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Carry the guilt 4 part Documentry
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This paragraph was taken from Mark Levy's website which is listed in Links.
“Mike, you gotta be shitting me,” I said. “Three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, and they’re giving you
how much, thirty percent for PTSD? That ain’t right, brother. You got nightmares, you got startle reflex,
can’t sleep with the wife, flashbacks, depression, stay to yourself, working a job beneath you; that ain’t right.
Appeal it, Michael. Request an increase in your rating. Maybe get fifty percent. Maybe a hundred, I don’t
know. But all the money in the world don’t mean shit if you’re just popping VA pills and what you really need
is someone to talk to. That’s what I don’t understand. Here you are, heavy combat vet, a janitor in the VA. So
they gave you a job; big fucking deal. What are they doing for you besides pills? From my experience, you meet
someone you can trust, you can talk with, that buried shit starts coming up. Yeah. You’d be surprised what can
happen. You cry, Michael, you cry. Or get angry, or fearful, or worrisome. But sometimes, just sometimes, the
pressure inside your head goes down, it really does, don’t ask me how, and even if it’s just a little while, that’s a
whole lot better than taking those fuckin’ pills the rest of your life, never knowing what’s eating you up.
You understand me, bro?”
“Mike, you gotta be shitting me,” I said. “Three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, and they’re giving you
how much, thirty percent for PTSD? That ain’t right, brother. You got nightmares, you got startle reflex,
can’t sleep with the wife, flashbacks, depression, stay to yourself, working a job beneath you; that ain’t right.
Appeal it, Michael. Request an increase in your rating. Maybe get fifty percent. Maybe a hundred, I don’t
know. But all the money in the world don’t mean shit if you’re just popping VA pills and what you really need
is someone to talk to. That’s what I don’t understand. Here you are, heavy combat vet, a janitor in the VA. So
they gave you a job; big fucking deal. What are they doing for you besides pills? From my experience, you meet
someone you can trust, you can talk with, that buried shit starts coming up. Yeah. You’d be surprised what can
happen. You cry, Michael, you cry. Or get angry, or fearful, or worrisome. But sometimes, just sometimes, the
pressure inside your head goes down, it really does, don’t ask me how, and even if it’s just a little while, that’s a
whole lot better than taking those fuckin’ pills the rest of your life, never knowing what’s eating you up.
You understand me, bro?”
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Today Is National
Mental Health
day!
You can do your bit by remembering to send an email to an unstable friend.
(Well..my job's done!)
You can do your bit by remembering to send an email to an unstable friend.
(Well..my job's done!)
I have no intention of telling
you how to file a claim with the Veterans Administration. Thousands of
Americans make a living doing that very thing.
The veterans Administration exists for the soul purpose of providing
earned benefits to veterans and their spouses. The Disabled veterans
Administration
exists for the soul purpose of making sure the Veterans Administration does its job. Each County in the State of Oregon has a Veterans Service Officer.
The State has a veterans service organization. Individual cities with sufficient populations and the state have Disabled American veterans service officers.
exists for the soul purpose of making sure the Veterans Administration does its job. Each County in the State of Oregon has a Veterans Service Officer.
The State has a veterans service organization. Individual cities with sufficient populations and the state have Disabled American veterans service officers.
Each year millions of taxpayer dollars support thousands of Bureaucrats
engaged in the process of providing earned benefits to veterans. I find
this all very strange as most of the people I know Have filed
their own claim because they couldn't find help. Nuff said.
It is critical that I maintain a clear separation between the veterans Administration bureaucracy and the veterans hospitals. I can't say enough bad things about the VA Bureaucracy, so I won't. The veterans hospitals are manta from God. I know of stories where they have gone the extra mile, perhaps breaking rules and calling attention to their careers. Perhaps the oath of the medical and mental professions guides them to do what is right. Perhaps
this wonderful angle is the secret. Maybe I can fix the
bureaucracy by sending them this angle.They would just deny the angle
benefits by saying they did not recognize the connection between
getting your legs blown off and alcoholism. They would tell the angle
that it couldn't be service connected because it occurred 5 years after
the event. The angle would reply that they were unconscious for 5
years. The VA rep would quickly claim that being
unconscious was not their problem. I made all this up of course. Did
you hear about the veteran who told his buddy he had found a cure for
PTSD. His veteran buddy said, "don't tell me yet, I have a claim pending."
The two good things to come out of Vietnam were the 18 year old
vote and the official classification of PTSD as a mental disorder. On
the 18 year old vote, it seems to me that a guy who gets his legs blown
off should have the right to come home and vote against the Politician
who sent him there. But thats just me. The subject of PTSD will take up
the rest of this page. The bottom line is: PTSD is chronic and progressive unless you do something about it. I plan to address the subject of research and processes that allow us to manage the
characteristics of PTSD. Please keep in mind that I do not claim to be a shrink, however, I am small of stature.
In my personal quest for an understanding of Trauma
induced behavior I had a lot of wrecks. I had some success. Ain't that
the way? At one point I received 
one weeks training on the Mitchell
model for conducting critical incident debriefings. Over the next seven
years I formed a team in Eastern Oregon and trained debriefers. I
conducted 50 debriefings with over 600 people receiving information on
dealing with trauma. I conducted debriefings from the Columbia river to
the Idaho border. I would get a call in the middle of the night. They
would say,"How much,". I would say, "no charge, when and where". I had
to stop doing the debriefings.There were to many drunk drivers
making dead babies.The babies die and the drunk lives. I
learned a great deal about trauma. I tell you this to point out that my
experience with trauma is from a users point of view and not that of a
mental health professional. Therefor, I offer you Reviews of books from
professionals in the field of PTSD. These are the works that can
help you manage those pesky little problems like wanting to kill
authority and everyone looks like the boss. One of the Authors is the head of the severe trauma
center in Boston. Another Author is the chief of psychiatry at the
Boise, Idaho Veterans affairs medical center. Both these Authors have dedicated their lives to working with veterans.
one weeks training on the Mitchell
model for conducting critical incident debriefings. Over the next seven
years I formed a team in Eastern Oregon and trained debriefers. I
conducted 50 debriefings with over 600 people receiving information on
dealing with trauma. I conducted debriefings from the Columbia river to
the Idaho border. I would get a call in the middle of the night. They
would say,"How much,". I would say, "no charge, when and where". I had
to stop doing the debriefings.There were to many drunk drivers
making dead babies.The babies die and the drunk lives. I
learned a great deal about trauma. I tell you this to point out that my
experience with trauma is from a users point of view and not that of a
mental health professional. Therefor, I offer you Reviews of books from
professionals in the field of PTSD. These are the works that can
help you manage those pesky little problems like wanting to kill
authority and everyone looks like the boss. One of the Authors is the head of the severe trauma
center in Boston. Another Author is the chief of psychiatry at the
Boise, Idaho Veterans affairs medical center. Both these Authors have dedicated their lives to working with veterans. I found I had to read each of
these books, and many more, at
least 3 times . First I had to learn the vocabulary because I am not a
mental health professional. I'm a grunt. On the second do over I gained
understanding, and third, I could put the pieces together and
quote some of the text. The results are beginning 
to emerge from a body
of research
called; "the decade of the brain". This multi billion dollar project
went on for more than 10 years. The research brought to light the fact
that Just one traumatic event in a persons life will permanently alter
neural, physicalogical, biological and chemical reactions within that
person. A traumatic event will rewire the path way and go directly to
the central nervous system without checking in with the brain. Enough
from me. Please consider the words of these professionals. They can
help you manage your life.
to emerge from a body
of research
called; "the decade of the brain". This multi billion dollar project
went on for more than 10 years. The research brought to light the fact
that Just one traumatic event in a persons life will permanently alter
neural, physicalogical, biological and chemical reactions within that
person. A traumatic event will rewire the path way and go directly to
the central nervous system without checking in with the brain. Enough
from me. Please consider the words of these professionals. They can
help you manage your life.
Faith and the history of Vietnam are critical elements in
putting the pieces together. You got to believe in something, even if its
nothing.
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