Told Today That I Have "Light PTSD" Symptoms...Disqualified From Law Enforcment Now

[USMC-Grunt]

I left the Corps 6 months ago and have been applying to several departments.. Well a few weeks back was my first Psychological Evaluation.. The other day I was told that I was disqualified.. I figured ok maybe I don't meet there personality traits for this specific department.

Well today I had another Evaluation with the same doctor.. He informed me that he thinks based on our last interview that I have a light case of PTSD and has since disqualified me from both departments because of what he wrote in his reports..

I can't believe that I'm even being told this at this point.. I'm just kind of staring at him dumbfounded.. I don't have a substance abuse problem.. I drink less than when I was in the Corps.. I don't get nightmares or flashbacks.. I don't dwel on what happened.. I'm fine around my friends.. no anger problems.. I sleep alright.. no eating problems.. nothing that would actually make ME think that something was wrong..

But when it came to the part where he asked if any of my friends died in Iraq with me.. I told him yes and he asked how it happened and thats what got me upset.. I tried to describe what happened and ended up crying while talking describing what happened to my friend..

He told me that he would not write a positive report for me at all unless I seek treatment from the VA and I "get better"... and he handles most of the departments around here and almost nobody otherwise is hiring....

I've never even considered the thought that I might have PTSD.. I'm kind of in shock and don't know what to think or say.. I called a VA rep and asked about treatment but theyre closed already (was like 5PM go figure) so all they could do was tell me to call back tomorrow during working hours...

I was reading an article about how a lot of departments don't discriminate or automatically DQ people with PTSD so this is also kind of shocking to me that these departments took this stance.. (I live in a fairly liberal place too)
I guess another reason why I'm posting this.. looking for feedback from anyone else who might have had similar situations.. idk...

 

[USMC-Grunt]

Also I forgot to add that the event in question was over 3 years ago now.. and I haven't been to Iraq in over a year and a half now..

 

[Paloma]

Hi, Grunt...glad you are here. Lots of info and resources to look at and think about. You don't sound like PTSD to me but I'm not a Dr. Sounds like normal grief. But what the hey...might as well touch base with the VA and see what their feedback is. Get someone who works in the PTSD program to check you out and write you up a clean bill of health if need be. On the other hand...please be open to the possibility you sucked up during the war and while transitioning and you may have a few unresolved issues you don't want to find out about chasing an armed perp thru backyards some night on patrol.

Thank you for your service and wanting to serve even more.:occasion:

 

[This Ends Now]

USMCGrunt,

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for serving our country. I am glad you are here and reaching out. :Hug_emoticon:

I know that it sucks that some employers discriminate against those with PTSD (if you do have it... hopefully you were misdiagnosed and its just normal grief).

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about law enforcemnt officers with PTSD. I have had some really bad personal experience with people who duped the psych evaluation and wound up flipping out in uniform.

If you are having a little trouble with processing all the horrors you saw in Iraq then I hope this forum will be helpful to you in your recovery. There are a lot of wonderful people here and theres a ton of great info.

Best Wishes,

Liz H.

 

[NarcSis]

Hey USMCGrunt,

I actually knew alot of former service men who entered my field AFTER they were discharged, two in particular on medical discharges because of exposure to certain events while on peacekeeping duty. They were kinda messed up but they were able to function - I noticed some anxiety reactions in some situations but they did their job. If you questioned them directly about their past, you'd notice the avoidance behaviours (trying to blow it off), the shifting from foot to foot, the constant eye movement, but if they got into a story, the eyes went 'far away'. As each got more comfortable with me, they admitted they had been medically discharged with ongoing psychological assistance...funny, I know they did and saw some pretty bad shit, but I was never afraid that they'd trigger or flashback at work.
I must note though, that we don't have psychological testing as part of our recuitment process, so I can't say if they would have been screened out or 'caught' in that process.

You sound like you've suffered some but you are functioning. Grief reactions to the loss of friends are completely normal, my dad would still cry when he talked about his buddies deaths in Korea and that was Decades later. He may have had PTSD (there were occassional night terrors, depressive episodes) but he was undiagnosed and FUNCTIONED enough to raise a family and become a police officer.

I'd look into a re-assessment by an independent psychologist. If you have PTSD, you are functioning, this is what we all strive for, don't stop. You ARE normal.

 

[anni]

Hi,

I was just going to post pretty much what Medic72 said.

Before my traumas I was half-way through college on the way to a career as a counselor. I'm somewhat familiar with the field, although hardly a professional. My first reaction to your story was to say please do get an outside, second opinion. If that second professional has the same conclusion it would be a signal that you might need to address the probability that you may have PTSD. Explain the first findings and your concern about their validity to the second opinion professional, though so they know what they are looking for. If you got a medical diagnosis that required surgery, a lot of docs actually recommend a second opinion. Hopefully you'll do yourself the kindness of this also. If there is a second findng of PTSD you could still go through the required treatments which would eventually allow you to possibly become what you wish.

It doesn't sound like anything more than normal grief to mourn lost friends. I hope you find that you can disprove the first findings and have a place in law enforcement!

Take care,
Anni

 

[USMC-Grunt]

Thanks for all the replies so far.. I'm definatly looking into a second opinion and I'm going to be asking the departments if I can file an appeal if the results turn out to be otherwise.

If can't I will at least bring it to the attention of the first doctor so hopefully he stops writing negative psych evaluations to all these departments I'm in the hiring process with.

If another doctor thinks I have "PTSD" I guess all I can do is try to find treatment.. but just saying "oh its PTSD" because I got emotional having to describe in detail what happened to friends in combat seems kind of asinine to me to be blunt..

 

[omolkhua]

Not much into writting, but here goes nothing.

I was in the Service (wingnut) myself during Desert Storm Desert Shield. My PTSD is not combat related. But, a friend (squid) who was with me when the barge sank has
hired on with the INS and has been diagnosed with the same condition you and I have.

I.N.S. is another door for you to look at.

Also, I have never heard of "light PTSD." Either you have it or you don't has been my understanding from the 15 shrinks I have seen. Don't get me wrong from the number of 15. I don't change them like I change socks, but I had to move to different states at different time for many other reasons (triggers) related to my "ptsd."

Also, did the VA thing; One on one with shrink, the group thing, very helpful.

Good luck.

omolkhua

 

[onebravegirl]

:hello:First off, well done for coming here and trying to get this sorted out. There are lots of people here who will offer you support. I kinda think that your Doc is just covering his back. I have never heard of Light PTSD either. I would ask him to clarify what that means. Ask for a second opinion-not from him but from an outside source. Maybe it depends on how hard your cried when you talked about your friend. As you said it was some time ago and if your reaction seemed very raw, he may just suspect PTSD but is not too sure. If there is some sort of unresolved trauma, you should try and get some professional Therapist to hear you out and diagnose what might be going on. Grief is different than PTSD. A doctor should know that. Take care of your-self!
O

 

[Mina]

Oh, good grief. Sounds like another psych who is already biased based on your military service and/or doesn't know what they're doing. It's perfectly normal for you to choke up and/or cry talking about what happened to your late friend, especially if you had to give detail. Nobody likes talking about the deaths of their friends, whether they have PTSD or not. That's normal.

Back a few years ago when I was pursuing LE as a career (pre-PTSD), I pretty much argued with the psych interview lady because she kept focusing on and turning everything back to college and high school even though I was in my late 20s, had held professional jobs including managerial experience, been through a divorce, and experienced close personal loss. It was as if all that mattered was the person I'd been nearly a decade ago, and I told her so. It was really obvious she was used to dealing with 22-year-old males fresh out of college. As soon as I got out of there, I called my background investigator and told her, "It didn't go well..." and gave her the details. (Surprisingly, I did still get hired).

I've known a number of people who got disqualified on the psych interview but would have made excellent cops. On the flip side, I know people who definitely should never have been approved to be police officers, yet got blessed without issue. One was even a pathological liar whom I very much consider to be a sociopath. Honestly, I have little respect for those doing the psych evals for law enforcement.

Sorry to hear you're getting screwed (no nice way to say that, is there). I agree about getting a neutral-party evaluation and appealing based upon the results. Keep trying...LE is a field that really needs good people.

 

[USMC-Grunt]

Yeah now I'm just trying to sort out the mess that is the VA trying to get an evaluation.. The more I think about it the more I realize this guy just wants to cover his own butt..

Also..
Isn't there some kind of scale if you actually have PTSD that measures how affected you are by it and your functioning ability as well?

I hate dwelling on this but its all I've been thinking about lately.. I analyze everything I do now comparing it to PTSD symptoms and how I acted/etc BEFORE the Marine Corps.. the only thing thats weird is my sleeping schedule is all messed up but I think thats just from the stress of all this now because before he ever brought it up I never had a problem sleeping..

argh I wish I could just afford to pay for my own doctor right now with the VA taking forever lol.

 

[NarcSis]

He stressed you out, he created a worry within you, of course your sleep schedule is messed up. People with PTSD aren't the only people who do relaxation programs before bed, insomnia due to stress is commonplace. Try doing something to calm your mind before you head to bed, lack of sleep just adds to stress symptoms.

You'll come out on top in the end of this mess.