We're hard-wired to survive-that's what causes PTSD.

There are those who deny that in spite of being in combat they do not suffer from PTSD. I do not believe this is possible.

As humans, we are hard-wired to survive. When our survival is threatened it messes with that hard wiring. As humans, we have no choice but to shut down. That's what PTSD is—shutting down and putting a block in our energy system so we don't have to deal with a traumatic event.

While avoidance is a helpful reaction in the short run, it is extremely harmful in the long run. Until the blockage is cleared and the trauma released unwanted symptoms will continue to plague.

As trauma is piled upon trauma the situation is compounded. Something must be done to relieve the pressure or like a boiler, the person will explode.

Smells are key links to healing PTSD

The olfactory system (the sense of smell) is the only sensory system that is connected directly to the brain. Other senses must pass through the thalamus and be routed to the brain. Because of this the sense of smell has a powerful emotional impact on us.

Knowing this there is no mystery about why odors such as cordite or blood trigger delayed reactions in returning veterans.

It is also the reason that certain odors are just as powerful in calming emotions. Aromatherapy is another inexpensive, effective, and seldomly used aid that can help heal soldiers who suffer from the effects of combat. When it is correctly used-there are no side effects, it can be used anywhere, it's easy to use, and the price of a good quality essential oil (and that's all you should be using) is far less than an ongoing prescription of Xanax or Zoloft. Contact a local massage therapist or aromatherapist for more guidance on how essential oils can help.

Combating P.T.S.D. and Preventing Suicides

by Jennifer Litz
Del Rio LIVE!

Pat Dugan was a reconnaissance marine corporal in Vietnam for 19 months, starting in 1966. He’s now a passionate voice for veteran help that resounds throughout West Texas. “I am seeing one of the biggest mushroom clouds,” Dugan says of times ahead for Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. “’... there are no front lines in this war. You can be [in a non-combat service] and get your butt blown off the road there with anyone else. Everyone’s sitting around waiting for an explosion to go off, and they send you back and back for more tours.”

When these vets do come back home—or in between myriad deployments—they’re still fighting—for their benefits. “In Del Rio, for example, we’ve got people with problems,” Dugan says. “And they have to travel 150 miles to get help [at a VA clinic]. And then when you get up there, I’m not being mean, but when you go up there and apply to get help, you get some VA muffin that’s not a veteran, and they put you through mental gymnastics like you wouldn’t believe. [Vets] don’t want to be humiliated and go through that process.”

This is a great article on a upcoming progressive treatment center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Texas. Dugan points out 3 classic problems for getting treatment from traditional sources for PTSD...
1. fighting for benefits
2. traveling 150 miles to get help from a VA clinic
3. humiliation of the process
That's what I like about using EFT for this population. Once they know how to do it, they can start healing without the fighting, traveling or waiting. They can work with a practitioner or they can work on their own. They can use the Emotional Freedom Technique at home, on the road, sitting in traffic-anywhere. They can find a buddy to do it with. And if they can't do it on their own-family members, friends and spouses can do it with them. How many therapies can you say that about?

Getting help for PTSD related to the "combat environment" will no longer be a reason to deny security clearances

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, right, walked out of the Restoration & Resilience Center at Fort Bliss after touring it Thursday. (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)

Bracing against a blasting wind that reminded him of his native Kansas, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spent a day at Fort Bliss touring a mental health center, watching a demonstration of the Army's newest technology, and meeting with soldiers and community leaders.

Gates had high praise for a Fort Bliss center designed to treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and return them to their units -- a center he said would serve as a prototype for the Army.

"They are doing some amazing things here in terms of helping soldiers who want to remain soldiers but who have been wounded with post-traumatic stress disorder," Gates said of the Restoration and Resilience Center. "I think it's an extraordinary program. ..... And one of the things that I will carry back to Washington with me is the question of whether we can replicate this at other posts around the country."

During a morning press conference in front of the center, Gates also formally announced a change in government policy he said would allow soldiers to seek help for PTSD without hurting their careers.

Getting help for PTSD related to the "combat environment" will no longer be a reason to deny security clearances, he said.

The Fort Bliss center is also looking at finding ways to help soldiers in combat zones deal with stress, Gates said, adding that those techniques "are clearly worth additional attention as well."

Changing the way the military and public in general feel about the stigma of PTSD is a HUGE step forward in admitting that this is a normal affliction of war. For the Secretary of Defense to announce this policy change says alot about the new climate of acceptance and healing. It's interesting that they are looking at therapies just as EFT is starting to become a mainstream solution to this type of disorder.

Well done Montana National Guard!

Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.

"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. "They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.

State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago."We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.

"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007. At the time, Dana was having trouble handling weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given a less-than-honorable discharge and then shot himself a few days later."It takes a lot for a big organization that does a lot of things right to look for what they did wrong and address those flaws," Kuntz said. "I'm really impressed with what they've done."

The first thing Montana put in place was crisis response teams, then they backed that up with assessing service members' mental health every six months for two years after deployment. This goes beyond the recommended guidelines laid out by the Department of Defense. While Montana is the only state doing this for the moment, their success may pave the way for other states to launch similar programs.

As always, many service men and woman are still concerned about the stigma of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (for a further career in the military or out) and understandably don't seek help. With this courageous, caring change- we may be seeing the beginning of a new understanding about PTSD within the military.

Helping a Loved One when they return from military duty

U.S. soldiers are deployed for 15 month combat tours (although this is supposed to change to 12 months in August), and marines for seven months. Readjusting to life in the states can be a huge challenge. About 12 percent of soldiers suffer from anxiety, depression, post-combat stress and other problems during their first tour, according to an Army survey, and that rises to 27 percent of those on their third or fourth combat tours. The long and repeated separations also take a toll on marriages, as more soldiers are reporting related marriage problems.

One of the best things for someone who has just gone through a traumatic event like combat, to do is to learn how to let go of the negative images and experiences in their head, and the feelings associated with them. Easy to say I know, but many energy treatments can help with this, reiki, quantum touch, energetic balancing of all kinds have the potential to bring immediate relief, by treating the cause, not the symptom.

It's also very important for the family and friends of the soldier to take care of their own needs. The job of welcoming home someone who may have become a stranger and running a household, while working and or raising a family is extremely stressful. Learning to do EFT can help you to stay in good shape (emotionally and physically) while you are helping others.

We like EFT because once you learn how to do it, you can work with a practitioner or on your own. It's easy to do, you can do it without expensive equipment or lengthy training, you can take it with you and you can do for someone else.

Sometimes those who need it most, are the least capable of helping themselves.

But there is hope. Combat soldiers or veterans suffering from PTSD are often unable to get out of their confusion or depression long enough to seek help for themselves. It often takes time, research, focus and patience. These things are exactly what many sufferers DON'T have.

Here's where family, spouses and friends can help. Surrogate EFT can be amazingly effective. That is to say, doing Emotional Freedom Technique exercises for another person works! It may not be the "end-all" but it may be just the incentive needed to get the PTSD sufferer to the point where they can start working to heal him or herself.

It's similar to tuning into a radio station on your car radio. You don't have to drive to the station and sit in the studio to enjoy the program. It works on frequencies and wave lengths to transfer the music right to your car (without even being plugged into anything!) 

Once you learn how to do the tapping on yourself, try surrogate tapping on a simple issue with a friend or child and you'll see for yourself how effective it can be. You can download this free booklet by clicking on this link...

free booklet on EFT tapping

More great news!! The Army is looking at complimentary healing.

Well what an amazing opening. Looks like the government is ready for some new ideas. My guess is they've got a bigger problem than they have answers for and have already started seeing some successes from the alternative/complementary health arena.

It's wonderful that they are ready to look into ANYTHING to find some help for this new population. OK, well not new. Ask any WW1 vet, WW2 vet, Korean war vet, Vietnam vet, Falkland vet, Gulf War vet, Afghanistan vet or Iraq vet about PTSD. It hasn't always been called that but it's always been the result of war.

And it does show an exciting potential for healing!!

The government is spending 4$ million to look at alternative healing for Vets.

Army's New PTSD Treatments: Yoga, Reiki, 'Bioenergy'

By Noah Shachtman

The military is scrambling for new ways to treat the brain injuries and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every kind of therapy -- no matter how far outside the accepted medical form -- is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to investigate everything from "spiritual ministry, transcendental meditation, [and] yoga" to "bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and] distant healing" to mend the psyches of wounded troops.

As many as 17 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, one congressional study estimates. Nearly 3,300 troops have suffered traumatic brain injury, or TBI, according to statistics assembled last summer. And the lifetime costs of treating these ailments could pile up to as much as $35 billion, a Columbia University report guesses.

Small wonder, then, that the government is looking for alternate means to treat these injuries. The Defense Department "is dedicated to supporting evidence-based approaches to medical treatment and wants to support the use of alternative therapies if they are proven efficacious," notes a recently-issued request for proposals.

"Music, animal-facilitated therapy, art, dance/movement, massage therapy, EMDR [Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing] program evaluation, virtual reality, acupuncture, spiritual ministry, transcendental meditation, [and] yoga," might all be considered worth of the military's largess. So would "biologically-based treatments, botanicals, and nutritional supplements for enhancing cognitive function and mood in patients with trauma spectrum disorders, including TBI and/or PTSD, depression, anxiety, and/or substance dependence/abuse." Even proposals for wild-sounding "therapies using bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, distant healing and acupuncture" would be accepted.

Was the side effect of this medication Death?

The Cost of War by Julie Robinson

Stan and Shirley White of Cross Lanes remember they were at a restaurant that day - Sept. 26, 2005. They were talking about their youngest son, Andrew, and about how happy they were to have him home safe from Iraq.

Staff writer Charleston Gazette

Stan and Shirley White of Cross Lanes remember they were at a restaurant that day - Sept. 26, 2005. They were talking about their youngest son, Andrew, and about how happy they were to have him home safe from Iraq.

Then, Shirley's cell phone rang.

It was their daughter-in-law on the other end - the wife of their middle son, Bob, who was stationed in Afghanistan with the Army. Bob's Humvee had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was gone.

Now, 2 1/2 years later - on Feb. 12 - the Whites lost 23-year-old Andrew. He died mysteriously in his sleep, just as he was beginning an achingly slow climb out of the debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You really can't compare the two deaths, but directly and indirectly, both of their deaths are a result of the war," Stan said. "As a parent, you fear for them when they go to war. You fear for their lives over there. Andrew was home. We thought he was safe."

They are waiting for autopsy results, but the circumstances of Andrew's death mirror those of two other local servicemen, also treated for PTSD and taking the same medications.

"Is there a connection? We don't know," Stan said. "When you're 23, you're not supposed to go to sleep and not wake up.

"It seems like a cruel joke for him to die just when he was getting better," Shirley said.

Searching for answers

Since then, the Whites learned that the mysterious circumstances of Andrew's death are markedly similar to those of two other local servicemen who were being treated for PSTD with the same medications - Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel.

you can read the rest of this story at...http://wvgazette.com/News/200803150602

The encouraging thing about energy medicine is that there are no negative side effects. Many different energy techniques have very positive side effects however-more energy, deeper sleep, less tension, better digestion, improved memory and especially increased happiness.

Alpha Company hit hard by post-traumatic stress resulting from combat

By Tom Infield-Philadelphia Inquirer-staff writer
Of all the things that Alpha Company has had to struggle with since it came home from Iraq, the most pervasive may be post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Of the 126 veterans interviewed or surveyed by The Inquirer, almost half - 46 percent - said they had been treated for PTSD, most at VA hospitals and clinics in the region.

Alpha's rate of PTSD is higher than that of most U.S. troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan - partly, no doubt, as a result of its being a frontline combat unit that lost six men.

Shelley M. MacDermid, a Purdue University professor who served on a Defense Department mental-health task force last year, said typical PTSD rates among returning veterans were about 14 percent.

"Those are big numbers," she said of The Inquirer's Alpha findings.

National Guard and Reserve units, in general, have shown slightly higher PTSD rates than have regular Army units, she said.

The Defense Department task force said this might be in part because civilian-soldiers were separated after they returned home, rather than staying together as units in which the members could support one another.

Ira Katz, director of mental-health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that among the 300,000 or so veterans who have been seen by the VA, about 20 percent have been diagnosed with PTSD.

But he said that twice that number - about 40 percent - have had some "mental condition."

"That's not all that different from your [46] percent," he said.

Both MacDermid and Katz said that PTSD had become a popular shorthand for all sorts of emotional symptoms that veterans experience. These may include depression and anxiety disorders, but not rise to the level of PTSD.

Steven Silver, who recently retired as director of the inpatient PTSD unit at the Coatesville VA hospital, predicted that as time went on, more and more combat veterans would be shown to have the high PTSD rate Alpha now shows.

PTSD, as a term, has been used only since 1980. World War II soldiers talked of battle fatigue. In World War I, it was shell shock.

Silver said that both the military and the VA had become more aggressive in warning troops about PTSD and getting them treatment.

He said that although Alpha's rate was high, "in some ways, it's good news. It means that people are coming in for help." (I agree this is very good news, it may be we are approaching a time of new understanding of this trauma. Which means we HAVE learned something from the Vietnam vets who suffered alone so terribly.)

(unfortunately however...) PTSD typically is treated with psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs, including Zoloft and Paxil. (which treats the symptoms but not the causes)

About two-thirds of Alpha veterans have received care at VA hospitals and clinics - for PTSD, physical ailments, or both.

quick fix for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?!?

Hard to imagine if you've got it.

The horrible PTSD symptoms veterans are experiencing are so debilitating and so enervating that it seems impossible there is a quick fix. Many believe there is not. One VA therapist I talked with believes it takes years of talk therapy and finding ways to integrate one's various roles and experiences to overcome PTSD.

He believes EMDR works for simple, one-time traumas such as a car accident. But this therapist believes for the complex situations that develop from killing people, seeing others killed and/or being in danger of being killed, it takes long and intensive therapy to heal. Perhaps he is right.

But what if there is an easier, quicker, safe way? Would it be worth a try?

We have written a self-help book called Recovering from PTSD YOUR Way to give you or your loved one an alternative to years of therapy. We are so confident it will help you that we are giving a money-back guarantee.

100% PTSD if you've been through the horrors of war.

We hear differing estimates of the number of soldiers and veterans who develop PTSD, or symptoms of PTSD, as a result of their combat experience. Depending on the source I have heard estimates from 30% to 70%. I disagree. I don't think it is possible to go through the horrors of war without developing PTSD. I don't think humans are equipped to handle the grizzly situations one experiences in war. I truly believe the percentage is closer to 100%.

Certainly some are able to cope to a better degree than others. That doesn't mean they are not affected. "Coping" can be deceiving. "Coping" may mean you don't have the nightmares, the flashbacks, etc. that are considered to be symptoms of PTSD. Though you may "cope" very well with the trauma, you may develop unexplained pain, hearing or vision loss, relationship problems, money problems, or maybe, heart disease. These may develop years after the trauma.

Severity of symptoms may vary from person to person, but I believe every soldier, every veteran can benefit by treatment. I believe your lives, your personal relationships, and your general health will be improved with treatment. Your ability to cope with the normal demands and various crises that we all face every day will be enhanced.

I know this has been the case with my own PTSD! I "coped" very well with my trauma. In fact, I pretty much forgot about it.

I had years of pain, sometimes extreme, sometimes not so bad. I was quick to anger. I had migraines. And there were many other problems which I did not relate to my trauma. Certainly it was never called PTSD. In fact, though doctors rarely used the label, it was implied: PSYCHOSOMATIC. And they gave me names of psychiatrists. But once I put everything together, I got rid of these uncomfortable symptoms by myself.

More good news!

Things are starting to move!

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today said an expansion by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of its Vet Centers, which provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to returning combat veterans, is well ahead of schedule.

In February 2007, VA announced it would open 23 new centers during the next two years. Fifteen of those centers are already operational, and five others are seeing patients in temporary facilities while finalizing their leases. The other three facilities will begin operations later this year.

"Building on our past successes, 2008 will see a permanent increase in the number of Vet Centers, as we bring the remaining facilities on line to reach a record 232 Vet Centers by the end of the year," Peake said.

"To support this expansion and augment the staff at 61 existing Vet Centers, this year we are channeling a 44 percent increase in funding to the Readjustment Counseling Service, which operates the Vet Centers -- nearly $50 million more than last year's budget," he added.

The community-based Vet Centers are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling, along with help for family members dealing with bereavement and loved ones with PTSD.

The 15 new Vet Centers that are open in permanent locations are in Binghamton, N.Y.; Middletown, N.Y.; Watertown, N.Y.; Hyannis, Conn.; DuBois, Pa.; Gainesville, Fla.; Melbourne, Fla.; Macon, Ga.; Manhattan, Kansas; Escanaba, Mich.; Saginaw, Mich.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Baton Rouge, La.; Killeen, Texas; and Las Cruces, N.M.

Five additional Vet Centers are providing services in temporary space while they finalize their leases: They are in Toledo, Ohio; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; Everett, Wash.; and Modesto, Calif.

The final three locations where Vet Centers will open for clients later this year are in Berlin, N.H., Nassau County, N.Y., and Fayetteville, Ark.

Vet Centers provide counseling on employment, plus services on family issues, education and outreach, to combat veterans and their families. Vet Centers are staffed by small teams of professional counselors, outreach specialists and other specialists, many of whom are combat veterans themselves.

VA's Vet Centers have hired 100 combat veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan as outreach specialists, often placing them near military processing stations, to brief servicemen and women leaving the military about VA benefits.

These outreach specialists meet with returning veterans, work through family assistance centers and visit military installations to carry the message that VA will be there for the troops and family members after discharge.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Our new website is ready!

Healing Veterans PTSD

That's the link above. It's got some kinks to work out, but the information to get you started on your own journey of healing your PTSD can be found there. If you are a soldier or know one who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder have a look at this informative site.

VA simplifies PTSD claims for some veterans

EXCELLENT NEWS!!!!!

this is a really solid example of the growing awareness for the need to change and help these veterans-FASTER. From the Army Times...

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 9:43:24 EST

The Department of Veterans Affairs has scrapped a policy requiring combat veterans to verify in writing that they have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event before they can file a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder — but only if the military has already diagnosed them with PTSD.

“This change provides a fairer process for veterans with service-connected PTSD,” Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said in a written statement. “[It] leaves claim adjudicators more time to devote to reducing the staggering backlog of veterans’ claims.”

In the past, a veteran has needed written verification — a statement from a commander or doctor, or testimony from co-workers — that he or she was involved in a traumatic situation to receive disability compensation from VA if they had not already been diagnosed by the military during a disability retirement process. But PTSD is the only condition that a veteran must “reprove” to receive disability benefits from VA.

“They don’t have to reprove their diabetes,” said Mary Ellen McCarthy, special projects counsel for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “They don’t have to reprove a leg injury. I have never seen any other condition diagnosed in service [for which] people had to reprove their injury.”

The VA regulation was written at a time when the military was not diagnosing PTSD among troops, McCarthy said.

She travels to VA regional offices to check the progress of veterans going through the disability claims system. Even though many of the former troops had already proven they had witnessed a traumatic event in writing as they went through the military disability retirement system, often that paperwork had been lost by the time they reached VA, McCarthy said.

“It could take months to get that paperwork,” she said.

That slows up the paperwork process. And the veteran has to go through the stressful process of reproving that they lived through a roadside bomb explosion or that they witnessed a friend’s death or that they killed an insurgent.

“Revisiting those stressors in a non-therapeutic environment can make the diagnosis worse,” McCarthy said.

Akaka said he asked VA Secretary Dr. James Peake if the rule was necessary and requested that it be removed, and Peake agreed.

“I am pleased that the secretary took quick action to reverse this requirement after it was brought to his attention,” Akaka said.

Peake has already informed VA regional offices of the decision, Akaka said. VA officials could not be reached for comment by press time.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder benefits from early treatment

It is becoming increasingly apparent that early treatment of PTSD is important. One of the benefits of EFT is that it can be used immediately after the traumatic event is over. In this case, it heals PTSD so quickly it almost becomes a preventive measure for PTSD without causing the soldier to lose the "edge" so important to survival in combat.

EFT with PTSD

Emotional Freedom Technique-EFT is so easy to use that each person can become his or her own therapist. This eliminates the necessity for revealing to others that a veteran suffers from symptoms of PTSD. Veterans can avoid the stigma and red tape of applying for disability, but still relieve themselves of the terrible symptoms of PTSD.

Imagine! No more terrifying nightmares, violent outbursts of anger, embarrassing (or worse) delayed reactions, withdrawal from friends and family, hypertension or depression, flashbacks. Certainly worth a try.

www.healingveteransptsd.com

Watch for our upcoming web site www.healingveteransptsd.com On it you will find an information filled E-book. "Recovering From PTSD YOUR Way" with instructions on how to help yourself or someone you care about deal with the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Topics covered include; what is Emotional Freedom Technique, how to use it, what to do if it doesn't work at first, how to deal with triggers, flashbacks and delayed reactions, what to do if your loved one can't or won't do it for him or herself, and much, much more.

What not to say to returning vets...

"Time heals all wounds"

If you've got returning troops coming into your family, community or church, this is one cliché you will want to stay away from. In fact you may want to stay away from alot of clichés. Instead let your veteran know that you care, you don't know what they are going through, but you do want to help.

They may have PTSD which means they might feel angry, confused, embarrassed, depressed, anxious, drinking or worse, avoiding old friends, family and hangouts. But you can't know that unless you stop, take the time to ask AND listen!

Getting the word out.

As a new blogger with a new blog, I've discovered it's a bit like clapping with one hand. Nobody can hear you. In my quest for more exposure I ran across blog directories! What a good idea I thought-turns out this is 'old hat' for the pros. In exchange for a listing one of them invited me to do a review-ok-you're on rssHugger. Fabulous logo, first off! Compared to others I've looked at today it's clean, easy to read, easy to navigate and user friendly. I was surprised at the lack of a wellness category in the directory. But pleased that I had the option to submit it to be added.

Unfortunately our culture still thinks in terms of illness and disease. This is slowly changing and it's an exciting time for healers and people wanting excellent physical and mental health.

Homeless vets-VA has a bigger count than Bill O'Reilly

Last night, Bill O'Reilly talked about the plight of homeless veterans on his television show. Unfortunately, he got the facts wrong.

O'Reilly: "They (homeless veterans) may be out there, but there's not many of them out there. Okay?...If you know where there is a veteran, sleeping under a bridge, you call me immediately, and we will make sure that man does not do it."

I'm not sure where Mr. O'Reilly got his statistics but according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, almost 200,000 veterans sleep on our nation's streets each night. And Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are joining those ranks at an alarming rate. In fact veterans make up about a third of the homeless adults in America.

If you would like to drop Bill a line go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/436/t/26/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=884
and sign the open letter that Paul Rieckhoff from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has organized. Awareness is the first way to encourage the healing that these vets deserve.

Pushing through PTSD?

Kids headed out for the bus this morning, still in the dark. As I closed the door behind the last one, I heard 'GO GET MOM!'

It brought me on the run to find a motorcyclist who had slipped and slid for yards on the icy road. It was obvious she was in shock and already getting sore. But because she had no 'external' damage she refused any help of any kind. Not for herself, not for her machine. "I can handle it," she kept saying.

It seems to be an inbuilt survival mechanism for us to push on and almost a gut reaction not to appear to need help. Which makes treating PTSD very difficult. Especially with troops trained to push on, trained to overcome fears and weaknesses, trained to get the job done, not dwell on what's bothering them.

This is the point when family and friends become SO important. Listening, watching, being aware, being there without pushing, taking the time to understand what might be going on and helping to find solutions.

PTSD is an unavoidable product of war

Many years ago when we first began to study PTSD, it seemed as if it must be some kind of mysterious, unusual problem. It gradually became apparent that PTSD is not only common, it is an unavoidable product of war. Because it has to do with emotion, it is largely denied and ignored by those who believe emotion plays no part in war.

Without emotion we are less than human. Symptoms of PTSD reveal that regardless of the things soldiers have had to do and/or witness, they are still human and have human reactions to horror.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

The symptoms are many and varied. In fact, they can vary tremendously from individual to individual. Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

nightmares
hyperventilation
depression
feeling numb
flashbacks of the event
guilt feelings
anxiety
fear
anger
helplessness
delayed reactions
denial
drug or alcohol addictions
reactions to "triggers"-like road rage

Sometimes PTSD victims suffer from very dangerous symptoms such as uncontrollable rage, suicidal or, homicidal tendencies. If you or a buddy is at this point- seek help immediately.