Ive submitted my essay to the op-ed pages of the LA and NY Times for their consideration, Ill keep a positive thought. There is a fundamental conflict within veterans, regarding PTSD. Pop culture since the 70s has propagated the meme of the crazed vet. Ive resisted such roles over the years, its a lazy cliche and a damaging one. Illustrating the work of therapy is challenging. A soldier dealing with amputation can be depicted with prosthetics, a burn victim receiving skin grafts, a paraplegic regaining motor skills...we can see their progress and improvement. Those with PTSD wish largely to remain anonymous...and understandably so. There is a stigma attached to the condition. That is unfortunate and unfair but it is truly so. The success of therapy? We remain alive, many of us useful and content and productive. Thats not so easy to depict. I speak publicly because I am already a public figure. I have little anonymity. But veterans are torn about the coverage of the most recent Ft Hood shooter. He was clearly a troubled veteran...perhaps even suffering from PTSD but whatever his issues, they did not stem from any involvement in combat. So we now fear that the public will lump us all into a pigeonhole of people dangerous to society. For the record, those contending with PTSD are a threat primarily to their own well-being. Our depression causes us to take our own lives, rarely the lives of others. But our problems do manifestly affect the tranquility of our families, neighbors, friends and fellow workers. That is the tragedy, how very encompassing the negative effects of our service. My generation, Vietnam veterans dedicated themselves to helping each other and helping future generations of veterans. So I am now focused on calling them out, soliciting the empathy of the only people who truly appreciate the consequences of combat - other combat veterans and their organizations.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:42:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015