Ptsd

Fortunately I have never been in a really high stress situation like a war. I believe that it is obvious that PTST is real and is very hard to deal with. In the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption it was accepting Christ that saved Louis Zamperini from the depths of PTST. After accepting Christ he never had any additional flashbacks, nightmares, etc. Zamperini's story is an amazing story of physical survival and spiritual redemption.

 

PTSD is for real. Way too many men however milk the system for all they can get. Those who suffer from it need help. For others, they just need to consider the Serenity Prayer. It's complicated.

 

Keep him talking, and keep him connected to others. The biggest problem with PTSD, in my personal, non-professional opinion, is the individual feeling like no one else, outside of his/her battle buddies, can understand what they went through, and thus having "nothing in common" with friends, relatives, even spouses.

 

Point them to Christ and A deep personal relationship with the Lord. They need to focus their energy on Him while they learn to be a service to others who have problems such as the homeless, or children fighting cancer and such rather then focusing on what they have been through or what they are feeling. Teach them to let the Lord be their Comforter as well as their Commander.

 

I think it boils down to personality----different personalities take it in different ways---some do not suffer a bit----and some are as nervous as June Bugs in a Chicken Coop!!!

Some men I know have served in WW2 ETO and can joke and carry on about combat experiences---still some have told me they cannot tolerate crowded places even today because of situations they were placed in during combat---one fella in particular told me of a situation he was in---The Jerries had his unit penned down with heavy MG fire and he attempted to rescue a wounded buddy and both were taken prisoner---the German machine gunner could have killed him in his rescue attempt but began to straff the area with bullets which caught him in both legs---he had a bad experience readjusting in civlian life----still others that I know could laugh and carry on about even some of the wildest experiences with no affects----one church member I had told of his experiences under Patton's 3rd Army---some neat experiences!!

Still I have several friends who served in 'Nam----one served in the USAF and flew hot hot missions over NV regularily---his greatest fear today is feeling the effects of Agent Orange over his body----I have a deacon who was a "Grunt" in the Mekong Delta and can laugh and joke about even violent engagements

I have never served in military but enjoy encounters with men who have and enjoy reading biographies and autobio's of men who choose to write of their experiences

I believe it boils down to personality----but I have learned that it is a good thing to laugh when they laugh and cry when they cry as they tell those experiences-----I get a good laugh when they tell funny stories and can sympathize when they tell ugly stories---I try to place myself there---not in their boots but in the boots next to them as they retell different experiences

 

blackbird, my father was a career Marine serving in both WW II and Korea. He never spoke one iota of his combat days..., only of the good times they had. The funny stuff. The only thing he ever spoke of regarding Korea was the cold. I went to Korea myself and for sure, it's cold over there! Brutal cold! I don't know how they made it with what they had to work with.

Years ago I watched the movie, The Deer Hunter. A little bit of everything in there for anyone who has served in combat. After the wars my father hunted, and hunted and hunted. I suppose it took him some 30 years to calm down after his military experiences. Hunting is how he was able to deprogram himself of the killing. He used to liquor up a lot.

Later in life he finally asked the Lord to save him and mellowed out..., finally. Combat it tough on anyone.

 

My dad was WW 2 combat vet and the only time he talked about it was with me after I came home from Viet Nam. Part of the helping is talking with other combat vets. No one else really understands.

For me the best help, other than friends, was to be pointed towards a better and more realistic walk with the Lord. By better I mean closer through the Word and prayer. By realistic, I mean not denying the things that have to be done such as killing people and watching our friends die. We can know in our hearts that serving our country is an honorable activity, but taking a person's life exacts an emotional price, even when that other person is actively trying to take yours. And there is a truth to survivor's guilt. "Why am I still alive and he's not?" is a question we can only answer in terms of God's sovereignty and plan for our lives. It does not answer the "Why" question but it gives context.

Time is also a healer. I had a Korean vet say, "It never goes away, but my memories no longer are my enemy."

 

I got into reading the late Steven Ambrose and his military works----particularly of the late Major Dick Winters and Easy Company of the 101st Airborne------seems like it took years for someone to finally "reach in"(as in Stephen Ambrose) to these guys minds and then write it all down for us

Winters was a military man of steel---his leadership surpasses most others----the Captain Speirs who served under Winters was a military man of true GUTS!!! Good DVD series made of the Band of Brothers(if you can get past the cussin' and swearin':type::type:

 

One of the main issues that PTSD causes is a cognitive disconnect between what is real and what is imagined. This happens when some of the connections made between the frontal lobe of the brain and the central processing lobe are destroyed or rerouted (or so it appears). Reestablishing these disconnects is a large part of the process for successful healing after a true case of PTST. Many also mimic symptoms of PTSD for personal gain, they not wanting to deal with reality, but have the ability. That is a different tack, but one that also needs to be dealt with. One is a sin issue the other a medical issue that can combine with a sin issue in that many with the medical issue use it to further a sin component as well.

I've worked with several persons with PTSD and also worked with an Army doctor who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the issue. From that I've learned some things about PTSD including what I share above. I've found that biblical counseling and sometimes medication to bring stable thinking to an individual might be necessary to reestablish a connection that allows for thinking about reality. Some people with really bad cases of disconnect might never truly be functional again, as their brains have literally re-routed signals in a way that is very difficult to recover, akin to those with brain damage from accidents, etc. At times this re-routing is also from head trauma that may not even have been reported, large shell concussions, etc. Seems to go hand in hand.

In one case, I fully expect the young man I was working with to one day be a major headline in the paper. He is only lacking opportunity to pick up some sort of weapon and level an area. He wavers in and out of reality and often sees enemies where children play. He is dangerous to the extreme. Sad case, son of a pastor friend, a boy who entered the Marines and who came home less than human. He likes the idea of bloodshed and his fondest hope is to return to do some more of it. And, that is with a ton of medication, a ton of counseling, a ton of Jesus, and a ton of love applied in his direction. Difficult and heart-breaking case for sure!

 

Those who have experience sexual abuse or sexual assault have been known to be linked to PTSD as well. Therapy. Reading. Prayer. Talking about it.

 

Tom is right Sapper, they need to talk about it, but only to other veterans who can understand. My grandfather had a bad time in Germany during WWII and could never speak of it with any family members, until I came back from Iraq.

The best ones to talk to are the ones who were there with you. Second best is someone who was in a similar situation and can understand.

I took a lot of comfort from my Iraq experience by reading other first-hand accounts. The biggest thing is for them to realize they are not alone and what they feel is not abnormal. I tried talking to my wife and that was a disaster. She became so scared of me we could not sleep in the same bed for years.

In particular I found Tim O’Brien’s “The things they carried” helpful to me. It’s a collection of Vietnam inspired short stories. It is an easy read and if you read it you will know. He has been there.

 

Sometimes just listening is better than giving out advice. They need to know they are not alone, that what they are going through is not "imagined" or a lack of spirituality.

A doctor-monitored anti-depressant, therapy, and a listening ear, along with brotherly love and spiritual mentoring may all be beneficial.