Page 21 - Total War on PTSD

I felt betrayed...just like I felt betrayed when the Navy, my friends and coworkers who I felt just ‘weren't there’ for me when I started experiencing worsening PTSD issues after my return from Afghanistan. I felt betrayed because no one ever told me what had happened to me at that time, after I was brought back from the dead. I experienced Traumatic Brain Injuries caused not by the concussive efforts of Improvised Explosive Devices but rather by Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) sessions that came about from a Navy doctor's hands while I was still in the Navy. I coded during an ECT session and had to be resuscitated with a crash cart. My heart literally stopped beating. The worst part of it all was that I was not informed of what happened, and that I only found out about it later (a year later) when my attorney was reviewing my military medical records. Because of all this I will deal with brain lesions, and trust related issues, for the rest of my life.
The ability to trust people outside of the military, and even some people inside the military, can be difficult after serving in a war zone, especially after extreme circumstances. My own spouse’s PTSD didn’t act up until he retired from his full-time job with the phone company. This isn't the case for everyone. Some may have had to deal with PTSD and its related issues all along including heightened anxiety and panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, short-fused anger, and many other issues. Some turn to drugs and alcohol in the process.
Many Veterans I interviewed tell me that despite their issues with PTSD, they would not hesitate to return to service, or even to a war zone, to serve all over again. It is a place where those who have served are comfortable; where we worked alongside our brothers
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