In light of certain events the mere mention of PTSD triggers a lot of hurt and anger in me, with my own experiences with my former husband/soldier and his command literally laughing at me when I even mentioned the possibility of PTSD. I will never forget the hopelessness and extreme fear I felt at that moment. All the signs were there, at home and at work. Soldiers who verbalize self-harm or to their peers/family are not being properly diagnosed or treated and slipping through the cracks. How many fatal acts of aggression do we need to see before this epidemic is treated as such? I realize the government has awareness campaigns and programs that educate the masses and elicit a compassion from the general public, now, how about investing in the Solider who defended our Country and get them the mental health care they deserve!!! Leadership needs to stop sweeping Reports of Concern under the carpet and treating them as insignificant. New studies indicate that PTSD is evident in EVERYONE of our returning Soldiers to some degree, some cope and/or recover better than others. Lets take a new approach to the problem and treat all returning Veterans and make sure they are well. Our Soldiers need more education and treatment than they are currently getting. This minimal screening process that rushes diagnosis based off of no credible evidence is highly ineffective. We need to include the input of family and peers on the intake process to gain a proper perspective if that Soldier is truly functioning at the capacity they should be. When we constantly train and educate from leadership down and back up we have many more eyes to help observe because they are more aware. WE WILL ALSO CREATE A NETWORK OF PEERS who can support and identify those WHO NEED HELP. Dont get me wrong, this is being done in some degree already, but not nearly to the extent it should be. Leadership who openly dont believe in, or mock PTSD, should be relieved of their position and retrained until they get it. Period. Unless we have leadership that truly cares and is knowledgeable with open minds, all the Soldiers and Families that fall beneath them will not get the care they so very much need and deserve! Time to roll up the sleeves and get busy. This is far from going away.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:30:45 +0000
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