[/caption]Carol Forsloff - In eighteen days the nation will honor the victims of 9/11 and recall those terrible events, as across the country memorials big and small will be happening as a reminder of those days, including a campaign of awareness on post traumatic stress disorder in the wake of the wars that followed the World Trade Center bombings.
This tenth anniversary is bringing an awareness through a Country Music presentation from Artist Mark Willis with his Crazy Being Home campaign. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness and support for our servicemen and women with PTSD. The show will air on Thursday, September 8th at 7 pm EST on Seaview radio 95.5AM/106FM and streams www.healmyptsd.com/your-life-after-trauma. Call in with your questions: 877.960.9960.
Michele Rosenthal, host of 'Your Life After Trauma', tells us, "As a New Yorker 9/11 has enormous resonance for me. This year, I want to pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 and also the survivors and our military who carry on the memory of those whose lives were ended with such courage, bravery, and commitment. There are many who are working to turn tragedy into community spirit. My goal with this show is to highlight the meaning and healing that comes through such efforts."
'Your Life After Trauma' brings weekly support and information to trauma survivors, plus their caregivers and healing professionals on Thursday nights from 7-8pm EST, on Seaview Radio (95.9AM/106.9FM/960AM) in southeast Florida (and streaming live online). The program again focuses on help for people in planning for recovery and how to apply one’s personal strengths to post-trauma recovery.
But while the civilian world acknowledges the impact of PTSD with these special events, the military has yet to come to full realization on how to deal with PTSD of those on active duty or in that period prior to military discharge. Many men face great difficulty getting medical support for a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder because of the machismo culture of the military. The consequence is increased domestic disputes and even suicide.
Salon.com relates the example of a Sergeant X who recorded a psychologist’s difficulties in diagnosing PTSD and the pressure the medical community within the military has had in rejecting the label even for those individuals clearly in need of help. Psychologist Douglas MacNinch was secretly taped during a session where he admitted to the problems he has had giving a diagnosis of PTSD. When appraised he had been taped, MacNinch said, "Unfortunately," McNinch told Sgt. X, "yours has not been the only case ... I and other [doctors] are under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD. It's not fair. I think it's a horrible way to treat soldiers, but unfortunately, you know, now the V.A. is jumping on board, saying, 'Well, these people don't have PTSD,' and stuff like that."
For a number of months the wife of a returning military man has tried to get help for her husband who has been diagnosed with PTSD but nevertheless received an Article 15 and the threat of a demotion following the man’s attempts to get mental illness support and to be properly evaluated so that a reasoned discharge and support for family members could occur. Instead there were threats of reprisal, according to the wife, who prefers to remain anonymous as she and her husband seek help from inside and outside the military. The fear has to do with additional reprisals before the husband’s formal discharge.
The National Institutes for Mental Health has underlined the problem involving mental health disorders following war and the risks involved in combat situations which are unpredictable and where the military has been required to serve several tours in combat zones. The NIMH quotes a 2008 study by the Rand Corporation which found 19 percent of OEF/OIF veterans suffered from brain injury, 14 percent had major depression, and 14 percent met criteria for PTSD.