Comments on: On Recovering Without PTSD

Kimberly Dozier Was Almost Killed By A Car Bomb In Iraq; Now She Tells How She Went Past Mere Survival

[sundog71]

Many vets turn to alcohol and drugs to self medicate. Some dive into it knowingly and others it just sneaks up on them. Its a way to make the chattering in your brain stop. Its a way to stop the ringing in your ears, to get your muscles to unclench. Its a way to pretend for a moment that you are the person you were before the world was split open and reality oozed out.

You are so changed that its difficult to talk to people who dont have PTSD, because they cannot cross that experiential chasm. They lack the capacity to comprehend, like a virgin does not comprehend coitus even if they know all the technicalities from a book.

[sundog71]

Over the years talking with other vets and survivors of violent crimes, who also have PTSD, is the way that some of these people have been kept in ignorance of the condition and its elements.

Triggers: These are things, places, times, people, sounds, smells, colors {you name it} that affects you profoundly, "triggering" the trauma, refreshing the experience and often creating intrusive thoughts, mood swings, adrenaline rushes, or even flashbacks.

Flashback: in my experience is a memory that is so powerful, that it completely fools you waking mind that you are reliving the moment that is your trauma.

Anniversary: Calendar dates that correspond with greater or lesser traumas, and when they come around, the person can find themselves inexplicably irratible, participating in risky or violent behavior, or more pronne to flashbacks.

[excoachken]

After watching he statement on CBS this morning, I had two very distinct feelings at battle. First, I was so happy for her recovery from the damage that took the lives of the other members of her crew. She has had a remarkable recovery. But, my second thought was, how dare she minimize the range of suffering of this ailment. It is like people throwing around the term "chocoholic" when they have never expeienced the impact of alcoholism in their own life. She made it sound like there is a magical, "one size fits all" treatment. As a result, her stature as an objective reporter went down the drain!

[riverrat6568]

Bless you Kimberly you don''t have PTSD. You have treated some of us Viet Vets as badly or worse then when I returned home. I support our troops 100% but their war is different. They get to e-mail their loved ones whenever they want. In my 2 combat tours I don''t think more then 10 letters caught up with me as we bounced around that country. I got home in 1968 we not only couldn''t talk about it but most of us denied we were even there. By the time the war ended 10 sleepless yrs. had gone by for me, it would be another 10 before I could even talked about. Did you ever smell someone''s flesh burning, did you hold your partners intestines in only to have him die in your arms and deep inside your glad it was him not you. I''m not bitter nor do I need anyones pity. I''m blind in one eye,this year I went thru chemo(agent orange) but other then my VA medical treatment I have never asked for a dime in benefits. I was however diagnosed with chronic PTSD not stable enough for group therapy. So I''m glad your so much stronger then some of us viet vets. You''ve set us back years for something we had to fight so hard for. Now they can tell us get off the pity pot, just get over it. I feel for our troops more now that I know people like you are out there. We''re pushing them too hard, too many tours. But like alot of us they will probably be able to bluff their way through for many years. So thankyou Kimberly I haven''t been spit on since 1968 and I almost forgot what it felt like. Dennis

[Malcolmus]

I''m Sure Ms. Dozier is aware that there are different degrees/types of PTSD, as well as different causes? At least, I hope she is. Obviously, not all people are the same; I''ve had PTSD for 30 years and it wasn''t caused by warfare - you could say I have a grief-based form, 3 sudden, traumatic family deaths in 19 months starting when I was 10 years young. PTSD wasn''t spoken of much back then; not much was known. I was ''lucky'', I agreed with my Mother''s suggestion to see a therapist - when I was 13. The rest of the family didn''t fare as well. It was another 20 years until a therapist and myself figured it out. But undoing 20 years of compensation and survival methods has been hard work - and I will never be the same 10 year old again. Yes, I''ve survived, and no, I''m not a victim. With medication, I finally saw a day without anxiety that I lived with and thought of as ''normal'' for nearly 30 years. I still research as a way of staying positive and understanding the latest of what is known about it. I understand that I''m lucky when compared to those with more severe cases, and I truly feel for them. I think it a bit naive'' to suggest a ''get-tough'' attitude. I''m happy for Ms. Dozier, this is a real world and being able to see through the trauma, pain, anxiety, and the whys takes time and help. Perhaps CBS could do an hour long special about PTSD?

[cr0511]

First, to those of you who have served our country, and are serving now, THANK YOU.

Miss Dozier - While I respect your right to express your opinions, I don''t agree with what you''ve said here. I don''t particularly consider that I''m any more or less qualified to comment on this issue than other service members here, but I felt that I had to say something regarding your comments on PTSD. I lived through an accident that killed 7 people in 1987, and a fire in 1988 that killed 2 others. It was only from 2001 to now that I''ve been able to start dealing with it. Talking, journaling, and a lot of prayer have helped, but it still bothers me deeply at times. To give the impression, as you have, that you can "cure yourself" by just deciding to "talk a lot and get over it", is a fallacy. Yes, talking to those who can help may bring a certain level of closure, but the "haunting" never goes away; I know from personal experience. And please don''t think I''m saying that because I feel sorry for myself. I don''t. I''ve been on both sides of this issue.

If you could talk about what you went through, well, I''m glad; many people, not just servicemen & women, never find a way to communicate the issues they have. After our accidents, we all had multiple opportunities to talk to a chaplain, and through the chaplain corp. on board, to seek further help if we wanted it. To my knowledge, no member of our workcenter did.

I wish you a full recovery.

thx - CR1011

[rose522]

After reading all the comments I stand by my original thoughts on PTSD. Mt brother is dying from the side effects of war injuries in Viet Nam. He was a 19 year old boy who served his country well. But rarely sleeps through the night, has night terrors and this is 35 years after Nam. Kim you did not serve for 3 years in a war zone you survived a car accident, a horrible one but did not see your entire platoon die. And you will be able to go on with your life but watch for the twitching fingers and tremors that set off horrid memories. My brother nearly strangled me once thinking I was sneaking up him, instead I only woke him to tell him dinner was ready. You say talk... he has... you say write... he has... but the pain and memories stay forever, in less obvious ways but there still haunting him and all who love him.

[bb19631]

You can talk all you want, PTSD is real. My husband has it and won''t go get help from the military. 2 yrs. later he has improved very little since coming home from Iraq. The anger, the flashbacks,the facial expressions, we have to keep things calm at the house, for his sake. He is infantry, on the front lines and the things they have to do- most of us would not do. Keep your heroic *** to yourself. By the way - you shouldn''t have been over there. If those guys weren''t guarding you , they probably wouldn''t have died that day. You and your reporter friends are distractions to our guys over there. Stay home.

[ca29]

As a mother of a son who returned from Iraq three years ago, I can tell you for both the veteran and the family it is a long and hard road of hell. The first 9 months was ''stay tough and deny the effects'' until he spun out of control creating chaos for all of us. Two of his buddies committed suicide and most of his unit now struggles with drugs and/or alcohol addiction. Slowly my son is finding his way out of the darkness of the pain and agony but the effects of this war have profoundly changed him and us for the rest of our lives. He left patriotic, having every generation of his family serving in every war since WWI, but what he saw has turned him into a rapid antiwar advocate. My heart goes out to the families of multiple tours and I pray for every soldier and every family facing the effects. By minimizing or saying it''s all in the attitude, it is a profound disservice to every soldier. My prayers for everyone in this senseless war.

[mikeabc2]

Miss or Mrs Dozier. To understand PTSD. Did two moths prior to your wounds have to pull the mangled remains of your best friend from a burning track. One month prior did you see your Plt Leader have the back of his head blown off from a sniper. Just recently did you suddenly come across an enemy soldier and you, with a split second to spare, manage to kill him before he killed you.