Vietnam Veterans of America National President John Rowan
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Roy R.'s Success Story Roy R. spent a year in Phu Bai and Danang during the Vietnam War as a combat engineer where he was responsible for building roads for the troops through the jungle and demolished infrastructure of the Vietnamese countryside under constant fire of the Viet Cong. After discharging in 1969, Roy has had a 30-year struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Roy exclaims, “You can’t take a 19-year-old brain and subject it to the constant threat of death or injury by rocket fire and expect it not to be affected.” When he came home, 20 year-old Roy enrolled at the New England School of Broadcasting where he began a successful broadcast journalism career. Later, his career took him to San Diego where his PTSD began to overwhelm him. |
"It was Vietnam telling me, 'It's time to deal with me now."
He made his way back to his home town of Boston, however, things only became worse. He became agoraphobic, an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous. He would stay inside with all of the blinds drawn, drank too much, and avoided people all together. This lifestyle lasted for eight years. At this point, he was contemplating between suicide and getting help. He decided to get help.
In the mid-90s, Roy went to the VA in Worcester. He credits his counselor with saving his life, with medication, therapy, and straight talk about “where I wanted to be in five years and how I was going to get there”. Looking back, Roy thinks soldiers from the Vietnam era were particularly susceptible to PTSD because of feelings of isolation. “In earlier wars,” he says, “a group of men trained as a unit, were sent to fight as a unit, and returned home as a unit. That meant you had an instant support system. In Vietnam, by contrast, it was the “army of one” approach. When I got to Phu Bai, I didn’t know a soul.”
Roy is far from alone in waiting to get help for his PTSD. “A lot of guys think they can handle this by themselves, but the mind won’t let you suppress feelings just because you don’t want to deal with them. Eventually the situation surfaces and demands attention. I’ll always be dealing with this – PTSD, depression, shell-shock – whatever you call it, it’s my life.”
He made his way back to his home town of Boston, however, things only became worse. He became agoraphobic, an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous. He would stay inside with all of the blinds drawn, drank too much, and avoided people all together. This lifestyle lasted for eight years. At this point, he was contemplating between suicide and getting help. He decided to get help.
In the mid-90s, Roy went to the VA in Worcester. He credits his counselor with saving his life, with medication, therapy, and straight talk about “where I wanted to be in five years and how I was going to get there”. Looking back, Roy thinks soldiers from the Vietnam era were particularly susceptible to PTSD because of feelings of isolation. “In earlier wars,” he says, “a group of men trained as a unit, were sent to fight as a unit, and returned home as a unit. That meant you had an instant support system. In Vietnam, by contrast, it was the “army of one” approach. When I got to Phu Bai, I didn’t know a soul.”
Roy is far from alone in waiting to get help for his PTSD. “A lot of guys think they can handle this by themselves, but the mind won’t let you suppress feelings just because you don’t want to deal with them. Eventually the situation surfaces and demands attention. I’ll always be dealing with this – PTSD, depression, shell-shock – whatever you call it, it’s my life.”
Excerpt from Long Time Passing: Interview with Tom Hagel
The war in Vietnam proved to place emotional and physical stress on the veterans for years to come. This in particular happened to Tom Hagel, who works with veterans like himself who experience PTSD. He can distinctly remember, "anxiety and numbness seemed to be the strongest emotions", that he experienced in combat. All of the waiting and fatigue made him anxiety-ridden. The troops would sit and wait for the Viet Cong to attack, and when they never did, it would tear away and the American soldiers slowly. And, "sometimes the terror is so deep-set you simply cannot remember. It comes back in nightmares", according to Hagel. Because of his horrific experiences, Tom Hagel set out to be a live-in counselor for those who became mentally scarred from the war. He has worked mostly woth those who were involved in the Battle at Buffalo Creek. At this particular battle, a fatal flood struck and those who survived now experience anxiety, which turns to panic every time it rains. The event is relived in continuous nightmares of some veterans. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association estimated that the Buffalo Creek survivors, which makeup about half of the Vietnam veterans, are experiencing some type of PTSD.
The men of Delta Company 3rd
Battalian, 187th Infantry Airborne, 101st Airborne
Division, were noted as the “leftovers” of American soldiers in Vietnam. They weren’t
very important or significant, but after March 18th, 1968, they
proved themselves as war heroes. Within the interview with Adam Piore and Jay
Allison, light is shed on what happened with the men of the Delta Company. Captain
Paul Bucha singlehandedly destroyed a machine gun bunker through a swarm of
firing to earn him the Medal of Honor and the rest of his battalion became the
most decorated of the Vietnam War. Bucha noted that, “bullets were flying
everywhere… you don’t stop and say “oh look there are bullets”, you know they’re
flying everywhere and it scares you”. He can still vividly remember the moment
of combat and he has been living with the weight of that memory his whole life.
He states that there is nothing he can do about shaking it from his mind.
Interview with Ronald Gordan- A Homeless Veteran with PTSD
"If you only knew brother. . ."
Interview with Marnie Burkman |
For our personal experience, we called Marnie Burkman, a psychiatrist from Ann Arbor that specializes in Trauma and PTSD cases.
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1. What is the clearest indicator of PTSD in a veteran?
"PTSD can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. Typically, many veterans come back from war with some type of stress-related reactions due to the traumatic events, but not everyone gets PTSD. Usually, if these reactions don't go away over time and they often disrupt their lifestyle, it indicates that they have PTSD. These individuals usually relive their traumatic events, avoid situations that remind them of these events, have negative changes in their beliefs and feelings, and are often jittery or alert."
2. How many cases of PTSD have you dealt with?
"All my cases are confidential, but the my speciality is dealing with this type of case so I'd say I have dealt with my fair share."
3. What is the biggest obstacle in dealing with patients with PTSD?
"It's often difficult to get these patients out of a hyperarousal stage. At this point, the individual is on the lookout for danger at all times; they are still in a fighting mode. It's most difficult initiating them back into their everyday lives."
4. What is the age range suffering from this trauma?
"PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years. Usually veterans may come to me after a few months of being home one they realize that they are having issues. Typically, they would be considered younger. However, I still have patients that are older individuals as they have yet to overcome their PTSD."
5. What is a typical treatment plan for someone with PTSD?
"The most effective treatment in my opinion is cognitive behavioral therapy. This is where the patient may learn skills to understand how trauma changed their thoughts and feelings. It is also where they talk about their trauma repeatedly until memories are no longer upsetting. Patients are also encouraged to go to places that are safe, but that they have been staying away from because they are related to their trauma."
6. How are family's affected by PTSD?
"PTSD can make somebody hard to be with. Living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and often avoids social situations can take a toll on the most caring family. Vietnam Veterans have especially more marital problems and family violence, their partners have more distress and their children have more behavior problems than do those of Veterans without PTSD. Those suffering with PTSD have a hard time feeling emotions and they may feel detached from others. This can cause problems in personal relationships, and may even lead to behavior problems in their children. Family members may feel hurt because their loved one has not been able to overcome the effects of the trauma. Family members frequently devote themselves totally to those they care for and, in the process, neglect their own needs."
7. Do these patients ever recover?
"This could mean something different for different people. Not everyone who gets treated will be cured. Even if they continue to have symptoms, treatment can help them cope. These symptoms don't have to interfere with everyday activities. When someone has PTSD, dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling others how they feel, they may want to keep their feelings bottled up but treatment can help them get better."