Great article !!!
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2008886,00.html
This is the letter that I wrote to the editor:
Thank you so much for this article. People need to realize that it is irrational to expect that a soldier can witness the act of war and come home unphased by it. I applaud you for writing about the fact that the mental health care of our soldiers is inadequate. I also loved that you didn't take the stance of "meds can cure everything". I am a survivor of the horrific side effects that antidepressants can cause and know personally that "popping pills" doesn't solve problems. I hope that your article is read by people who have the capacity to fund mental health clinics for the military and that more qualified staff can be hired to care for our soldiers with talk therapy and Cognitive Behavorial Therapy. In times of heartache and trauma, we all just need somebody to talk to.
I have to wonder why this wasn't the cover story. Is the fact that a bird can drop stones into a pitcher of water more important than the mental health of our soldiers? As a country, I really think that we are spending money on the wrong kinds of research.
A friend of ours is suffering from PTSD from being in the war. His life is forever changed by the events over there. It is an everyday struggle for him and his family. He denied and resisted any mental health help for a long time but finally seeked help and it is amazing how much better he feels. He'll never be the same person he was before he went over, but he is starting to at least resemble the man he was. Luckily(?) he's in the Canadian Military and doesn't have the short turn around between tours. Because of his PTSD he will not do another tour in his military career.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article.
I heard from a friend of mine about a soldier that was assaulted by other soldiers during a war and I assumed that they would send him home. My jaw hit the floor when she told me, "Nope - they just handed him some antidepressants and told him to get back to work". So tragic.
ReplyDelete(Now you have 35! Keep up with the snark!)
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