National PTSD Awareness Day

[Mobuck]

"PTSD doesn't wear a uniform, but it's often found behind the badge, beneath the gear, and beyond the battlefield. It's carried silently by many—veterans, first responders, and countless others who have walked through trauma and kept going."
New one on me. Has anyone else seen this?

 

[Jeepnik]

Never. But it's likely true. Some things scar you. And only those who have lived it understand. No matter how many pieces of paper they hang on the wall.

 

[GunnyGene]

Never. But it's likely true. Some things scar you. And only those who have lived it understand. No matter how many pieces of paper they hang on the wall.

 

[contender]

I haven't heard of a "special day" set aside for this.

Yes,, each & every person who experiences traumatic events,, such as the things our military & first responders live through,, has an effect upon them.
It's how they handle those things, mentally that matters.

Often,, it's a thankless job,, and the general public can actually reject you for doing it. (Returning from Vietnam is a perfect example of what our Vets had to endure.)

PTSD is a complex issue & there is not an easy answer to "fix" it for everyone.

Support those you know who have had to experience such trauma.

 

[Fox Mike]

If there is a day I haven't heard it. I know two individuals that suffer (one is no longer with us) from it. One, deceased, was a Vietnam veteran and the other an ambulance driver/first responder. It is sad to watch the issues they deal with.

 

[Jeepnik]

Dad's generation had "combat fatigue". They were expected to suck it up and get on with life.
My generation finally put a fancy name on it, and initially was told the same. But finally it became known by enough folks that thing did get somewhat better. However, the downside is that everyone and his brother now claims to have PTSD for so much as a broken fingernail.

 

[Yaworski]

I had an uncle who was on the Ben Franklin. He painted his basement and garage every couple months. My aunt was told that was his way of coping.

 

[pyth0n]

"PTSD doesn't wear a uniform, but it's often found behind the badge, beneath the gear, and beyond the battlefield. It's carried silently by many—veterans, first responders, and countless others who have walked through trauma and kept going."
New one on me. Has anyone else seen this?

PTSD isn't only a condition suffered by military. I guess when the mental health people realized that, they modernized the terms shell shock & battle fatigue to cover anyone who experienced a traumatic event that affects their ability to function normally. Military people who've been shot at or have seen more carnage on a daily basis will show more instances of PTSD than in the civilian world, so hey get top billing.
I've been attending annual The Hockey Heals 22 charity event in Tampa. My son & grandson are both players. My sons teams are made up of military & first responders, The Lightening Warriors.
The 22 is the daily number of veteran suicides. Teams are playing for 22 hours straight. They play scheduled games for their team, around 4 games in 22hrs. If a team comes up short of people, The non players will sub for them.

 

[Yaworski]

Abused spouses. Abused children. Robbery victims. Earthquake survivors. Journalists who shoot an AR-15 for the first time*.

"In 2016, Kuntzman became the center of widespread attention when he wrote an article titled "Firing an AR-15 is horrifying, menacing, and very very loud." In the article, Kuntzman says that he traveled to a gun range in Philadelphia to shoot a "military-style weapon" so that he could better understand such weapons' appeals in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting. He said, "It felt to me like a bazooka—and sounded like a cannon." Kuntzman further described the experience by saying that "The recoil bruised my shoulder" and "The smell of sulfur and destruction made me sick." Some consider the most controversial part of the article was when Kuntzman claimed, "The explosions—like a bomb—gave me a temporary form of PTSD".

 

[Oridenzy]

I've had some rough stretches and found that using bulk cbd distillate in small doses helped take the edge off without making me feel out of it. I still keep up with regular check-ins and talking to a buddy who's been through similar stuff. Everyone finds their own way, but that combo gave me more good days than bad.

 

[contender]

Oridenzy,, "Welcome to the Forum!"

You are among friends here,, and many who understand. If we can help in any way,, just reach out,, because this place has a lot of Veterans & such.

We just also happen to like Rugers! :D

 

[MaxMan]

"PTSD doesn't wear a uniform, but it's often found behind the badge, beneath the gear, and beyond the battlefield. It's carried silently by many—veterans, first responders, and countless others who have walked through trauma and kept going."
New one on me. Has anyone else seen this?

One of my sons was a forensic scientist in a crime lab. Part of the reason he left was the getting the DNA off of children's panties.

 

[protoolman]

I got a diagnosis for PTSD this year but I've known I had it for years. It's just a label that means nothing one way or the other. What is important is how you deal with it. I joined a free veterans group meeting once a week. Sometimes we just talk about cars or guns. It's all just supporting each other knowing we all share some stuff we can't express to others sometimes. A lot of what we do express to each other is just a way of normalizing it and making it less important or triggering. It not all combat related just because we're veterans, some is from personal loss, horrible accidents, assaults, whatever. For me PTSD is 20 years of picking up 17 year old kids who committed suicide, doing the investigation with the coroner to rule out foul play. Putting the parts in a body bag and going home to eat lunch and play with my kids. Bring any of it up to the wife and get told " I don't want to hear any of it" so you bury it for 20 years. And it happens over and over.You think you're a big tough cop who can handle anything. Well it has an impact. If you find someone you can talk openly with it helps it. That's all PTSD is,we all have it some just a little some a lot.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Since I was in the USAF before Vietnam, I never saw combat or its results.
In 1982 I joined the Ft. Bend County Sherriff's Reserve. My friend was a Deputy so I wanted to give him a hand at times.
The most traumatizing calls were the auto accidents. Even though the Hiway Patrol, DPS were responsible for making the calls a lot of the time we were the first to arrive.
The one that bothers me the most and still does involved a teenage boy and his teen girlfriend. The car ran off the road at a high rate of speed on a curve and roiled several times. We were the first to arrive but there was little we could do. The girl was already dead and thrown out of the car, and the boy was in the car and beat up bad and later died.
I guess this one bothered me the most, and still does, since both my Son and Daughter were both in their teens and driving at the time.

 

[gnappi]

When I was a kid my dad watched every war movie and series religiously.

As he got older things about his time in Europe (England, France, Italy and Germany) during WW2 started getting to him and he couldn't even watch his all time favorite war movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" with James Cagney.

Before pop's condition started to deteriorate I poo-poohed PTSD but seeing how it affected the strongest most emotionally grounded man I knew have it changed my mind.

 

[Yaworski]

I've never seen "Saving Private Ryan." When it came out, all the buzz was about how realistic it was. My father-in-law said, "I went through that so you wouldn't have to. Do me a favor and don't go see it."

 

[Drozden]

I’ve found that small things like keeping a consistent routine and talking openly with a good friend or therapist make rough days easier. A buddy of mine also suggested checking out alternative support options—if you're curious, visit Releaf.com. They’ve got info that might be useful if you're looking for something different than the usual paths.

 

[MaxMan]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Much needed. Action is more needed. High school buddy came back and ended up commiting suicide. Dad had nightmares until at least the 70s ( he stopped the moaning in his sleep and sitting up in bed saying theres a man fire coming through that wall) from the second world war.

 

[Mobuck]

When I originally posted this, I didn't realize I was one of those affected. Recently had a 'panic attack' and 'flashback' related to seeing a fire victim. Scared the hell out of Grouch Attack. She had no idea I'd been handling this w/o showing outwardly.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

When you go to war , you do things and see things that no person should ever have to do or see.
If it doesn't bother you , something is wrong with you.
Everyone handles it differently.

 

[MaxMan]

In college in the early 70s a real a$$ whole thought it would be fun yelling in coming in the night. So vets caught him alone in the mens room/ showers. He was well marked for everyone.

 

[Fox Mike]

"PTSD doesn't wear a uniform, but it's often found behind the badge, beneath the gear, and beyond the battlefield. It's carried silently by many—veterans, first responders, and countless others who have walked through trauma and kept going."
New one on me. Has anyone else seen this?

Yes. My eldest grandson, who some of you have met, is a first responder and had an issue that required some long term rehab. He is OK today but went through hell for a while till he came to understand what was causing his problem and how to deal with it.