On Recovering Without PTSD

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

(CBS)  What does it take to recover from a traumatic war injury? CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier knows the answer firsthand. In fact, she's now written a book about it.

---

About two years ago, I died on the operating table - technically, a few times.

My camera crew, Paul Douglas and James Brolan, and a young army captain we were following, lost their lives, as did an Iraqi translator, killed by a massive car bomb.

One of the hardest parts of healing, I've since learned, wasn't learning to walk or run again - it's been catching everyone else up with the journey from victim, to survivor.

I can't really blame them.

These pictures of me create a lasting impression, so loved ones and coworkers have had a hard time knowing when to stop coddling me. If you've ever had a trauma victim in your family, you know what I mean.

Doctors have found the key to recovery is attitude, from the moment you open your eyes in that hospital bed.

A Navy Seal put it best, in a note he posted on his Bethesda Naval hospital door. It read: "I'll have a full recovery - that's the utmost physically my body has the ability to heal. Then I will push about 20 percent further, through sheer mental tenacity. If you're not prepared for that, go elsewhere."

In other words, leave your pity at the door.

I think the other assumption some people have about trauma patients, and combat troops, is that we're scarred for life in our heads and hearts. Even some friends assume I'm plagued by nightmares and flashbacks, all the symptoms of the dreaded post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Newsflash: You can go through hell and end up with some of those symptoms, yes, but you can get rid of them. It's not a life sentence.

Dispelling the flashbacks for good can be as simple as talking about them, saying out loud, "Yeah, that shooting/bombing/car crash gave me some nightmares. I keep remembering it, feeling the blast like it's happening now."

When people who are haunted by these things DON'T talk about them, that's when the problems start.

How did I avoid getting PTSD? I talked my head off, and then I wrote everything I could remember.

Whatever works.

Even if you went through hell, trust me, you can leave it behind. I'm living proof.


For information on Kimberly Dozier's "Breathing the Fire," visit the Web site of Kimberly Dozier.

[aweathers01]

This was a completely irresposnisble piece. You are a contributing factor to why REAL soliders do not seek much needed help because they seee women like you talking about how you don''t need help. EVERYONE handles PTSD differently; by the way, your diatride is a sign of PTSD, you''re just too much in denial to notice. Get help and get smart about responsible journalism.

[cyclops.eyesonly]

I think you hit the nail on the head! I am a survivor of child abuse and only after many tears of hiding it realized (through therapy) that talking about it is the only way to make it manageable. I believe that it was a great commentary!

[gstory2]

It''s only natural for people to feel the way they do...especially when women or anyone are injured. So Dozier is "hard as nails." I never pitied her. She did not have to be there..

[CarlC451]

Thank you for a "Mainstream Media" piece on the war in Iraq that does not make you, and everyone around, "victims".

The only read difference between "Winners" and "Losers", is that "Winners" never stop! They don''t whine, they don''t complain, they just pick themselves up (sometimes with help) and get on with their life!

Bless you for your attitude and your story. God Bless.

[CarlC451]

Thank you for a "Mainstream Media" piece on the war in Iraq that does not make you, and everyone around, "victims".

The only read difference between "Winners" and "Losers", is that "Winners" never stop! They don''t whine, they don''t complain, they just pick themselves up (sometimes with help) and get on with their life!

Bless you for your attitude and your story. God Bless.

A very nice story, just like a fairy tale, but I think you are living in THAT fairy tale. I have been living with PTSD since 1972 and no matter what kind of therapy, no matter how many people you talk, both professional and non professional, PTSD never ever goes away. Yes, you learn to live with it, some better than others, but it never goes away. I can bring hundreds if not thousands of people who suffer from it, and they too, will tell you the same.
I hope you haven''t hurt people that are suffering from PTSD, by them thinking they can beat this. You never beat it, you learn to live with it. Big difference from what you are trying to say.

[cyclops.eyesonly]

I think you hit the nail on the head! I am a survivor of child abuse and only after many tears of hiding it realized (through therapy) that talking about it is the only way to make it manageable. I believe that it was a great commentary!

[cirrus99-2009]

I am in total agreement with aweathers01. This glib brush-off and elitist "mind-over-matter" attitude stigmatizes a debilitating illness. You only need to look into the eyes of any soldier returning from war to witness the heartbreaking reality of PTSD. Kimberly Dozier needs to take a hard look not only inside herself but at her career. Reporting on our troops should be honest and sincere not, as in this case, "I''m so much better than you."

[ranger1948]

carlc451
GET OFF THE REPEAT BUTTON WE HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME.

[ranger1948]

SCOTTSHAD
i AGREE, YOU NEV ER GET OVER IT. i WASN''T EVEN OFFERED COUNSELING UNTIL 6 YEARS AFTER I CAME BACK, BY THEN I HAD MADE AS MUCH ADJUSTMENT AS I COULD MAKE. nOW 30 YEARS LAER I STILL HAVE IT BUT I AM ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. i CAME BACK WITH AN ATTITUDE I DIDN''T WANT TO HURT ANYONE AGAIN. I THINK A LOT OF WHAT HELPED ME WAS I BECAME AN ELECTRICIAN AFTER I CAME BACK AND TO BE ABLE TO BUILD AND REPAIR THINGS BROUGHT ME BACK TO REALITY. I HOPE YOU HAVEMANAGED AS WELL AS I HAVE. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU.

[padillajm1]

So, you want people to stop coddling you? Here''s a suggestion; stop shoving your "cry me a river" story down our throats.

So you were a victim of a roadside bomb. So what? You asked for it. You put yourself in that position.

In your report some months ago, you had the audacity to compare yourself to our U.S. Marines. You are nothing like them. You are a journalist. Anything bad that happens to you is deserved.

No different than a lawyer, judge or politician. Anything bad that happens to them is deserved and should be celebrated.

Now stop your whining and get on with your life you pathetic crybaby.

[padillajm1]

WAH!

[europetravel]

Kimberly, your life after trauma is just beginning and I hope PTSD doesn''t take over your life in 30 years, just as it is doing now to someone very close to me. In spite of desire and efforts to overcome it with talk therapy and prescribed meds, PTSD is getting the best of my husband 35 years after he experienced combat trauma. He doesn''t whine or complain, he does the best he can do while living with pain that isn''t helped by those who suggest he "talk it out." Please reconsider the weight of your words and the power of your medium as you try to understand PTSD cannot be willed or "talked" into submission. And even if you really did "will away" PTSD, it was inconsiderate for you to even hint that your strong will and ability to speak about your horrific incident would work for even one other person struggling with PTSD.
--29 year of a military vet with PTSD

[sundog71]

Well Kimberly. I am not sure what you meant with this whole story, so I am going to clear some things up.
I am not a whiner, and I never quit. I work my butt off everyday and have all my life. And I have chronic PTSD. I talked my head off too, and I write and journal, and I have friends now that understand.
Your piece here minimalizes the idea that PTSD can at times be a debilitating condition that can at key moments ruin whole portions of your life.
You failed to acknowledge the struggles that people overcome daily, who have this condition, we were not blessed apparently with your godlike powers of omnipresent inner strength. Personally I hope you dont develope this condition. Supposedly if the VA can be believed, many people do not, inspite of being exposed to terrible incidents. However, I dont believe you have lived long enough past these experiences to really make that determination.

[sundog71]

And further more:
PTSD can take years to emerge. And that length of time is a testament to the inner strength and determination of the people who develope the disease, because initially you fight it so hard, you try so hard to go on business as usual. Whistling past the graveyard never works, but everyone tries it thinking they will be the lucky one. But like any other slowly developing chronic condition, eventually it will catch up with you. You wont notice until you develope health problems associated with chronic stress and sleep disorders. They arent obvious at first. Hard to accept, difficult to treat, and guaranteed to loose you some close friends who like yourself, think this is all about a culture of victimhood and not a *Real *Authentic *Condition. Its clear right now to me that you dont experience the world the way that I and others with PTSD do. And I hope you never do. But dont be slamming me or them for stuff you clearly do not understand.

[suen928]

very few times, i am annoyed enough to speak up. this women is a witch. how dare she compare herself to our troops (in whatever war/action). her comments were just rude and obnoxious and an insult to the people who put themselves in danger everyday and have their gov ignore them once they are "used up" she should be sent into the middle of action or "time machined" back to the nazi camps or the ravages of vietnam, right in the center as a soldier and let her mouth off about how tough she is. she makes me physical sick and i guess by her analysis the people living in the street, the kids with no food, abused and rape victims all need just to grow a backbone and their problems will also disappear. GO AWAY to the rock you crawl out from

[photogeezer]

The only comments that ring true here are from comabat vets and familiy members who deal with PTSD. Unlike the veterans with whom I work, you are not being tagged with a "personality disorder" from acting out the symptoms, or being made to wait entirely too long for treatment, or being denied service-connected compensation because the military failed to award you a tin badge saying you were in combat. PTSD doesn''t go away. There''s no magic pill, no magic words. Like a bullet wound, it''s still there when you get up every morning, and there will always be scar tissue, tender places. You learn to live with it; that''s the best you can hope for.

It is possible to have been in combat situations and not have PTSD. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones.

[mikeabc2]

I''m a combat wounded Viet Nam vet with PTSD. You would not believe the hate I encountered from people when I got home; people from my own generation. Even WW2 vets called me a "baby killer" and "loser". The political atmosphere was 10 times worse than it is now. I could have buried myself in the hippie culture but I chose to shut up, not say a word. It''s like painting over rusted metal,sooner or later the whole thing will fall apart. Keeping it all in rots your soul.

[sundog71]

I talked to my husband about this, and he has pointed something out. Kimberly. You went there not as a contractually obligated soldier, but as a journalist who can quit her job and leave without fear of incarceration or a Bad Conduct Discharge. Others in uniform are there whether they like it or not. Seeing this everyday, living with the threat everyday, watching people die or be mortally wounded, disfigured, and traumatized, brutalized. Ruined, and deprived of all humanity. But you can leave and you dont have to go back. You are not government property.
So get a clue will you? This article is just horrid. When you get some perspective, I hope you come back and dispute your own words, apologize, and write something worthy of your journalism degree.

[sundog71]

A previous poster pointed out something really important. Many of our Vets are being labeled with personality disorders so that the VA doesnt have to provide them with disability. And many Americans think that VA disability benefits are like welfare. They are completely clueless and do not understand that We earned our benefits just like anyone else in a contract that provides disability and a pension. But instead we get substandard care, the runaround, are bullied in VA centers, etc.,
So I reiterate. Get a freaken Clue Woman. Stop with the shameless self promotion already and at least have the decency to compare treatment options for someone such as yourself with the average Vet regardless of era of service.

[kgdcbsnews]

Folks, troops have told me they fear seeking help, for even the slightest combat stress symptoms.
So they keep quiet, which can make it worse.

I''m just some journalist, not a soldier risking stigma to my career by speaking out. So it''s easier for me to stand up and say, ''Heck, you can talk it out...or you can try.'' If you thought I was saying "tough out" whatever you''re feeling and ignore it...you weren''t listening. If you thought that''s what I said I did, you weren''t listening either.

And if you''ve struggled with PTSD for years, can you blame me for trying to give some help and advice on what helped me avoid it, for those early on in the process? I consulted with a LOT of medical experts, and commanders, before writing this, on what they thought the healthiest message would be, to get people to GET help.
Let''s stick to the positive, people. That''s what I''m trying to do.
KD

[sundog71]

You didnt give advice. You made it sound as if you dont have PTSD because you talked and were tough and you could do it, anyone can. The connotation being that if one couldnt, then they werent trying and clearly weren''t as tough as you.

How long has it been?
A year? 2 years?

Let us know in abouy 7 or 10 years how you feel. Because you dont have to show symptoms everyday or dramatically to have it. You only have to find the right trigger.

Want to give some advice? Want to help? Then show with excruciating detail what are happening to our veterans in the system. Not just from this war, but going all the way back. Its a bipartisan nightmare that has been ignored by the American civilian populace for far too long. Look at the Feres act and other legalities that prevent us from suing for malpractice and malicious negligence.

[sundog71]

You wonder why so many homeless people are vets? Think about that for a second. PTSD lets you function normally some or most of the time. But when it strikes its frightening to you and to the people around you. It ceases to allow you to connect with consensual reality of the rest of the world in a meaningful productive manner. Soon you cannot keep friends, hold a job, during really bad bouts, no sleep, and then after 10 or 20 or 40 years of that, your body starts to fall apart, your memory is impraired, but hey, I guess thats just whining. Go get a job, you look fine to me. You can speak why cant you work? You seem real smart, why cant you finish a project?
Good gods woman! Its not like a broken bone or even amputation. Its a wound that no one can see and that many do not acknowledge.

[sundog71]

And if you want to get the real stories? Stop calling into the VA and arranging for a tour. Get yourself some actual vets to tell you what is going on. Have them share their paperwork with you, in addition to their symptoms. This mother may I journalism where people report only what the government shows them is intellectually lazy and entirely misleading about what is really going on for a lot of veterans out there.
Some of us avoid the VA, because we have noticed that they dont make these conditions better. They only re-traumatize the vets they are treating.

[hypnotoad72]

While PTSD is a real issue, war is not the only cause of it, though war is the most widespread means of making the condition known.

mikeabc2 - I am truly sorry for what you had to endure.

sundog71 - I agree with you fully. Indeed, anyone who puts money into social security should, in theory and as justified, qualify as well.

[ptsd101]

Kimberly-
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had a tramatic experience when they discovered I had advanced stage of ovarian cancer (3C) two years ago. But somehow, I managed to work FORWARD. I had an extremely toxic treatments which alone could have killed me. My doctor told me I was delusional when I claimed she had "cured" me when all the tests were coming back normal during treatment. She practically forbade me from using the term "cure". My father claimed I was in denial when I kept my sense of humor.

Perhaps we have a better coping system than most, but there are sleepless, alone nights where we have to push our minds forward to see that we are alive and that life is still full of endless possibilities! I agree that PTSD can be overcome, minimalized and even avoided.

Congratulations on moving forward!

[benspeed44]

Having someone in the media that has been exposed to the brutality of war should insure unbias coverage. But not so with Ms Dozier. Comparing her brutal experience with that of a soldier''s is like the lion with a thorn in his paw telling everyone what it is like to step on a land mine.

Like someone involved in a horrific automobile accident, she knows what it is like to be part of carnage but not what it is like to live carnage.

This is not the person I want speaking for all soldiers with PTSD. She is the perfect example of someone in the media taking her experience and making it our own. She doesn''t have a clue. She thinks she has done what a thousand doctors and thousands warriors have not been able to do, cure PTSD. How simple it is too. "Just suck it up."

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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?

[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

[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!

[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.

[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.

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[irishnana2]

Ms. Dozier''s commentary made me sick. She is a highly paid journalist working on her resume building career in the war zone where our brave soldiers have to protect HER. How dare her insult them by insinuating that PTSD can be "talk, talk,talked" out. It''s akin to the Tom Cruise assault on Brooke Shields for taking medication for Postpartem depression. Who does she think she is? My son is a medic attached to 3rd SFG and has served 3 tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has seen things and done things that nothing in his life prior to enlisting prepared him for. He enlisted shortly after 9/11. He is suffering but he, like most men, doesn''t "talk about it". He sucks it up and deals and is in mental anquish for it but continues to protect the likes of Ms. Dozier. I''d like to spit in her face... that''s what she''s done to our returning vets.

[sundog71]

Here are hyperlinks if anyone is interested in informing themselves.

Of course they had to put " A Real Illness" because apparently so many people need to be convinced
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-a-real-illness/summary.shtml

Here is a very short checklist
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-a-real-illness/does-this-sound-like-you.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTSD

Please feel free to assess remarks regarding Compensation seeking Behavior: Thats military jargon for Welfare Queen.

Here are additional links to PTSD that is not strictly military


http://www.darkness2light.org/KnowAbout/articles_pstraumatic_stress.asp

http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/education/pat_edu/womenhlth/MentalEmotion/rapetraumasynd.htm

http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

[hswhite2346]

After recently losing a son, who fought in Iraq, to complications from PTSD, I was very offended while watching the news on TV today. My son had counseling and medications and nothing worked. Ms. Dozier was not facing the same situations as trained soldiers. She did face a traumatic event but so did I when I found my son dead at home.

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[mongsee]

I am amazed at the arrogance shown by MS.D, who apparently can diagnose and ''cure'' PTSD based on her own limited experience. When people are exposed to trauma their reactions are as varied as their personalities. What worked for her will not necessarily work for someone else and to imply that another''s suffering is (as implied) self indulgent is presumptuous and insensitive. Ms. Dozier had friends, family, the best of medical care, financial security, and attention from everyone when she was hurt. But there are many who do not have those advantages; who face lonely,physically, financially blasted futures, who cannot eloquently express themselves, who face untold horrors with very few resources to help them heal. Get off your high horse, Ms. D., and look at the conditions that the average soldier faces when returning home. They are not highly publicized, highly paid, highly protected media moguls.....they are men and women who are fighting, not reporting, suffering in silence, trying to be strong....and many of them have faced more horror in one day than someone from the protected media can imagine. You are not a soldier OR a medical doctor, so don''t diagnose or pretend to understand. You cannot.
Marcia Wickes

[mongsee]

I apologize, somehow my comments appeared more than once. Please disregard the duplication.

Marcia Wickes

[nanson32346]

Ms Dozier makes light of PTSD. She says that just by "talking about" the trauma, PTSD will miraculously go away. I have 2 words for her - JUST WAIT! Wait for five, ten, or twenty years. And then a sound, or an odor, or a sight can TRIGGER the horror, and then nightmares, flashbacks, and fear will be all too real again. Please understand - I don''t wish it on her. It''s just the nature, and reality, of the beast. Ms Dozier, please stop belittling PTSD and the people who suffer from it. Because your day is coming.

[nanson32346]

Dear "KD": Here''s a clue. Talking won''t make it go away. It just hides the symptoms temporarily. Like I said before - your day will come. THEN maybe you''ll understand!

[sundog71]

You know back in the 70s, I was encouraged to talk my head off. It helped a little. But it didnt prevent PTSD from being triggered later in life. In fact, being encouraged to believe that talking would make it go away, left me ultimately unprepared for that time that would arrive.

When it did finally strike full force, I was compelled to re-evaluate everything. It forced me to acknowledge that I had had many smaller encounters. But the feelings of helplessness that followed the bigger ones left me feeling full of guilt. Like somehow I was weak and had lied to myself in some toxic manner. I hadnt. Honestly I didnt know enough to lie. But I believed a lie and operated under the assumption it was truth.
And that left me without the necessary coping skills as well as a social support system when the time came that I needed them. Then there was no one to talk to. And no one to understand. Just long time friends calling me crazy and cutting me off because they could not relate to my experiences or inner turmoil. It was a most hurtful and isolating time.