There are those who only hear of it.
There
are those who see the aftermath via electronic device, or print media.
There
are those who may find themselves geographically close to the event.
There
are those whose job it is to report on the event.
There are those whose job it is to pick up the
pieces.
There
are those who are actually “in” the event.
And,
there are those who experience trauma more than once, and sometimes in rapid succession for some
duration of time.
The wonderful folks who send us off
to war have never had much of a stomach when it comes to cleaning up with the
aftermath of war. Cleaning up the mess is a little too ugly for the Lords of
War. So, they not only try to sweep the mess under the carpet, but they also
start to give the mess clinical, fluffy
names in hope we won’t really have to deal with the treatments, and those
afflicted will walk off into the sunset with a big bottle of pills in their
hand. There is currently one big problem with that line of logic. The number of
war ravaged of PTSD sufferers has swollen to an almost unmanageable size.
It would be fair to place myself
somewhere between Layman and Expert on this subject, and I will try to stick to
these seven categories. I am certain there are more levels, and sub-levels,
that one could list. It is within categories #5, #6, and #7 ,above, that the
vast majority of PTSD sufferers lie, and they are the ones who need the most
urgent and intensive care.
The lines of clinical demarcation are
beginning to blur, when it comes to an apt description of “PTSD”. There are
factions forming inside, and outside, the Psychological and Psychiatric sectors
of the Veterans Administration, each with their own moniker and justification;
such as, “Munchausen’s Syndrome” (fantasy) (hypochondria to elicit sympathy),
“False Memory Syndrome”, “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder”, “Stolen Valor”, “Post-traumatic
Stress Syndrome”, “Post-traumatic Growth”. And, now; “Moral Injury”.
The word syndrome is explicitly a pattern, or set of repeating
symptoms, and carries with it a demeaning and insulting connotation. I have never seen growth occur from any traumatic
experience(s). I don’t think people “grow” from killing other people; from
seeing dead bodies strewn at their feet; from the smell of burning flesh ; the
smell of gun powder. I have recently run across yet another terminology for
this mental disorder: moral injury.
This categorization shows how far the Rulers of the Mental Health Community are
willing to go in their unspoken desire of getting rid of the damn problem.
I have also come to realize that
finding a “cure” for PTSD can be as elusive as a
greased pig at the County Fair. The front line caregivers all too often have a
recognizable visage of pure frustration when certain treatments just don’t seem
to work. I know, first hand, that these first responder Clinicians feel that
they have failed. In the long run, how can you expect anyone to succeed when
facing the stiff headwinds of a Country bent on pushing this ailment into
oblivion?
The Lords of War have forgotten that
the very group they are trying to silence is willing to go back to War on this
subject. The Veteran Community can muster its collective strength, stand up,
and say, “enough is enough”. Go
no farther the PTSD.
