PTSD And San Antonio

By rerockstar • December 2nd, 2009

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I just finished reading a pretty heavy article on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in Time Magazine, “How One Army Town Copes With Post-Traumatic Stress” (in the print version of the magazine it was appropriately named “The Hell Of PTSD“). I’ve never served in the military, but I do have family and friends who have. Living in a town like San Antonio, it’s hard to not know at least one person who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short, is an ugly beast that isn’t talked about nearly enough. It wasn’t even recognized as a valid illness until the 1980s. My father was in the military, he served as a Marine in Vietnam. For many years, my father didn’t talk about his experiences there. It wasn’t until about 5 or 6 years ago that he began to tell me some of his stories. It’s been great getting to know some of the oral history of my dad, but I can only imagine what went through his head in those days. Knowing how he dealt with things, I can only imagine how others cope with what they see and do. These are young men and women, forced to face life and death situations and then return home to normalcy. Not very easy I imagine.

Getting the help they need.

The hardest thing about PTSD is admitting you might have it. Soldiers are a proud bunch, and they should be, so for them to admit they need help and aren’t “tough enough” to handle their thoughts, feelings, and actions must be hard. The Time Magazine article describes some terrible situations; for both the soldiers and those around them. Getting the help they need is the only way out of this traumatic experience. Using a range of therapies can help a returning soldier ease back into life in the civilian world and help keep them from becoming another Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder statistic. With San Antonio’s strong base of hospitals and support groups, no returning soldier should have to face this alone.

If you or someone you know is facing any kind of effects from the experience of war, I urge you to connect with someone and get it out in the open. As a military heavy city, I know we are fighting to keep our soldiers safe, but I can only hope we’re doing enough. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has set up a website with loads of information about PTSD. Visit it, learn about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and find out how you or a loved one can get the help and care they need.

photo courtesy of The U.S. Army