From the DS Ranch: Here we are, again. Another mass shooting by a - TopicsExpress

From the DS Ranch: Here we are, again. Another mass shooting by a member of our military AND at Ft. Hood. Many of you know that I have been an advocate of our military, having served, being the son of someone who served, married to someone who served, but I am here to tell you that what happened yesterday at Ft. Hood, is an extension of a much bigger problem. Im going to come out and say it, to lesson the stigma. I too have PTSD. There Ive said it. It is not something to be ashamed of, fearful of, but many Vets are. Society has laid the rules with respect to mental conditions and its time for it to stop. I personally know guys who will not seek treatment for fear of having an asterisk put beside their names. Having their rights limited, or, taken away entirely simply because an experience they signed up for and sent to do has altered their lives. Curiously, PTSD as with many mental conditions, takes a long time to recognize. For years Veterans struggle with something they know nothing about, except the negative perceptions of those in our society. Hence, mental conditions stay in the shadows, and yet they, we struggle to make sense of a world we no longer understand. For those of you reading this who have not been there, done that, that is the conclusion we come to once we realize, internally, we dont really fit in anymore. We have to do more, and not just for our Vets, for all those struggling with mental conditions. We are not to be feared, because YOU dont understand, because the irony is that, you are living with, working with, related to, or, friends with someone with a mental condition and you dont even know it. Rick... P.S. .... as odd as this may sound to many of you.... most of us would rather return to the battlefield where we understand the rules and are accepted by others like us.... than fight on this battlefield at home...