Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

[LowCrawl]

I want to thank everyone here for posting their advice. Like ive said before this is pretty serious for me and my family. My Dad has come up to Washington to see me and the rest of my team come home from deployment and he told me that he is going to help me get through it and probably try to help himself a little more as well. He has suffered from nightmares since Korea and Vietnam but he claims "you get better as you get older" but he aslo says its very tough to raise a family with PTSD in the way. Im glad my father and I are reconnecting and its strange that our similar problem is what did it. Weird. Being home is a big change, i had a flashback on the way home in Bucharest, but one of my guys was there. It was a bad one from Afghanistan, and its kind of funny because he was there when it happened. we were the only ones who lived that day through. on the plane i thought i would try to talk to him about what we would do about it and we really opened up about some of our darkest most frightening experiences. I always pegged him as the one who had ice in his veins, cool head, and all the integrity in the world, but from what he told me, he is very far from OK. We both are. he and i both have the same flashbacks and they change. Like watching a tape over and over again but when th bad part comes you are trying to change what happened. for me my flashbacks are terrifying, triggered by small things or nothing at all. when i finally snap out of it im either crying my eyes out or sweating profusely. I shared this thread with my wife last night and she is very happy about it. of course we are going to exhaust all avenues of recovery and help, but this thread, your posts, and all that this community offers is what lays the foundation for me taking care of this. now there is no turning back. i have a lot of training lined up for my guys. i have a lot of catching up to do with the family. bottom line is, im home now and it feels great. the hard part is remembering that i am not in a war zone any more, i there is no need to be on the defense, the roads dont have IEDs. as far as i can tell.

[helhedded]

Best wishes man

[caymin last]

First of all, thank you for your service to our country, it's important that we have people like you, and it means a lot.
I dealt with the nightmares and cold sweats, for more than twenty years, and count myself as being one of the lucky ones. During and after my military service in Africa, there was no mention or offer of help, and nobody even knew about PTSD, we were told your'e a little 'bush crazy' and it will pass, just deal with it.
All I can tell you is, take all the help you are offered, hook up with a support group, asap, they will help you to explain to your loved ones, what they can expect from you, and a way to tell them how you feel. Give youself time to work on, and get comfortable with, some way of dealing with the most intense moments, during flashes. It's not easy, I know, all you can do is just try your best.
You have my respect and thanks for you courage.

And a prayer for those no longer with us,

A Soldier's Prayer...
The soldier stood and faced his God Which must always come to pass...
He hoped his shoes were shining Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you soldier, How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Church have you been true?"
The soldier squared his shoulders and Said,"No, Lord, I guess I ain't...
Because those of us who carry guns Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent, Because the streets are awfully tough.
But, I never took a penny That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime When the bills got just too steep,
And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place Among the people here...
They never wanted me around Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here, Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much, But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was a silence all around the throne Where the saints had often trod...
As the soldier waited quietly, For the judgment of his God,
"Step forward now you soldier,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Dedicated To All That Serve... God Bless America!

[LowCrawl]

Thanks caymin, thise prayers are always nice. in bad time they can help. i actually had a flashback yesterday while driving, well not a flashback. i was at a four way stop not too far from post and the driver across from me looked EXACTLY like someone i KNOW died last tour. I flipped a U turn and followed the guy to a shoe shop and stopped him. even then the guy looked EXACTLY like a kid i pulled from a immobilized hummy. It was the wierdest thing. also wierd for the poor guy. When i got back in the truck my wife told me that she was yelling at me telling me to stop following the poor guy but i swear i didnt hear her. this event wasnt that bad, mostly weird. i still wrote it down in my book. the guy looked like that kid.