I actually joined this group right after my husband's fifth combat deployment (Army) summer 2011. It took me another PCS and nearing 2 years of total hell and insanity to finally get him to go into behavioral therapy. His new command at Drum was absolutely no help for me. All I got was, "well you aren't giving him enough support". Holy Hades, we have been married 18 years. In that he has done Korean hardship tour, 4 year longs to Iraq and 1 year long to Afghanistan during which I raised two kids almost single handedly while running FRGs and doing casualty care...what the hell else am I supposed to do to support him? Frustration x 100. Long story short, I finally got him to go into behaviroal therapy once it had degraded so much he was barely able to handle Garrison life and a 24 hour day consisted of work then alcohol and video games. He never slept, NEVER. If he slept he thrashed about all night long and it was like living with a giant three year old. Any little thing threw him into a torrential rage.
For me, I started noticing real issues with him after the third deployment. Sleep problems, memory problems. He started carrying a little notebook to write things down because he couldn't remember anything. After the fourth deployment he was pretty much a zombie. He was totally detached most of the time from everyone and everything. After the fifth deployment he was basically apple sauce. He could barely function and as I said...any tiny thing, threw him into a rage. Fists through walls, replacing brake pads 4 times in a couple of months from constant slamming on the breaks...yadda yadda.
They have him on pain meds, antidepressants, antianxiety meds and sleeping pills. For the most part he doesn't drink any more. He is in week 14 of the year standard in Garrison cognitive therapy protocol. He is nearing retirement so they don't intend on med boarding him or discharging him.
For now he is on a no guns profile because he had been so depressed. In November he had orders to deploy for a sixth time and just totally fell apart. Lock yourself in your truck with a gun threatening to kill yourself if you have to deploy again...fall apart. Which finally lead us into therapy after all these years. They put him on rear detachment for the first time ever.
He is having a very hard time dealing with the day to day BS of Garrison life and every night M-F is rage, rage, rage about how much he hates the Army. Its wonderful.
So...there is where we are at now, update.
I have two questions/concerns. 1) They are sending him and the rear D BN TDY to do some ROTC cadet training Late May-August. During which time he will get no therapy and be sent with enough meds to put down a horse. This really worries me with his previous incident. BUt they seem largely unconcerned. 2) Now that he is in therapy he blurts out things he has experienced. This is new. Up until now he has never told me anything. Some of the things which come out of his mouth shock the hell out of me. Its like being punched in the stomach, how do I best recieve them? Do I say anything, or do I just listen?
For me, I started noticing real issues with him after the third deployment. Sleep problems, memory problems. He started carrying a little notebook to write things down because he couldn't remember anything. After the fourth deployment he was pretty much a zombie. He was totally detached most of the time from everyone and everything. After the fifth deployment he was basically apple sauce. He could barely function and as I said...any tiny thing, threw him into a rage. Fists through walls, replacing brake pads 4 times in a couple of months from constant slamming on the breaks...yadda yadda.
They have him on pain meds, antidepressants, antianxiety meds and sleeping pills. For the most part he doesn't drink any more. He is in week 14 of the year standard in Garrison cognitive therapy protocol. He is nearing retirement so they don't intend on med boarding him or discharging him.
For now he is on a no guns profile because he had been so depressed. In November he had orders to deploy for a sixth time and just totally fell apart. Lock yourself in your truck with a gun threatening to kill yourself if you have to deploy again...fall apart. Which finally lead us into therapy after all these years. They put him on rear detachment for the first time ever.
He is having a very hard time dealing with the day to day BS of Garrison life and every night M-F is rage, rage, rage about how much he hates the Army. Its wonderful.
So...there is where we are at now, update.
I have two questions/concerns. 1) They are sending him and the rear D BN TDY to do some ROTC cadet training Late May-August. During which time he will get no therapy and be sent with enough meds to put down a horse. This really worries me with his previous incident. BUt they seem largely unconcerned. 2) Now that he is in therapy he blurts out things he has experienced. This is new. Up until now he has never told me anything. Some of the things which come out of his mouth shock the hell out of me. Its like being punched in the stomach, how do I best recieve them? Do I say anything, or do I just listen?
