Watch “Hidden Camera: VA Director says VA Turning Veterans into Drug Addicts”

This is beyond unacceptable. Our vets need OUR voices in their battle for proper treatment. There is another video that follows the one above, I’ll post it as well. 

Part Two:  Unaccountability 

Free Information 24/7 @ the PTSD Library

Every article available in [this]  PTSD Library in one, easy-to-use place. Please pass along… and take the time to get yourself educated (if you haven’t already!). PTSD is the most common injury faced by combat heroes.

Link to this resource page for answers to any questions about PTSD and tools to help veteran, family, friends, and supporters. I also have helpful links on the resource page here. Follow the navigation menu above.

Caregivers: don’t forget to take care of yourselves. There are many resources for you as well. 

Veterans With Service Dogs Know Someone Always Has Their Back

A trainer at K9s For Warriors explains how service dogs help vets handle the effects of PTSD.

When Greg Wells came home from Afghanistan in 2012, he didn’t want to leave his house.

Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the pills he was on didn’t seem to help. Increasingly, he felt alone and isolated until his wife suggested he try something new. 

How to Help Someone with PTSD

Image found here

When someone you care about suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it can leave you feeling overwhelmed. The changes in your loved one can be worrying or even terrifying. You may feel angry about what’s happening to your family and relationship, or hurt by your loved one’s distance and moodiness. But it’s important to know is that you’re not helpless. Your support can make all the difference in your partner, friend, or family member’s recovery. With your help, your loved one can overcome PTSD and move on with his or her life.

June: PTSD Awareness

I will be posting articles and/or stories, resources and anything else I can find on this topic throughout the month. Personally I think everyday should be dedicated to PTSD Awareness.

This will be a long journey for them, we can help them along their way. 

#PTSDawarenessmonth

The Love Letter Campaign

I thought I’d stick this post up front here  for the remainder of the month for anyone interested in submitting a letter for Memorial Day. The inspiration came from a military wife when asked by her husband (after multiple deployments) why she still loved him. You can visit her blog here 

 

To those who love a hero –

Whether you are the spouse, parent, sibling, friend, caregiver, or other loved one of one
of our nation’s veterans, we invite you to join us in a very special project!

What is Hypervigilance?

Hypervigilance is a state of increased vigilance, anxiety, and sensitivity to environmental stimuli. The affected individuals are always scanning the environment for any potential threats. It is one of the hyperarousal symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

VA undertakes depression, seasonal affective disorder amongst vets

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a three-part series of articles designed to generate awareness and provide resources for people suffering from Seasonal affective disorder and depression.

Silent Battles

Battling PTSD

Battling PTSD

Student creates app for vets to prevent night terrors

Renee Tessman, KARE-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul Tyler Skluzacek developed an app that helps vets battle PTSD. The app tracks heart rate and movement to ultimately predict night terrors.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A college student, inspired by his Iraq War vet father’s struggles with night terrors, is being recognized for an invention to help those suffering from the condition.

Macalester College senior Tyler Skluzacek said he was in sixth grade when his dad, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Skluzacek, spent a year in Iraq.

UK: Public view armed forces as suicidal, traumatized ‘victims’ – study

For those directly or indirectly affected by service connected  PTSD-TBI there are a variety of foreign studies available that are applicable to us because many are from our allies who deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and earlier in Vietnam such as U.K. and Australia.*

What PTSD Is Actually Like According To Real Military Veterans

PTSD and the US soldier

Veterans are using Whisper to share the most intimate details of their struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.

*NOTE: This article was published soon after the latest shooting at Army Base Fort Hood in Texas.

#Stop22aDay

Buzzfeed.com

The shooting at Fort Hood earlier this month reignited an important national conversation concerning the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military veterans — particularly those who have seen firsthand the true nature of combat.

A dog’s love can cure anything — including PTSD

CHRIS PEAK, NATIONSWELL 

Phil Ruddock had trouble adjusting when he returned home to rural Louisiana, disabled by a traumatic brain injury he received during an Air Force tour of duty during Desert Storm. He had all the classic symptoms of PTSD: “I drank all the time, I couldn’t get along with anyone, I kept checking every room in the house to make sure it was clear every time I came home, I got up and checked the locks on the doors and windows too many times to count, I was always depressed and pissed at the world, and I never slept. I drove my family so crazy that they wanted to leave,” he says with a country twang. “I still do some of those things,” he adds, “but it’s getting better.”

The Invisible War On The Brain

Marine Cpl. Chris McNair (Ret.), Afghanistan 2011-12. (Photo by © Lynn Johnson/National Geographic)

wearethemighty.com

The cover story of National Geographic magazine’s February issue, “The Invisible War on the Brain,” takes a close look at a signature injury of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars—traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) caused by the shock waves from explosions. TBIs have left hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans with life-altering and sometimes debilitating conditions, the treatment of which can be extremely complicated. At Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, soldiers paint masks that help them cope with their daily struggles and help them reveal their inner feelings. We invite you to see the service members’ masks and read the full story here.

How One Vet’s Struggle Led Him To Write A Book Explaining PTSD To His Children

Photo courtesy of Kastle

Army Reserve veteran Seth Kastle wrote the book, “Why Is Dad So Mad?” which explains combat-related PTSD to children.

Task and Purpose

How do you explain combat related post-traumatic stress disorder to your children? It’s hard enough to rationalize the anger, confusion or self-doubt with oneself — or convey how you feel to your spouse or family — but how do you get it across to your son or daughter that what you’re feeling stems from an event long since passed? The answer may lie in the title of Seth Kastle’s children’s book, “Why is Dad so Mad?”