I was recently invited to speak to a high school psychology class (over Zoom) about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I take pleasure speaking to youth that are willing to listen. Dispelling myths and expressing truth (to the best of my ability) goes a long way toward bridging the gap.

I say PTSD because it’s the widest recognized acronym. Post traumatic stress is a normal physiological response to enduring extraordinarily abnormal circumstances, so many believe it should not be classified as a disorder. Common derivatives are PTSd and PTS.

Today I spoke in front of my church about some of my journey through PTSD. I don’t fear speaking about it now but it wasn’t always this way. Who you release information to, when, and where are important decisions in the healing process. Not everyone should hear your story but even for the appropriate audience, not all can be told.

Seeking help is getting easier as people acknowledge the mental health crisis taking place in our country. We might be improving access to care but I wonder if we’re not also increasing the need for it. Does it seem to anyone else that we are boiling ourselves alive?

We desperately want to be an informed generation, “woke” and “tolerant.” Despite trying to reduce stigma, ironically we’re creating more. With moral relativism and no absolute truth, we can question our very genetic code and claim that it must be mistaken. We’ve created “phobias” that aren’t even phobias.

Phobia – an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation
– intolerance or aversion for

I was slightly surprised that there’s no listed phobia of PTSD. There’s certainly an apprehension that exists when people find out you have/had PTSD. When asking veterans what they wish civilians would understand, a resounding message emerged. We aren’t broken, don’t handle us with kid gloves.

It takes time to come to grips with having PTSD. It takes a lot of time to deal with PTSD (If you choose to start that process; some never do). Experiences vary as does the trauma that causes the stress response.

What you’ve been shown on TV and in movies is not an accurate depiction of the majority that have PTSD. Most of us are just trying to get by and be left alone. We are not the gun happy, homicidal, loose cannon you’ve been told about. We are not the easily radicalized domestic terrorist that DHS would label us as.

“The assessment also said that returning military veterans who have difficulties assimilating into their home communities could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or might engage in lone acts of violence.”

CBS News

So where are we in bridging the gap?
If you’re a veteran, are you able to tell your story? Are you willing to tell some of it to civilians?
Civilians, are you willing to engage a veteran at a level deeper than just thanking them for their service? Can you listen to hard stories and love a person despite your opinion?

Don’t shy away from someone with PTSD. Sure, respect their space but they may need someone to help pull them out of the isolation with which they have grown too comfortable. It often takes a team of fellow vets and family to rally around an isolated person, a new unit that they can join.

Love transcends opinion, crosses borders, ignores orientation, and shows compassion for a person as they are, not as we would make them.

It takes time to build a bridge.

How much time are we willing to invest in relationships? Our nation would be much stronger if we reintegrated the disenfranchised warrior population. Lessons can be learned from their expanded world view, leadership, and skill sets. But, it must be tempered by the less callous, less cynical civilians who are willing to cooperate for a better tomorrow.

If we continue listening to the talking heads, our perception will be that of a nation divided. If we focus on people, face to face in our home town, we can repair the damage, build a bridge, and move beyond healing to thriving.

-Drew Over and OUT!