Medicated Into Oblivion
Friday, March 5th, 2010 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 3 Comments »This week's Army Times paper had a story titled "Medicating the Military" by Brendan McGarry. It was kind of a sobering piece about the toll eight years of war has taken on our troops. One of the graphics ...
Suicide Prevention Conference
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | No Comments »Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki delivering remarks at the 2010 DoD VA Suicide Prevention Conference in Washington, DC. All way up and down the chain, leadership continues to try and counter the effects of suicide and prevent it to ...
Dealing and Coping (Part II)
Saturday, December 26th, 2009 Posted in Military Perspective, PTSD Perspectives | 5 Comments »The key to dealing and coping with PTSD is to confront. Too often, we tend to shut ourselves down and refuse to talk about what eats at us inside. Even with my counselor, it took a few weeks ...
Coping With The Stigma
Friday, December 25th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 15 Comments »My recent battles with local school officials have highlighted the ignorance of American Society with respect to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When other families and I got upset about an untimely policy decision and an out of control ...
Absence of Presence and Intimacy
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 4 Comments »You may or may not know that I am serving an internship in a legal setting. I have been struggling with the opening up and closing down myself along with keeping this separate from my interviews with clients, psychosocial reports ...
Pick Up The Phone
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 1 Comment »One of the few things related to music that Emily and I agree on is that Blue October ROCKS!!! We absolutely love the band. So much so, that the kids hate listening to it because we're ALWAYS playing ...
Sons’ Deaths Inspires Soldier to Help Others
Thursday, October 1st, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 1 Comment »Major General Mark Graham is a man that knows sorrow, feelings of hopelessness, and tragedy. After losing two sons, he battled instincts to give up and live a life of grief and regret. MG Graham visited Redstone Arsenal ...
Blue October Tour For Suicide Prevention
Friday, September 25th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | No Comments »Blue October is one of my favorite bands. Their music frequently deals with suicide, depression, and lost love. Found this on the Pollstar Blog by Jim Otey: Texas-rockers Blue October and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist B.o.B are teaming up for ...
Cleaning Out My Closet
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 15 Comments »CAUTION: THIS POST CONTAINS WRITINGS THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. IT CONTAINS A DEPICTION OF AN ACTUAL COMBAT INCIDENT AND IS MORE DESCRIPTIVE THAN MY LAST POST. After the episode described in "The Power of Seeking Help" I ...
The Power of Seeking Help
Friday, September 18th, 2009 Posted in Military Perspective, PTSD Perspectives | 35 Comments »CAUTION: THIS POST CONTAINS WRITINGS THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. IT CONTAINS A DEPICTION OF AN ACTUAL COMBAT INCIDENT. This past week was one of the worst weeks I've experienced probably since I left Iraq.
Local Media Covers PTSD and Suicide Prevention
Friday, September 11th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives, Video Perspective | 1 Comment »I was interviewed after a briefing with Major General Mark Graham about PTSD, depression, and suicide prevention. I'll have video up of his inspirational speech later, but for now, here's the story the local media ran. If you can't see ...
DoD Establishes Suicide Prevention Task Force
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | No Comments »The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs announced today the names of 14 members who will serve on the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces. ...
More Army Training
Monday, August 17th, 2009 Posted in Military Perspective, PTSD Perspectives | 13 Comments »PTSD is a fact of life for all humans. It's even more of an issue with Soldiers. And it's even more of an issue when those Soldiers go to combat. However, PTSD is not a given. ...
Suicide Solution Is No Solution
Thursday, August 13th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 14 Comments »I have been going round and round with myself all day since reading this: Life and the internet are strange strange things. I’ve been trading emails and posts etc with Chris for years now. It wasn’t at all uncommon for his ...
Hey, By the Way I Ran into the Dope Man Today
Friday, August 7th, 2009 Posted in PTSD Perspectives | 6 Comments »Yesterday I was running some errands to get ready to spend the weekend with my girlfriend. After I had picked up a prescription from Wal-Mart I was sitting in my car when a guy walks up to me pointing like ...
