PTSD PART 1:THE MILITARY WANTS TO USE THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESIONALS IN RURAL ALASKA WHO CAN'T EVEN PROVIDE HELP FOR THE CIVILIAN POPULATION

I find it very alarming that the military is planning to use mental health professionals in the rural areas of Alaska to treat the soldiers who have PTSD. I tried to see a psychiatrist five times when I was getting sick with PTSD in Nome. Keep in mind Norton Sound Health Corporation is the only mental health care provider in that area. At that time I was not sure what was going on and had not heard of workplace bullying. A competent doctor would have diagnosed me and told me to get the hell out of there even if he or she had not heard of workplace bullying themselves. The behaviors of the people were an indication that they were trying to harm me and anyone who was there would have know there had already been multiple people they had done this to. What I really needed was an intelligent objective opinion of the situation I was in. This should have been simple, but turned out to be impossible on many levels. Let me repeat the psychiatrist refused to see me FIVE TIMES. The other doctors REFUSED TO GIVE ME MEDICATION, even one I had been on for years which would have helped the PTSD immensely. They even tried to stop me from increasing the dose of the one medication they let me have. They started false, negative rumors to harm me in Nome(from the Behavioral Health Department) about this medication which has been around for decades and is very well known, Trazadone. It was my own knowledge, common nursing sense, experience in psychiatric nursing, and some really good decisions that helped me survive the medical bullying fueled by the ignorance, lies from the serial bullies, and prejudice in that village. If I had not gone against their advice I believe something really bad could have happened. If I had seen a real psychiatrist and gotten treatment I would have never been ARRESTED, WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED and TORTURED by the CORRUPT JUDICIAL SYSTEM in this state, because I would have never had the temporary episode of psychosis that gave them an excuse to suck me into their system of judicial injustice. They would not have affected the death of my cat, the theft of my property, or the long term continuous bullying which made my PTSD worse. Then there is the social worker mafia on the Kenai Peninsula, good God!

I would advise the military to hire contract personnel from the lower 48. I did see some good people in Anchorage this summer, but my experience there is just limited to Providence Hospital which has an inpatient unit I tried to go to from Nome and was not allowed to go. It took me about 3.5 years to finally get to this program, which is excellent. I also saw one practitioner at Community Mental Health in Anchorage who was excellent and I wish was here in Soldotna.



 The next quotes are from an interview by David Kupfer with Edward Tick an expert on PTSD who uses a spiritual approach to healing veterans with PTSD. Tick is a psychologist with a PhD in communication and rhetoric as well as an interfaith minister. I would suggest that anyone interested in the process of healing from PTSD read this article. In other posts I have discussed the process in PTSD before that changes the victim's spiritual beliefs. Healthy humans generally have some kind of spirituality that helps them cope(Religion is not a requirement, spirituality and religion not the same thing). He has an approach to heal this aspect of the disorder. This is what I believe causes radicalization of religion which causes a lot of terrorism and violence in those who have psychological trauma injuries. I also believe Dr. Nadal Hasan was radicalized from PTSD from multiple causes, even though he was never in battle he heard one story after another about what happened in the middle east to our soldiers and the innocent civilians, including war crimes, as well as some trauma personally from other areas.

One element that is making the PTSD of our soldiers worse is the conflict of conscience about harming innocent civilians, the objectives of securing the resources of other countries for the U.S., and fighting unjust wars which destroy countries. If I had been in his place they would have me locked up at one of the ghost sites where they put federal/military whistleblowers to prevent them from talking. Watching others suffering over a long period of time is a cause of PTSD. I don't care what so called experts say for news cameras.


“Veterans need a safety net when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says, “so they won’t crash and burn like so many Vietnam veterans did. People in the community should be waiting to catch them.”

Key to the healing process for veterans, he says, is for them to experience the emotions that they could not allow themselves to feel in the war zone and to address the spiritual damage that they suffered during combat.

This is why I write about my own PTSD, it allows me to feel the experiences without actually being in them. Sometimes it causes triggering and flare ups, but I know it will be healing, so I continue. I tried to get counseling in rural Alaska on multiple occasions and it was clearly impossible. Trying to get help from these people who run the community mental health centers in Homer and Soldotna is very traumatizing as well as a waste of energy. I have to do what I can to heal on my own, realizing I do have some permanent changes that can never be healed. I will never be the person I was when I came to Alaska, I consider that a theft perpetrated by sociopaths(Soul Stalkers) at the corporation I worked for, key employees at the public defender agency, the department of law, legislators and the incompetent, corrupt governor who was in place at that time. Many were made aware of the gross injustices in my case and very apparently did not care, even when they were informed as they were being carried out. Perhaps that is due to there being so many people in Alaska in the same situation or even much worse.

All the symptoms of ptsd — substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual promiscuity, child abuse, employment difficulties, intimacy problems, high divorce rates, suicide, homicide — all are epidemic in our population. If we can diagnose an entire culture with ptsd, then the U.S. has it. The illness of the culture may be related to the way we are practicing war against other countries and the planet while denying responsibility for it.

This underlying milder degree of PTSD-ness in our society also contributes to those who have a very acute exposure to trauma getting very ill and the pervasiveness of this societal PTSD-ness makes people in the U.S. think the trauma that causes it and the PTSD-ness are normal. We can't see how much harm is really done because bullying is a part of our culture. Those who end up harmed are seen as weak and they are blamed for the damage done to harm them. Those who do the harming are rewarded with high paying jobs and political positions. Part of the effects come from the way children are bullied at school, people are medically bullied, workplace bullied, and legally bullied, it is the culture that does not recognize the pathology caused by trauma that continues to allow people to be treated this way. Our culture puts many of the worst of us (sociopaths) in positions of power(politically, legally, corporately) and then lets them prey upon us, how sick is that? Employers, especially in corporations understand how to use trauma to harm adversaries, destroy competition, and get rid of particular employees, for example older nurses who cost health care corporations more money. The cost to society is high for many reasons, such as the loss of the most experienced nurses in health care.

Even though we have a justice system in this country it is not working and when people can't get justice in a society some will find their own justice. Part of finding justice for may soldiers could be prosecuting those who sent them to execute actions that were based on lies which they now feel were wrong given later revelations. Soldiers just do what they are told, they are not given rationales, and are punished if their conscience tells them to not follow orders. The lack of justice that we are seeing with regard to corporations, politicians, powerful people, and the wealthy is doing a great deal of harm to people in this country and yes, contributing to the traumatizing of many. Justice heals. Without justice a country will rot from the inside out.

Soldiers are sent into situations which can cause unintended incidents which they would have never have wanted to happen. Dysfunction leads to chaos. Those who have been tormented and have no recourse(justice) may go after their tormentors when they become seriously disturbed. In the U.S. much of the bullying that goes on has been set up by those who bully (military-industrial complex, politicians, judges, attorney generals, and corporations) to be non-prosecutorial, not having any recourse and having to not disclose any information about “incidents“ such as in the military make people sick. PTSD is not a mental illness, but can certainly lead to mental illness when multiple traumas occur over a long period of time, it is the result of psychological trauma and it is not the victim's fault they are ill. Sending soldiers who have PTSD already back into combat has very predictable consequences and the military is very aware of this.

Have you noticed it took the military a long time to "understand" PTSD. Many people have been screaming about the treatment of veterans with it for decades. The soldiers who were affected in WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, previous middle east invasions, and other military actions were basically expected to just deal with whatever harm was done to them. Even though they are known to be ill with PTSD they get minimal treatment and are sent back to combat. They later commit an illegal or violent act in a state of dissociation or temporary psychosis, then they are prosecuted not allowed to use PTSD as a defense(murder or murder/suicide can be one of the consequences of complex PTSD, especially in those trained to kill and see guns as a solution to problems), and the horrible things they witnessed or were ordered to do were denied by the military. The military has a history of minimizing, denying, and lying about harm done to soldiers and the people in the lands they fight in.

Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome (organophosphates, depleted uranium, biological weapons, smoke from burning oil wells), PTSD, and other health problems were turned into a joke and used against the soldiers whose health was often affected to the point of death. Gulf War Syndrome even affected some of their families, including offspring. They were already ill and had to go through years and years of misinformation, being seen as malingerers(stigmatizing again of those ill due to service to this country), and fighting to get any help. Most people know Agent Orange from the Vietnam era caused multiple health problems and they were treated the same way. The military likes to call those who have PTSD and commit suicide cowards, this is a myth. Compare them to those at the Pentagon who encouraged the military staff to promote negative thinking about those who have PTSD, like the military encouraged for centuries. Some of the people with negative attitudes about PTSD are actually mental health professionals who know very little about it, but think they are experts. Early interventions can help prevent PTSD or keep it from evolving into a more severe form. Stigmatizing and denial of help for those affected will only compound the situation. Minimizing future trauma is also very important. There is also an effect on the morale of those who have to deal with the problems of their fellow soldiers who have been traumatized when they see them viewed in a negative light. When they have symptoms themselves they do not seek help.

LIES, INCONSISTENCIES, AND CONTRADICTIONS, WE CALL IT NEWS

Whew, I’m dizzy. Sometimes the room starts to spin when I read or watch the news, it’s from the spin they put on everything.


From NPR:

Starting in the spring of 2008, key officials from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences held a series of meetings and conversations, in part about Maj. Nidal Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others last week during a shooting spree at Fort Hood. One of the questions they pondered: Was Hasan psychotic?

I really find it hard to believe they would have allowed a psychotic man to continue to practice medicine. They make these meetings sound as if they were specially called. They were the usual and regular evaluations that are done on all doctors in the program he was in.

This really got to me: His supervisors at Walter Reed had even reprimanded him for telling at least one patient that "Islam can save your soul." I think I may have heard something similar to that somewhere, let me think, Oh yes, Jesus can save your soul. Of course it should be inappropriate for either of those two statements to be used in the workplace, but we all know the military is full of dominionist evangelical right wing radicals who say that crap all the time. Are they reprimanded? Does that mean they are unstable too or possibly psychotic? I once had a doctor who by the way was psychotic tell a Jewish woman who was dying to get herself right with Jesus. It did not go over well as you can imagine. Fortunately I was close and heard it. I promptly said, “Why would you say that to a Jewish woman, you idiot”. He was immediately fired from her case. We wrote him up until there was a clear picture he needed help and he left to get it.

Their story about wondering if he was psychotic and not doing anything is a load of crap. There is no way a psychotic person could have held up to perform at all in the program he was in. This information that they thought he was psychotic is really insane in light of the fact they had decided to deploy him. This could be an indication that his commanding officer was psychotic also.   How would that conversation have gone? I think he’s psychotic, but once the trauma sets in on the battlefield and the soldiers start having psychotic symptoms from the PTSD he’ll fit in with them, it should work out, no one will probably notice. Oh, I believe he was deteriorating slowly over a long period of time and may have become psychotic at the end, but I smell a cover up and planted informants. This is Walter Reed Army Medical Center for heavens sake, come on. The only other explanation for deploying a doctor that they thought was psychotic would be they wanted to completely shatter the man. If that was the plan, it worked.

The media is really starting to get on my nerves. Their illogical uneducated assumptions to try and sensationalize are unbelievable. On MSNBC’s website today they had an article with this paragraph which comes from the above NPR piece.

The sources told NPR that both fellow students and faculty were deeply troubled by Hasan's behavior, which they variously described as disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent and "schizoid."

I doubt this reporter or the person supplying this so called information knows what schizoid even means. He just thought it sounded like a really crazy person. I am assuming they are referring to schizoid personality disorder and they are not evil people as the writer of this article seems to be saying. I once had a schizoid patient who found out he would be confined in a psychiatric hospital the rest of his life walk into a lake and dround himself because he couldn't stand all the people. This informant sounds like someone with little experience and I would find it hard to believe it is a psychiatrist. If the information we have so far that has been verified by more than one source about Hasan is true there is no way he has schizoid personality disorder. We all have characteristics of personality disorders. I have a lot of traits of obsessive compulsive personality disorder which is often found in very highly successful people, but I don’t have enough characteristics for a complete diagnosis of obsessive compulsive PD. The paranoid factor was probably hypervigilence from PTSD which is simply a normal protective mechanism which is very primitive. Those who do not understand it may interpret it as paranoia.


Schizoid Personality Disorder

Know that people with schizoid personality disorder show little or no desire for social involvement. They are sometimes referred to as "loners" and have few, if any, friends. The detachment from social relationships and activities begins in early adulthood.

There are many diagnoses who are considered loners and have few friends. There has recently been some research that shows it is actually a normal variant in the population to be a loner. Schizoid Personality Disorder is one of the options I thought of as I heard trickles of information about Dr. Hasan. I rejected it almost immediately for several reasons. I originally thought I had Schizoid Personality Disorder when I was young. I asked several psychiatrists and psychologists about it because it did not really fit, but I had characteristics of it. They all thought it was funny that I thought I had it because 1) a Schizoid would never think there was anything abnormal about themselves and 2) would not be working in a psychiatric hospital like I was. Dr. Hasan was looking for a wife, most schizoids don‘t marry or have a desire to have sex(with other people), nor would they be working intensely with people. The desire to have a wife and not being able to figure out how to get one is indicative of poor social skills, but not probably not Schizoid PD.

We do not know if Dr. Hasan knew he was having issues or if he knew why. We did know he desperately tried to get out of the military. He went to medical school and then he picked the most social specialty. A schizoid MD would pick pathology, radiology, or surgery so they would not have as much social interaction. But, I really think it would be rare indeed that one of them would want to go to medical school to begin with. Schizoids tend to pick a niche where they can do their own thing, alone, no other people, by themselves, if you get my point.

Realize that people with schizoid personality disorder often function well in their daily lives and can even work well in a job setting. Individuals with this personality disorder often excel in jobs where they are left alone to complete a task.

Recognize that people with schizoid personality disorder do not have a desire to form meaningful relationships with others. There is a lack of interest or desire for sexual intimacy with others.

Dr. Hasan was looking for a wife, although he did not seem to have relationships with others. Having a close relationship with only first degree relatives could be a sign of schizoid personality disorder. He had a close relationship with his parents and seemed to deteriorate when they died, but that happens to a lot of people. He also seemed to have relationships with non-first degree relatives in at least an email or phone way and even visited some in the middle east.The Telegraph has a post up that Dr. Hasan was witnessed a few times at a pole dancing club, that doesn't sound very schizoid to me(if it is true).  Being isolated can also be a symptom of PTSD due to not trusting people.

Understand that the people with this disorder may seem cold or aloof as evidenced by their lack of genuine feelings for others and their indifference to criticism or praise. People with the disorder often form attachments with pets and avoid meaningful human interactions.

A schizoid would probably not be calling their relatives and expressing anguish over the horrible things he was seeing or hearing. Patients have come forward and said he helped them a lot. At least one member of the staff called him an asset. He would also not be very upset about a poor job evaluation or the harassment about his religion. The concern about a conflict with middle eastern individuals in combat in the middle east also does not indicate Schizoid PD.

NPR and MSM are your sources simply made up or are you talking to some technician, social worker, or a new grad nurse? I would find it very difficult to believe this would come from a psychiatrist, as it makes no sense at all. There is a reason why it takes a long time to become a psychiatrist. Psychiatry can be quite complicated.

There is a diagnosis that seems to fit here, but I do not have enough evidence yet to clearly propose that one as the probable issue because Dr. Hasan's situation is very complex. Much information is needed. I am reluctant to mention it because of all the misinformation flowing through the news media. I don’t want people thinking they are violent because they are not. This diagnosis I am thinking of is not a mental illness. There are lots of psychologists who have it, some psychiatrists, actually lots of doctors and other health professionals. They also make good professors, engineers, and scientists. They are often bullied starting in childhood and it often continues into adulthood causing PTSD. They have problems with social interactions and missing nonverbal clues from people. They have a high suicide rate especially with the bullying. A high percentage of them are very intelligent. They like to do research like Dr. Hasan did and talk incessantly about their favorite obsession or obsessions which irritates some people. They have routines which can be ritualistic and often eat the same foods everyday. Dr. Hasan went to the same place everyday and had hash browns for breakfast. They would freak out because of these routines if they were pulled out of their living situation. Dr. Hasan had recently been moved and then was about to be deployed. Certain people feel threatened by someone with this disorder because the person would be blunt, factual, and possibly argumentative, this makes them feel stupid, but it is not what was intended. It would be difficult to win an argument with him because he would always have more information than anyone else. He would be interpreted as arrogant by some because of this, but that is not his intention. They are physically awkward and uncoordinated. These people have the same feelings as others, but can have a difficult time expressing them. They are usually very mild mannered, but can have issues with anger due to frustrations with miscommunications and bullying. Rather than not be affected by criticism like Schizoid PD they get very upset about criticism. They spend a great deal of time on the internet because they do better communicating that way, less non-verbal clues and they love to constantly do research. They have a very strong sense of justice and may be described as not being a team player. They can have relationships and successful marriages. They usually have a witty or odd sense of humor. The medical community thinks this disorder is rare, but it is widespread, just rarely diagnosed. It used to be misdiagnosed frequently as Schizoid Personality Disorder. It is misdiagnosed as a multitude of things now, especially if PTSD is in the mix.

...Walter Reed and most medical institutions have a cumbersome and lengthy process for expelling doctors, involving hearings and potential legal battles. As a result, sources say, key decision-makers decided it would be too difficult, if not unfeasible, to put Hasan on probation and possibly expel him from the program.

I'm sorry, but this is BS. Many doctors are removed from institutions, yes there might be paperwork and hearings, but the army thinking it is just too much trouble is total BS. If they had evidence of incompetence or other issues it would have not been that difficult.  The man had been trying for a long period of time to get them to release him, he offered to pay them back for his education if only they would let him leave. He hired an attorney to fight for his release and they just would not allow it. Why? Why? Why did you not let him leave. If he had the gay you would have bounced his ass out in a second.


I think the real story here is Army psychiatrists who should be the world experts on PTSD failed to recognize a case of most likely complex PTSD and get one of their own the help he needed. The result was disasterous. This would explain a lot about the lack of treatment for veterans with PTSD. No wonder they want it covered up. Notice all of these people who they get information from are unnamed sources.

THE MILITARY WILL PUT A FALSE SPIN ON THE FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS

FORT HOOD, Texas -- A military mental health doctor facing deployment overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army base on Thursday, setting off on a rampage that killed 11 other people and left 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman. The violence was believed to be the worst mass shooting in history at a U.S. military base.

We now know they lied about his death, he is actually alive at this point. Why would they lie about it? Maybe it was wishful thinking? Does he have a story to tell? I have been waiting for something like this to happen and I am sure I am not the only one.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was probably a man who was holding on by a thread and this deployment was the last straw. Who takes care of the caretakers?  Most doctors and nurses don’t harm others when they loose it. They commit suicide, drink, or take drugs. There is a high rate of suicide and addiction among certain specialties of doctors and nurses. It is a well kept secret. These people are often the most caring and skilled in their fields. I worked at Madigan Army Hospital on Fort Lewis in Washington state during the Gulf War(not in the military). Doctors and nurses are expected to stuff their feelings in the military.


President Obama made this statement:

"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6511335/Fort-Hood-shooting-12-killed-as-US-soldier-goes-on-rampage-at-Texas-army-base.html

This statement just seems very uninformed to me and my reaction is I am surprised it has not happened more often. Yes, president Obama it is horrifying, but very predictable. There is only so much people can take before they break and do something desperate. Common knowledge on military bases right now is violence has been escalating. PTSD is also caused by the workplace bullying tactics that go on in the military. It is horrible that soldiers are killed on an army base, but I believe the real cause is PTSD and the military putting a band-aid on victims of PTSD and sending them back to war. PTSD is a group of disabling symptoms such as inability to concentrate, extreme vigilance, and exaggerated fearfulness.

What do they expect? People's lives are ruined due to a war that was a lie and those who engineered the lies and torture of prisoners will never face justice in this country. If I was in the military they would have probably put me in Leavenworth. If I was assigned as a guard in one of their torture prisons I would have quoted the Genena Convention to them and refused to harm people based on morality. Who knows what they would have done. I almost joined the Army, but my father told me my commanding officer would shoot me when no one was looking. I did not understand what he meant then, now I do. I do not just blindly follow nor do I do something I think is wrong and I will not be quiet about something I think is wrong. One of the problems in not just our military, but in our government is the fear people have of coming forward as whistleblowers due to retaliation. The system of checks and balances is broken.

This was in the AP's piece earlier, I notice it is removed now:

Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point.(His parents were from Palestine). Now it is being reported he has been Muslim for probably most of his life.

What difference does his religion matter or his name or if he changed it at some point?  Muslims do not go around killing people. Those who do are doing it because they are members of some crazy fringe group, just like the crazy Christian groups who are organizing militia in this country. This looks like a classic case of PTSD with murder and suicide by soldier(it is usually by cop) aka suicide by proxy. We were originally told he was dead, but now they say he is in stable condition. He of course knew he would be shot and would have expected to be killed.

From CNN:

"MPAC and the Muslim American community unequivocally condemn this heinous incident," said a statement from the Los Angeles, California, based group. "Our entire organization extends its heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed as well as to those wounded and their loved ones." 

 By mentioning that they don't know the gunman's religion they are insinuating this could be a terrorist attack. This will most likely end up being PTSD, military bullying, knowing about horrific incidents and anger about fighting in an unjust war . I doubt they will ever admit to that and a cover up story may be invented. They have told base personnel not to speak to the media. My guess is they are doing damage control to stop negative information from getting out. My hope is soldiers and other health care professionals come forward.

From MSNBC:
Federal law enforcement officials also say Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.The officials say the postings appeared to have been made by Hasan. The officials say they are still trying to confirm that he was the author. They say an official investigation was not opened. 
 

He supposedly discussed suicide bombings and wrote how he felt about them. This could be completely untrue. It would not be strange for a psychiatrist to be interested in the psychology of a person who would voluntarily die. Does anyone believe if he looked like a threat he would have been working as a psychiatrist for the army, let alone be deployed? The government is going to spin this so the public does not know how they really treat soldiers with PTSD. Many of us have written negatively about our government because we want changes and truth. That does not mean we are terrorists. It means we want  our country back. He supposedly wrote that suicide bombers are like a soldier jumping on a grenade to protect his fellow soldiers. I can see that in the minds of the suicide bombers they feel they are sacrificing themselves for others. When I think of those in other countries fighting against our invasion I think about what would happen if another country invaded the US. We would organize and start kicking their butts. Would we make bombs and blow them up? Hell yes. Why can't they understand people in other countries would do this?

We know PTSD gets worse and worse when the trauma is inflicted over a long period of time and it is the worst when there is an element of injustice involved, I can attest to that. How awful it would feel to be a pawn in a war. Take how you feel about a false war being waged in the name of America and magnify it 1000 times. It destroys soldiers to know their actions have harmed innocent civilians. Most of them are young, , naive and idealistic. When they realize the truth they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. I would imagine those of middle eastern descent would be even more affected.

The disorder can have lifetime impact, according to the National Center for PTSD: "The traumatic event remains, sometimes for decades or a lifetime, a dominating psychological experience that retains its power to evoke panic, terror, dread, grief or despair."

PTSD is a psychological trauma which when repeated over and over ends in violence, no matter the cause. Remember those who have been psychologically tortured are much harder to treat than those who are physically tortured. If it is from workplace bullying, violence, psychological abuse or war without proper intervention the end is the same. There will be violence either against themselves(suicide) or others (murder) or both. PTSD is epidemic in this country because we have a culture of bullying. Those with power are allowed to harm and use those who have no power(money=power). That causes damage. When you take away hope and joy from a person all that is left is anger and pain.

Psychiatrists have one of the highest suicides rates because they are reluctant to seek help when they have problems. They have to deal with huge amounts of pain day in and day out. They hear about horrible things. Imagine what a psychiatrist at an army base in a center designed to just tune up soldiers and send them back to war has to deal with. The anger of knowing these lives were all destroyed because of a ridiculous agenda and so someone could make millions of dollars compounds the problem. He probably got told to send really sick soldiers back into combat. He must have heard some horrifying stories about civilians being killed or tortured. I have a feeling the government will try to spin him into a monster. I will never believe it is true. He is most likely a tortured man who had a breakdown. Ask yourself this, why would a man who spent his life helping others deal with pain suddenly kill and injure a large number of people?

We still have not helped the vets from WWII, what would make anyone think they would be helping the PTSD afflicted vets now. My father has PTSD from WWII and still screams in his sleep. He fought the VA for his benefits until he finally got them in his 80s. They promised full medical coverage for the men who fought in WWII. It was a lie. The soldiers now are sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, come back damaged, are given some pills, told to buck it up, and sent back again. It is never the decision makers who have to pay the price for war.

I would imagine that there are many mental health professionals engaged in a battle with the powers that be in the military about the harm being done and are probably being threatened. They could be court marshalled or simply discharged. The beginning of that is poor evaluations and counseling which I know about having known people discharged from the military. It is a form of workplace bullying which is also used in nursing. We know the Christian dominionists are in the military and Christianity is pushed in the military. He was probably not treated very well.

The other thing that happens at a high rate with PTSD is chemical dependency. It is very difficult to sleep and the memories are hard to stop at night. Many self -medicate with drugs and alcohol. The cost of war is paid for in many different ways. The war in Afghanistan has put really cheap Heroin into the world market. The soldiers are buying it for about a dollar a day in the middle east. It also can be very difficult to hold down a job with untreated PTSD which is how so many vets end up homeless. PTSD is not something that can just be shook off, it causes permanent brain changes.

Mental health counseling can be very hard to come by. Many people with PTSD are just blown off or misdiagnosed. Medications do not work directly on PTSD, they help the depression and anxiety which comes with it, but counseling is the only treatment which has lasting results. The problem is for severe cases it takes years of counseling and costs a lot of money. The government does not want to pay for it nor take a soldier out of combat. We know at least one internal email was found telling staff at the VA to stop diagnosing PTSD.


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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/05/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html

http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/1/8

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