Page 910 - Total War on PTSD

supported by the behavioral health doctors. My therapist of four years now has introduced me to many different techniques. If I didn't like one, she wouldn't force it on me. We worked together on a recovery plan, and I think this was essential for the therapy to work. People just have to know that this is an option, and you must be involved in your care plan.
For a long time, I thought that having PTSD was, or would be viewed as, a weakness. We were taught as Non-Commissioned Officers, and leaders (at least in the Army I grew up in), to drive on, continue with the mission, and to not wear your emotions on your sleeve; to compartmentalize. We were molded to be tough, unbreakable, even. But after years of doing just this, my symptoms started to break through the cracks in the facade I had built. When others started telling me they were seeing signs, asking me if I had PTSD, I realized I needed help. It was my boyfriend at the time who persuaded me to go to therapy. Additionally, being in a caregiver profession, I also felt obligated to follow the advice I gave to other Soldiers — that it's okay to ask for help. So, I did. Now, being in therapy for years, I see it as a way out of the hell I've been living alone; I strongly urge it. While it may not be the sole source of healing, it can help you learn how to deal with the life-long effects, and for me, the person that I am now (which is not the person I was before the military) which is broken. Therapy, along with my Lizzy, is helping me recover, slow as it may be. A long-standing joke with my Psych. Therapist, is how it took me almost a year to even talk to her; I would simply sit there and not participate. But she didn't give up on me. My therapy appointments are the one appointment that I always make; well, almost always.
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