This last Veterans Day, HBO presented a program on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The program will cover PTSD from the Civil War to the present. I will never hear that term (PTSD) that I don't think of Mel Gibson in his latest movie, "Edge of Darkness, " (unrelated to his various crazy tirades of late. Those might make a good movie). Anyway, in the movie, Gibson is a little on the "edge" constantly and comes out with a statement, something like, "He doesn't get the modern way of war, all this post war stress bullshit. As a Korean war vet, he thought nightmares and being a little nuts was the price everybody paid for going to war."
In most ways, this is the rub of the whole question of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Mel, in that one statement pretty much sums up the difficulty for dealing with this very real problem. I haven't seen the documentary but heard an interview of it by one of my favorite NPR interviewers, Terry Gross.
PTSD IS REAL and any of us who have been in combat understand just how real it is. The HBO program deals with some sad issues, mainly suicide. One mother said something that so resonated, "the Army taught my son how to be a killer. What they don't do is unteach him." So true.
The military is "no day at the beach." It has one mission, "to fight and win wars" and is not a social organization nor an encounter group. They teach individuals how to kill--war is not a place where people sit around and cogitate their navels.
Sadly, a Mom has to have her moment of truth. Her son drove out to a remote area, took all the pictures of himself and stabbed them and then he took his dogtags, put them up next to his temple and shot himself through them.
Terry also interviewed a former Army psychologist who is now a consultant and is running the military's study on suicide. Not personal but this guy was so weak and didn't deal with the real facts. I use to fight with Shrinks all the time over their role and this guy confirmed it. The Army hires soldiers to fight. The Army is paying this guy, the Shrink, to treat the soldier and get him back to battle.
Sadly, what I see which nobody will discuss is something we saw in Vietnam and later with Vietnam vets who had to fight continually for recognition. The "2" war view: fought a war in Vietnam and fought a war at home, as they, in a twisted public way, were blamed for the war. For the Vietnam vet, the PTSD diagnosis was a long time coming. And, don't let anybody fool you, even with relaxed requirements for the active duty soldier, the stigma remains. Mel Gibson is still pretty much where it is: "He doesn't get the modern way of war, all this post war stress bullshit...nightmares and being a little nuts is the price everybody pays for going to war."
3 comments:
Great post! Very helpful.
30 – 40 percent of our soldiers come home with this kind of mental condition and we cannot blame them for no one is immune seeing violence right before their eyes. Emotional support from family, friends and people who care would surely help and cure this condition. There is always hope and if they cannot find it then let’s help and bring it to them.
Some of our military are having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of sexual trauma or abuse. Most especially our military women whose only goal is to take part in defending our country yet sometimes their most respected superiors are taking advantage using their ranks. Being tortured deep inside is never a job for anyone. We need to remember that there is always hope and if they cannot find it then let’s help and bring it to them.
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