I have found some blogs & info concerning PTSD and healing, that I would like to share. I have not had time to read & digest all the information, but I decided to put it out there in the hopes, that it may help some of my fellow PTSD sufferers. This is my second attempt, I had a post almost completed, I accidently hit a button & wiped it out, really pissed me off, what is the use of having a save now button, when u can't go back to portion u saved? Sorry, got off track there, just had to vent!
The first blog is from Dr Cindee Grace, Naturopath. http:askios-survivors.blogspot.com She has a free ebook dealing with PTSD & DID (Dissociative Identity Disorders) titled "Holistic Self-Care For Post Traumatic Stress & Dissociative Identity" You can download it free from following sites:
http:amyweintraub.com/HolisticSelfCareForPTS.pdf
www.amyweintraub.com/resources.html
http://www.freedom-center.org/files/HolisticSelfCareforPTSD+DissociativeIdentity-CindeeGrace.pdf
http://veteransinfo.org/ptsd.html - This is site I downloaded from.
Dr Cindee Grace, has given permission to download for free & distribute, so long as you download in entirety & do not attempt to make money off her work, you can download for free.
Another blog site I found was http://healmyptsd.com/ptsd-blog The blogger Michelle Rosenthal is a PTSD survivor, who says she is now healed and able to live a normal life. Michelle is on twitter @HealMyPTSD She has a PTSD workshop outlined in her blog, and a lot of good helpful posts. I have not had time to read them all yet, but I thought that I would share these to in the hope that it may help some of my brothers & sisters in arms out there suffering from PTSD.
I urge any of my readers or if you know of others suffering from PTSD to take advantage of this free information, & see if it will help you. Main thing is read with an open mind, a closed mind does not absorb, & may pass on something that may help. When I have had a chance to fully read & absorb, I will let you know how it has helped or not helped me. But, remember, everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for another & vice versa. I wish you all good luck in battling your PTSD, but remember there is help out there, u just have to find it. Never give up!
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Constant Battle!
I seem to be locked in a constant battle for my sanity. Between fighting the constant pain I am in, the nightmares & crazy dreams where I awaken, not knowing where or when I am. I rarely leave my apartment these days, I can't wake up in the daytime to go to work, I am awake during the night, trying to find a way to numb the pain so I can sleep, but when I get to sleep it is broken with nightmares & strange dreams, sometimes I am with fallen comrades, or with my old brothers in Iraq. Some nights I wake up screaming or swinging, I have attacked my stand up light a few times, I still reach for my m-4 or 12-gauge & still feel the panic when they are not there. I have not been able to make my appointments with the VA Hospital, because I can not wake up. I hobble around like an old man on the real bad days. I hate to go out, because I feel peoples eyes on me as I hobble around. I am unable to work, because I can't get up, & don't know if I can work through the pain.
I have exhausted my savings, the few dollars I get from the VA, does not help much. I have tried to make up for some with twitads, revtwt & Google adsense, but don't get enough clicks to really make a difference. Chatting with my friends on twitter & blip-fm helps me to keep my sanity. I also have some Veteran friends on here, that helps me realize that I am not the only one going thru this. I get to read their blogs, & see that this is a common problem, suffered by many War Veterans, I have some friends in English, & Australian Military that suffer from these PTSD problems. Also I see that their military do not give a damn about their veterans, just like the United States Army does not. It is pathethic how we, who amswered the call to duty, get treated like beggars by the corrupt and inept Army Medical Evaluation Boards (MEB) & Army Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). It is hard for me to accept, that at 47, I am broken down, and will have to spend the rest of my life, in pain, and fighting this constant battle.
I have exhausted my savings, the few dollars I get from the VA, does not help much. I have tried to make up for some with twitads, revtwt & Google adsense, but don't get enough clicks to really make a difference. Chatting with my friends on twitter & blip-fm helps me to keep my sanity. I also have some Veteran friends on here, that helps me realize that I am not the only one going thru this. I get to read their blogs, & see that this is a common problem, suffered by many War Veterans, I have some friends in English, & Australian Military that suffer from these PTSD problems. Also I see that their military do not give a damn about their veterans, just like the United States Army does not. It is pathethic how we, who amswered the call to duty, get treated like beggars by the corrupt and inept Army Medical Evaluation Boards (MEB) & Army Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). It is hard for me to accept, that at 47, I am broken down, and will have to spend the rest of my life, in pain, and fighting this constant battle.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Depression - as linked to Post Combat or PTSD
Many combat veterans have to deal with various forms of depression, when they return from a combat zone, especially those that get medevac'd out earlier from being wounded or injured, and leaving their comrades behind. Again I will start by using the Wikipedia definitions for various depression states, I did not find any relating to Post-Combat or PTSD, maybe in the future their will be when the Military Psychiatric Doctors & Medical Evaluation Boards start doing the right thing by our Combat Veterans. Also this Post-Combat or PTSD Depression is one of the major causes of so many suicides in our return War Veterans.
These are the various types of psychological depression, as defined in Wikipedia:
Major Depressive Disorder: (also known as clinical depression or major depression), a specific diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.
1) Major Depressive Episode
2) Atypical Depression, a cyclical sub-type of major depression where sleep, feeding and perception of pleasure are normal but there is a feeling of lethargy.
3) Melancholic Depression, a sub-type of major depression characterized by an inability to feel pleasure combined with physical agitation, insomnia, or decreased appetite.
4) Psychotic Depression, a sub-type of major depression combined with psychotic or delusional perceptions.
Depression (mood).
Postpartum depression, a depressive episode occurring within a year of childbirth.
Dysthymia, a long-term low-grade depressive condition.
Adjustment disorder with depressed mood, previously known as "reactive depression"
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a depressed mood related to the seasons.
Depression is the fourth stage of the Kubler-Ross Model (commonly known as the "stages of grief").
That was the Wikipedia definition & breakdown of varios forms of depression, like I said above, I believe eventually there will be another diagnosis, dealing with Post-Combat or PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/TBI Traumatic Brain Injury. I myself have dealt with and still is fighting depression, and it has been over 4 years since I have been back from Iraq. When I was first medevac'd out of Iraq to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany, I fought and argued with the doctors to go back to rejoin my unit, I had a deep feeling of guilt and felt ashamed because I was safe in Germany and they were still in harms way. I have talked to many other wounded and injured veterans at Landstuhl and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where I was sent after Germany, they all had felt the same way guilty and ashamed to leave their comrades behind. It is some that the Army Medical Centers do not deal with properly, which is why their are so many suicides in wounded and injured soldiers. When I first got to Walter Reed, there were two to three suicides a week, we kept hearing the ambulance in middle of night pulling up to the Molonge House where many of the outpatients were housed. It got better, but there are still a lot of suicides nationwide at Army hospitals. A member of my unit that got medevac'd out of Afghanistan, gunshot wounded to arm, was recovering well, committed suicide at Fort Bragg, while recovering. The Army needs to take a serious look at the Psychiatric Doctors & Practices, many of Army Psychiatrists are fresh out of school and inexperienced. Coupled with the Army thinking that most returning Veterans, are "faking it" especially National Guard and Reservists.
The Army Medical Evaluation Board(MEB)/Physical Examination Board(PEB), does everything possible to avoid documenting & compensation soldiers suffering from depression, PTSD & TBI, the evaluating psychiatrists will blame it on pre-existing conditions, like pi-polar disorder, anxiety & mood disorders, or just claim the soldier is just faking it or exagerating his or her condition. It is really a humiliating process for a combat veteran to go through. It is hard enough in the first place(with all the stigmatism attach to these conditions), to come forward and admit you have a problem, but to then go through this process and be treated like a dirtbag or someone who is faking it, is too hard for some soldiers to bear. This is part of the reason for so many suicides in returning combat veterans.
I feel that the entire Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)/ Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) system must be revamped, get rid of all the people currently on there, and get qualified, caring and profeessional people on the boards. The Army has to stop trying to save money by the blood of it's combat veterans, and take responsibility for doing the right thing. Fairly compensate these soldiers for there wounds, injuries and mental problems. Get them the proffessional help they need. And follow up on these soldiers, even when they are out of the system and make sure the Veterans Administration is taking proper care of them.
These are the various types of psychological depression, as defined in Wikipedia:
Major Depressive Disorder: (also known as clinical depression or major depression), a specific diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.
1) Major Depressive Episode
2) Atypical Depression, a cyclical sub-type of major depression where sleep, feeding and perception of pleasure are normal but there is a feeling of lethargy.
3) Melancholic Depression, a sub-type of major depression characterized by an inability to feel pleasure combined with physical agitation, insomnia, or decreased appetite.
4) Psychotic Depression, a sub-type of major depression combined with psychotic or delusional perceptions.
Depression (mood).
Postpartum depression, a depressive episode occurring within a year of childbirth.
Dysthymia, a long-term low-grade depressive condition.
Adjustment disorder with depressed mood, previously known as "reactive depression"
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a depressed mood related to the seasons.
Depression is the fourth stage of the Kubler-Ross Model (commonly known as the "stages of grief").
That was the Wikipedia definition & breakdown of varios forms of depression, like I said above, I believe eventually there will be another diagnosis, dealing with Post-Combat or PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/TBI Traumatic Brain Injury. I myself have dealt with and still is fighting depression, and it has been over 4 years since I have been back from Iraq. When I was first medevac'd out of Iraq to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany, I fought and argued with the doctors to go back to rejoin my unit, I had a deep feeling of guilt and felt ashamed because I was safe in Germany and they were still in harms way. I have talked to many other wounded and injured veterans at Landstuhl and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where I was sent after Germany, they all had felt the same way guilty and ashamed to leave their comrades behind. It is some that the Army Medical Centers do not deal with properly, which is why their are so many suicides in wounded and injured soldiers. When I first got to Walter Reed, there were two to three suicides a week, we kept hearing the ambulance in middle of night pulling up to the Molonge House where many of the outpatients were housed. It got better, but there are still a lot of suicides nationwide at Army hospitals. A member of my unit that got medevac'd out of Afghanistan, gunshot wounded to arm, was recovering well, committed suicide at Fort Bragg, while recovering. The Army needs to take a serious look at the Psychiatric Doctors & Practices, many of Army Psychiatrists are fresh out of school and inexperienced. Coupled with the Army thinking that most returning Veterans, are "faking it" especially National Guard and Reservists.
The Army Medical Evaluation Board(MEB)/Physical Examination Board(PEB), does everything possible to avoid documenting & compensation soldiers suffering from depression, PTSD & TBI, the evaluating psychiatrists will blame it on pre-existing conditions, like pi-polar disorder, anxiety & mood disorders, or just claim the soldier is just faking it or exagerating his or her condition. It is really a humiliating process for a combat veteran to go through. It is hard enough in the first place(with all the stigmatism attach to these conditions), to come forward and admit you have a problem, but to then go through this process and be treated like a dirtbag or someone who is faking it, is too hard for some soldiers to bear. This is part of the reason for so many suicides in returning combat veterans.
I feel that the entire Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)/ Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) system must be revamped, get rid of all the people currently on there, and get qualified, caring and profeessional people on the boards. The Army has to stop trying to save money by the blood of it's combat veterans, and take responsibility for doing the right thing. Fairly compensate these soldiers for there wounds, injuries and mental problems. Get them the proffessional help they need. And follow up on these soldiers, even when they are out of the system and make sure the Veterans Administration is taking proper care of them.
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