What is PTSD?
Veterans Share their Experiences
PTSD is carrying the weight of the world.
I don’t think other people understand what I’m going through on a daily basis, so I have learned to close myself off from those who love me. I’m getting treatment now, though, so that’s been helpful and now I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
PTSD is sleepless nights.
Any sound and my heart starts racing and my mind goes into overdrive. That is why I used to drink so much. I could dull my senses to the point I could sleep through a tornado. I would love to just lay down relax, think happy thoughts, and fade off into sleep. But when the mental distractions of the day are done my mind always goes back to Iraq and puts me on edge. I would love to be able to sleep well consistently.
PTSD is hypervigilance.
I feel that I need to watch over everything in order to prevent something bad from happening. I have a lot of nightmares where I’m not able to stop an explosion, and no matter what I do, nobody listens.
PTSD is fear and anger.
For warfare survival I would get angry to prevent fear. But when I got home my mind couldn’t tell the difference between combat fear and everyday life fear, so I would react to everything with anger. It can’t delineate between fear of being on a foot patrol in a hostile neighborhood and the worry I feel about the bills this month, my mom’s cancer, or my kid’s fever. It’s hard to be present with my fears and react with anything but anger.
PTSD is Masking The Pain.
I found that I could only relax after drinking and this became a problem. My wife convinced me that I needed to talk to someone about it. A lot of my buddies drink the same amount as me, and they seem okay, but for me it was causing problems with my wife, so I talked to my chaplain who referred me to someone else. I did go through a program, which helped, but it continues to be hard.
PTSD is NOT defining.
I think a lot of guys use PTSD as an excuse to not get on with life. But for me, it’s not going to be an excuse to stop living.
Veterans and their families who utilize Hope For The Warriors services know that they are not alone. They learn to find peace and calmness to truly live again even when they’ve experienced traumatic injury. Staff members at Hope For The Warriors, offer HOPE through a healthy holistic approach that heals the entire family.
Programs:
Critical Care Coordination
Includes casework assistance and resource referral. Short term financial assistance may also be available for post 9-11 combat injured veterans and families whose financial need is directly related to their combat injury.
Family Resiliency Services
Aims to strengthen our military families by educating and caring for warriors and their family members who struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
Clinical Support Services
Hope For The Warriors supportive counseling is designed to provide short-term counseling to augment other treatment. Licensed Social Workers provide supportive clinical services to service members, veterans, caregivers, and adult family members needing interim support where a gap in services is identified.
Military & Veteran Caregiver Support Services
Hope For The Warriors’ Caregiver Support Services are available to military and veteran caregivers of post-9/11 service members or veterans that have been physically or psychologically wounded.
Join our HOPE family and get involved in our Clinical Health and Wellness Services by clicking “Apply For Services”.