Hello. My Name is Dave and have been looking for a support group for years. My near death experience and PTSD trigger was aboard a US Coast Guard Aircraft as a flight crew member. We had an engine failure that caused one of the propellers to separate and tear a 5 x 6 foot hole in the side of the aircraft. That occurred in 1992 in Alaska. The flight crew, my self included, were denied a critical incident stress debriefing after that flight which I believe to this day was a major factor in my PTSD diagnosis.
I continued flying for another 8 years before the beginning signs of PTSD began to appear in the form of major panic attacks. I was taken off flight status in 1999 while the medical retirement proceeded. It was during this idle time in my transition to civilian life that I really became aware of the fact that I had changed. I became disconnected from social surroundings. My emotions were getting raw. I felt more connected to previous Coast Guard Aviation flight crews that flew and never came back than I did with my current fellow aviators. It got so intense that I painted a wall murial depicting the aircraft performing their search and rescue missions when they perished. It has been emotional battle since then. I look forward to sharing "my" story with this forum in future posts. I also want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has shared a bit of "their" story here.
I continued flying for another 8 years before the beginning signs of PTSD began to appear in the form of major panic attacks. I was taken off flight status in 1999 while the medical retirement proceeded. It was during this idle time in my transition to civilian life that I really became aware of the fact that I had changed. I became disconnected from social surroundings. My emotions were getting raw. I felt more connected to previous Coast Guard Aviation flight crews that flew and never came back than I did with my current fellow aviators. It got so intense that I painted a wall murial depicting the aircraft performing their search and rescue missions when they perished. It has been emotional battle since then. I look forward to sharing "my" story with this forum in future posts. I also want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has shared a bit of "their" story here.