Vn Vet

[ephemeral]

Hello,

VN combat veteran here......71-72....Hco. 75th Infantry attached to the 1st cav

I've been thinking about and dealing with PTSD issues for a long time. I am interested in what others have to say on this subject, and perhaps I can offer my perspectives.

 

[Jimmy1]

Hello,

VN combat veteran here......71-72....Hco. 75th Infantry attached to the 1st cav

I've been thinking about and dealing with PTSD issues for a long time. I am interested in what others have to say on this subject, and perhaps I can offer my perspectives.

Welcome mate. What perspective do you have. We have PTSD. PTSD makes permanent changes to our brains. We will have these changes for the rest of our lives. PTSD causes a lot of symptoms such as Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Hypervigilence, etc, etc. These symptoms as well as the conditioning we all attained going through our various boot camps have a drastic impact on our future.

The future, well, we can manage these symptoms by going to therapy and in most cases medication.

This is just my opinion.

 

[ephemeral]

Welcome mate. What perspective do you have. We have PTSD. PTSD makes permanent changes to our brains. We will have these changes for the rest of our lives. PTSD causes a lot of symptoms such as Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Hypervigilence, etc, etc. These symptoms as well as the conditioning we all attained going through our various boot camps have a drastic impact on our future.

The future, well, we can manage these symptoms by going to therapy and in most cases medication.

This is just my opinion.

To start with, I agree with what you say. I would add that I think the phenomena called PTSD is not a disease as such, nor is it mental illness (although it can become so), and the fact that many in our society see it as such, bodes ill for veterans as a whole.

You speak of "a drastic impact on our future", and after over thirty years of attempting to deal with PTSD, and all that comes with it, I couldn't agree more with your statement.

Therapy....medication.....I didn't go to the VA until more than twenty years past my time in VN, for there was nothing there for us, and I deeply distrusted them. When I did eventually go, I was lucky, after a couple of idiot shrinks, I came upon one who was good at his trade. He told me something that I have come to realize the truth of.......they cannot cure you of anything, they can only help you cure yourself. Of course the term "cure" is not accurate, it is more to the point to say that one adapts, compensates.

I do not use any of the medications offered by the VA. I have my reasons for that attitude.

 

[Spock]

Welcome...plenty of Nam brothers here, not me, but they'll be along shortly. Stay safe, stay strong...

 

[JarHed]

Hey Ephemeral

I'm a 'Nam vet also. Been dealing with this for a long time. You'll excuse me if I say that your intro leave a lot to be desired. If you want to share your experiences that's fine but I'm getting the idea that it's more than that. That somehow you know something that we here don't. If that's an incorrect assessment, then sorry. It's just the way your intro comes across to me.

If you don't like a word or how something is called and change that to something that you like better it doesn't change that fact of what it is. I have PTSD, I've had it since I came back and I'll always have it. You're right, there is no cure. No one at the VA ever mentioned that word to me. I know our experiences with them differ from place to place so maybe where you've been they say that. Any psychologist or psychiatrist worth their salt wouldn't give any kind of false hope about this condition, if that's the right word.

Any way, Welcome to the forums. And I do mean that. Just understand that I've been at this so long and have heard it all, so to speak. Sorry for the less than enthusiastic welcome. Not many 'Nam vets left. This is a good place with good people.

JarHed

 

[reddevil1111]

Welcome to the forum. I spent 20 years dealing with PTSD before I got help as well. Im not a Nam vet, I spent time in Columbia, Honduras, Columbia and the 1st gulf war. 2nd Marines.

This Is the best place on the web. you hit gold.

 

[ephemeral]

Hey Ephemeral

I'm a 'Nam vet also. Been dealing with this for a long time. You'll excuse me if I say that your intro leave a lot to be desired. If you want to share your experiences that's fine but I'm getting the idea that it's more than that. That somehow you know something that we here don't. If that's an incorrect assessment, then sorry. It's just the way your intro comes across to me.

If you don't like a word or how something is called and change that to something that you like better it doesn't change that fact of what it is. I have PTSD, I've had it since I came back and I'll always have it. You're right, there is no cure. No one at the VA ever mentioned that word to me. I know our experiences with them differ from place to place so maybe where you've been they say that. Any psychologist or psychiatrist worth their salt wouldn't give any kind of false hope about this condition, if that's the right word.

Any way, Welcome to the forums. And I do mean that. Just understand that I've been at this so long and have heard it all, so to speak. Sorry for the less than enthusiastic welcome. Not many 'Nam vets left. This is a good place with good people.

JarHed

Hi Jarhed,

My intro leaves a lot to be desired???? I really don't understand where you are coming from with this. I know something the people here don't know??? That would only be the thoughts and conclusions that reside in my head, that others don't know about unless they are mind readers. The same goes for the thoughts of the people here......I don't know what they think, and I am interested in listening to their take on things.

About those "words" disease and mental illness.......I am referring to how the phenomena of PTSD has been referred to in the press, not how it is referred to in a clinical setting. The people not involved in dealing with PTSD professionally ofttimes gather their information from sources such as the news, the popular press, not a trained professional, not someone who is actually knowledgeable on the subject. This leads to gross misconceptions that veterans have to encounter in their daily lives, and this can be detrimental to said veterans, especially if they believe the garbage.

I didn't come here to cause people to become upset. I didn't come here to start fights with people's conceptualizations of PTSD. If there is only one allowable interpretation of PTSD accepted here, and other thought on PTSD that may be at odds, to some degree, with the prevailing interpretation is not to be examined rationally and fairly, then perhaps I need to keep my thoughts to myself, and simply read without meaningful interaction.

I don't mean to disparage anyone, veteran or non-veteran, who has PTSD. I have been through enough demonization because of my own PTSD, that I would not want to visit this upon another.

 

[JarHed]

I have been through enough demonization because of my own PTSD, that I would not want to visit this upon another.

I've been there too. We get a lot of people that come around saying that they have some idea that we might not. Can't say what I haven't heard. This is an open forum for vets, all opinions are allowed and appreciated. As I said, if I interpreted something other than what you meant, sorry. I call 'em like I see 'um and that probably means that from time to time I step on some toes or misinterpret things. We're all the same here Brother, we've all got PTSD and no matter what that just sucks sometimes.

Again, sorry for the less than friendly welcome.

Jar

 

[Fargo1]

Ah the problems with language and the human brain — got to love it.

I try to use English words to relay information, but like the "telegraph game" most of us played as children, people either don't understand the words, or misinterpret the words. Some days I think it would be better if I was mute.

Anyway, greetings and salutations Ephemeral glad to see you, not glad you're hear.

 

[Chin Strapped]

Evening mate.

 

[reddevil1111]

Come on Dan....its not night time...the sun is real high in the sky. Like 130pm... Everyone know this. Just look out the window mate. :)

 

[Chin Strapped]

I looked out and saw the night, an 06 plate ford mondeo and the pavement...sidewalk? :D