Page 35 - Total War on PTSD

"Thousands of our post-9/11 Veterans carry the invisible burden of post-traumatic stress, and there is an overwhelming need to expand the available treatment options." - Ron DeSantis
Source: Pixabay
Courtenay: I expected enemy fire and roadside bombs to kill some of my comrades-in-arms. What I never expected was that PTSD from Afghanistan would kill one of my best friends. We both deployed to South Korea at the same time, right after 9/11, and then, years later, he deployed to Afghanistan six months after I did. It was his death all those months later, after both of us returned home, that inspired me to research the entire subject of PTSD in its depths and to write this book. The loss of any friend can be very difficult but is especially so if you have had similar experiences and feelings. Whenever I hear of a news story about the death of a service member or Veteran I have to fight against my own sadness. I can't help but wonder if they tried to overcome their PTSD on their own and if they reached out for help. Regardless, my thoughts drag me down and I wish that someone, anyone, could have made a difference in their life before it was lost. Walking down the dusty streets and alleys on Kandahar Airfield between my work and my barracks, whenever I saw service members getting ready to go out on convoy, I asked myself why I deserved to stay on base while they had to go off base and in harm's way. All of them had way too much of their lives still ahead of them, and I should have gone in their place because I was older and had lived more of my life than they had. I still feel the need to rescue as
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