Emerg Services Anyone Else Have Similar Experience: Shamed For Noncombat Ptsd.

[Friday]

@Kodah... In theory, they can.

In practice, it's exactly as @OEF/OIF Vet outlines... There simply aren't enough resources even for combat vets, who have priority.

So the soonest available appointment for a combat vet may be 9 months out, but for service-connected PTSD from elsewhere? Does 2600 hours on the 12th of Never work for you? Oh good.

 

[Disgruntledgrunt1577]

The VA is a complete and total train wreck. They've been giving veterans a second chance to die for their country since their founding.
I find this discussion interesting.
And have debated on jumping into it.
No matter what happened to you, I doubt you'll find any sympathy from anyone with a combat patch.
Which, as sad as it is, is the truth.
My basic training company C Co 1-19, had one of the highest washout rates possible.
And no, this isn't a sob story about how hard basic was.
Was it f*cked up? Yes. It was. People died. Lots more were injured. After our cycle, not one of our Drills stayed on sandhill. Either transferred after the investigation, or was chaptered completely.
At the time I didn't know any better. I was young and dumber, and full of motivation. I'm pretty sure I chanted RLTW in my sleep. I just thought that was how basic was for everyone.
Now I'm not so young and a little wiser.
And what I found out is this, our little stint in Georgia was nothing compared to the real deal.
I am now entirely indifferent to the fact that we were treated the way we were, because the job we were being trained to do demanded nothing less.
They dehumanized us, broke us down, and treated us like shit every waking moment of every day and night.
And I'm thankful for it for one reason, when it was my turn to head down range I had absolutely zero aspirations or expectations about what I was heading into.
Basic training can never really prepare you to see the elephant, but it opened my eyes to what I had gotten my self into. And I try to think of that as a good thing.
The war certainly took a heavier toll on me than I ever thought it could, especially now that it's catching up to me.

But you take that as you will, because your situation was different than mine.

 

[ElizaFol]

I feel as though I can relate to the shameful side of PTSD. I have no military experience, and although I've never really been diagnosed with PTSD, I do have all of the symptoms which are at times debilitating, and I am unable to leave my house. I have never been raped, but I have been sexually assaulted three times. That also depends on the definition of assault. In some states the definition of sexual assault is forced intercourse, which makes me feel even more ashamed of the symptoms I exhibit, because I have not even been assaulted.

 

[laurainalameda]

So I was at a coffee shop with my service dog and a guy with his SD strikes up a conversation and we finally establish that they are both ptsd dogs. So he asks me what unit I was in. I say mine was non combat. So he abruptly stands up, says, well then it ain't ptsd. And walks off. Probably the worst shaming of my life. After I got to stop ugly cryng, I figured someday with more therapy he'd understand. Luckily it was not in my hometown, and I've never seen him again.

 

[laurainalameda]

So I was at a coffee shop with my service dog and a guy with his SD strikes up a conversation and...

AND I did take the patch off my dogs vest that says ptsd service dog. The new patch just says service dog.

 

[JEM]

I must admit that Marine bootcamp was nearly as mind fuking as actual combat was.....

 

[Cavegirl]

PTSD is a beast. No matter where you get it from its now yours to deal with.

But I do sort of get where you're coming from. I feel like I have "wussy" PTSD (sexual childhood abuse triggered by sexual harassment at work) compared to my Marine w combat PTSD. He was also abused sexually and raped as a child and he had physical abuse too. He certainly wins the "I had it worse" game. But he's never belittled me for my suffering. Instead he told me he admires me for being down and having picked myself up and am now living my life going for my dreams.

Incidentally my dad has military related non combat PTSD and my Marine told me what my dad was suffering for had to be worse than what he was going through.

Not everyone is an asshole.

 

[laurainalameda]

Thanks for this. I tend to thinking that if sufferers are assholes, that's just sort of where they are. God knows I get there sometimes. I have the utmost respect for service members. Ptsd is just what it is. Differetly roads to the the same shitty place. Appreciate your support

 

[Aussie_Sapper]

Anyone one else out there with PTSD from Basic Training due to extreme bodily harm, near death experie...

I went through basic training in the Australian Army when I was 17, 6 months before 9/11. I didn't see any combat or even imagined I could have any form of PTSD from my training. I served for 6 years and have been inactive for almost 9 years and recently found out I have not been discharged as I was told I would be.
Since then and the increasing chances of all out war I have had a few "episodes" where I hear the sound of a bugle or the smell of gunpowder it brings back a certain memory and I become overwhelmed with fear and then a lot of anger and rage can last 3 or 4 hours.
Tonight being NYE the smell of gunpowder from fireworks set me off. Hearing this is a great help as I felt I was being over sensitive or some kind of pussy and would never open up to my own wife let alone my Army buddies from fear of ridicule.
This is the first i've spoken about it and it helps to know i'm not alone.

 

[Friday]

I served for 6 years and have been inactive for almost 9 years and recently found out I have not been discharged as I was told I would be.

LMFAO... I did this. Same damn SNAFUs all over the damn world, eh?

Just last winter had to go stand before a tribunal to find out (in part) if I was recalled to active duty after almost 15 years (or needed to serve my 8 years of inactive reserve, same end result, everyone in my MOS was recalled from inactive to active, and held for the duration). Wee bit of stress, there. Chasesus f*ck. 3 sets of paperwork/orders, all issued the same day, all giving me different status. Apparently my name has been on the roster for over a decade with no status attached to it. Snort.

 

[Stickler]

Didn't see Laura's reply before...that guy was a douchebag.

I am paraphrasing someone else here, and with a strong drink down me:

People torture people at the behest of state institutions. This is the accepted legal definition of torture.
People also casually torment other people in whatever way they can get away with in the situations they find themselves in.
They do this for shits and giggles.
Thus non-combat PTSD.

There are, of course, car wrecks and natural disasters and such, too. Fires, explosions. Bad stuff. And I Am rambling now. Pardon.

 

[QuietNow]

PTSD's main initial creation agent is fear. Fear pushes all our buttons internally and without a proper outlet, it creates a monster in our heads. Yes, PTSD can be created from basic training. Things do go wrong in training all the time. And there are bad leadership choices.

I'm concerned that your rage is shredding your self-control. Threatening someone with a 9mm because of a statement means that internally you really need to talk to someone about these issues soon.