After The 3rd Deployment

[MP Vet]

I did my first 2 tours (The Stan & Iraq) in 3 years, everything was pretty good when I got home from those tours. I did my 3rd tour (Iraq) 6 years after my 2nd one and I have more anger and anxiety than before. I consider my last tour a cake walk compared to the 1st two, I was told by a therapist that this is common, that my last tour brought up "unresolved" issues from the 1st two. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Sleeping Dragon]

MP,

Call them "unresolved" issues, or triggers or whatever, they can happen any time or place. One of my worst episodes happened on a quiet night at home when things were going well. As I closed the back door all I could here was rain on the leaves in the back yard. That sound took me back to nights in the mountains near Laos in 67.

Why that night, and those sounds I'd heard many times before? Hell, who knows. But, I learned that as bad as the episodes can be, they will pass. And, as you gain experience dealing with triggers you'll learn how to identify and avoid them.

I've been dealing with this shit for over forty-five years, and am back in therapy at the Vet's Center in Tacoma, WA. There are periods of time during my combat experiences that are a complete blank. Those periods may have caused triggers that my consious mind doesn't see, but are perfectly clear to my sub-consious.

Point is, the more I learn the better I can deal with the crap day by day. It never gets easier. But, you'll find better ways to deal with it. So, KEEP TAKING THOSE BABY STEPS. They'll lead you to a better place.

SD

 

[Psd43]

I did my first 2 tours (The Stan & Iraq) in 3 years, everything was pretty good when I got home from those tours. I did my 3rd tour (Iraq) 6 years after my 2nd one and I have more anger and anxiety than before. I consider my last tour a cake walk compared to the 1st two, I was told by a therapist that this is common, that my last tour brought up "unresolved" issues from the 1st two. Has anyone else experienced this?

Yes, I have experienced this. I had a year tour in Iraq in 2007-2008. I was a contractor 3 more years in Iraq and that's when it started to get hard for me. My first military tour took a toll on me.

I finally had to quit my job and come home to deal with my issues. I have serious anger issues sleeping problems and so on. I go to therapy once a week and a group ptsd class. To be honest it's not helping me. So I don't know what to do. I will not give up. Good luck with you.

 

[JarHed]

I have serious anger issues sleeping problems and so on.

Hey Guys,

This will be directed at both MP and Psd. The serious and ugly part of PTSD is that we all share it's affects in common. It's zero dark thirty and here I am pounding away at the keys. So some things will never go away, completely. But they can get better even if it doesn't feel that way at the moment.

We've all been exactly where ya'll are at. I know it's a long and hard struggle that you have and what's ahead. I'm a 'Nam vet and I still have real issues with things, especially anger. I say this only so that you can know that it's a struggle that you'll have to come to terms with. But there are things that can help.

Even if you don't feel like therapy is helping you don't give it up. It's probably the most important thing you can do for yourself that will have a tremendous and positive effect on how you'll be able to deal with PTSD in the future. It always gets harder before it gets easier. If you need some meds for a while to help with some of the symptoms get and use them. You may not have to use them forever. They can help though. You can take therapy for sleep which can help a great deal to get a kinda' normal sleep pattern again.

It's early and all but what I'm saying is there is hope and don't give it up. Therapy give you a tool kit to help with PTSD. Otherwise it's like trying to rebuild and engine with a spork. So hang in there and let me know if I can help.

JarHed

 

[MP Vet]

MP,


KEEP TAKING THOSE BABY STEPS. They'll lead you to a better place.

SD

That's about all we can do.....

 

[combatgoldfish]

f*ck baby steps, do a combat roll!

 

[Sleeping Dragon]

CombatGF,

I don't know why that struck me so funny, but thanks, I needed that.

MP,

The baby steps may not seem like much, but they add up. There'll be plenty of times when you won't find one single reason to keep trying. That's when ya gotta move. It won't be much of a move cause a baby step is all you can handle. And, that first step leads to another.

Stay with it my Sister. You know how.

SD

 

[fwduff]

hi i did 7 tours the last was Basra Iraq 2007 all i can say is that was the worst coming under enemy fire day and night those that where there will understand what i mean. i knew i had symptoms and civilian life i couldn't fit in. no one understood what it was like and how i felt. i even had a young kid i worked with and asked me if i had seen Jarhead and he wouldn't stop going on about it i told him why would i want to watch a film about the first gulf war when i had first hand experience of being there.
back in 2009 i went to Afghanistan as a contractor first year was bad ( Ghazni ) but i could cope with that and i felt at home being in that enviroment i returned in late aug last year. I have not been able to find work since returning either I'm over qualified or the mention of being a vet and no one wants to know email knock backs most of them are replies from people with muslim sounding names and before any one asks i am not rasist i worked with a lot of ocn"s in Afghanistan and they are bloody hard workers on very little pay.

 

[Ned]

Morning MP vet, I found later tours easier than the early ones. Nothing to do with just the routine, it was going to a new environment that unsettled me on the first tour somewhere. I think part of the problem with subsequent tours in a place is that part of the proficient 'dealing with it' and thinking it's easier, is that real problems are just getting locked away to pop out later. Catch 22.

 

[reddevil1111]

My PTSD hit me in small doses of combat not in a big tour like you guys faced. By the time the first gulf war rolled around I was full blown PTSD that's for sure.

I know I was affected by what I saw and did during that time but nothing equals the stuff that I experienced before that. I think it was due to the up close and personal part of the combat I faced. I was a bit more detached during the gulf war.

Either way I think it was the same for me as you guys.

You know Duff I did give Jarhead a watch. I watch a lot of combat stuff still. It always messes me up as well. Its almost like I am trying to get something from the films. I don't watch them more than once...I think if you know your going to trigger from the film don't bother with it. your doing the right thing. I recall watching saving private Ryan...the sound effects of the bullets was so realistic I had to leave the theater. That was something else.

 

[Anglesachse]

With you on that Red.

To many little things,

 

[CAFTT0607]

hi i did 7 tours the last was Basra Iraq 2007 all i can say is that was the worst coming under enemy fire day and night those that where there will understand what i mean.

I was in Basra Aug 2006 to Sept 2007 and it was beyond bad. I can't even think of a word to describe it. I left there completely f*cked up and have been every since. I didn't realize I was f*cked up until 2010 after years of bad PTSD symptoms. Went back in 2009 and after that tour I came back and realized I needed help bad.