to affect women than men, according to the institute, and while it is most prevalent among adults it can affect people of any age, including children.

• A 2007 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that of 103,788 veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom surveyed between 2001 and 2005, 13,205 had PTSD — a figure comprising more than half of the veterans with a mental health diagnosis and 13 percent of all veterans surveyed.

• According to a 2004 study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, only 24-40 percent of service members in need of mental health services pursued them because of fears about being stigmatized.










J.L. Vallee

Westminster Info Press

PO Box 62

Westminster, MA 01473

JLVallee@SeveredSoul.com


www.severedsoul.com


http://www.myspace.com/author_jlvallee
part one of two

Severed Soul, a woman's journey through PTSD

Amazon.com Books Hot New Releases: The bestselling new & fut...
Severed Soul: One Woman's Journey Through Post Traumatic Stress · Severed Soul: One Woman's Journey Through Post Traumatic Stress by J. L. Vallee
Severed Soul: One Woman's Journey Through Post Traumatic Stress (Paperback)
by J. L. Vallee (Author)

List Price: $14.95
Price: $14.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Honest and insightful..., March 11, 2008
By P. Turner - See all my reviews

Author J.L. Vallee writes from the heart. Even if you haven't been a victim of domestic abuse, I'm sure everyone will recognize the main character as someone they know. I've already bought a copy for women I know who may find comfort in recognizing the symptoms of post traumatic stress and discovering where they may be able to find help. Writing this book took insight, bravery, courage, and faith. I credit the author with successfully producing a work that should inspire those who might not have had the strength before to finally determine that enough is enough.

Courageous and touching, March 11, 2008
By R. Matthews "reader In Ma" (Leominster, Ma) - See all my reviews


Excellent read! An incredible story of a woman who has been through alot and conquered it all. She gives a new insight on Post Tramatic Stress and shows how it affects people in many ways. Women who have been through a terrible relationship would truly understand they are not alone in life. A very courageous and heartfelt story.

Faithbase DV groups, March 31, 2008
By Facilitator "Faithbase DV Groups" (Gardner, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great example of how difficult a toxic relationship can be while experiencing PTSD. I would recommend to those who have a faithbase background to read. How shocking to know while the author is a church goer, she lived like this in her home. It takes tremendous strength and courage to stand strong, that Only God could give. Thank you for telling your story. For any man who is being called by God to help stop violence...this book is a must.

There are many joys in doing what I do. One of them is when people will send me books or links they want to share with me. I love going to the UPS box and see a surprise! Friday was one of those days. This book was in it. I had been writing back and forth with JL for a while as she was writing the book and wanting to learn more about PTSD. Even living with it, she knew there was a lot more to learn. I remembered the days of writing my own book and while it was healing to do it, it was also some very dark times to remember. JL tells of some of the darkest days of her life and does it bravely.

The reason why people do something like this is simple. They know there are so many other hurting people out there who need so much more than cold, clinical books or case studies written from someone who really couldn't care less about the people involved in the stories they tell, but works that offer hope. JL offers hope because she came shining through and shares her story so that others can believe that they too can overcome and survive. Not just survive but live a life again. JL also stands as an example that when you do come through you can reach back and help someone else make it too.

Over the years I've read a lot of personal accounts and this I highly recommend.