Thanks for keeping this subject on peoples minds. No one wants to talk about it but it is an important prepper topic. I keep wanting to do an article on it but each time I start, I just cant face it. I guess I am not ready yet.
I just want to add that its not just a problem for "Heroes". The only reason we have begun to talk about it is "Returning War Vets". Others that get it are Disaster Victims, Many women that have experienced Rape, Children and Teens that have grown up in "Projects", People that have been sent to prison for minor offences and came out F@#cked for life, Torture victims and a lot of refugees immigrants. If the SHTF, it may be your children or wife or neighbour....OR YOU.
My shink that really helped me move past it was a specialist on the subject and had volunteered a lot of Time in Vancouver's Lower east side, which helped me to trust her because we had both "Served" there. She pointed out that over 90% of the people there have PTSD. Over 90%.
I survived PTSD but it took a lot of years. The nightmares, flashbacks, violent outburst and suicidal attempts at relief are now in the past for me. For others left untreated it can go on for life. It can be survived but it starts with bringing it out in the open and developing PTSD First Aid strategies to be implemented when the SHTF.

Thank you for sharing

I think PTSD is still one of those things that you just don't talk about. This awareness tour is geared to those that work in the service industry more then the armed forces. They are finding that more and more nurses, police officers, fire fighters, etc are suffering in silence with it.

Words from TEMA
Sometimes those who save lives need to heal!
The men and women of our emergency and military services see tragic events every day. They witness human suffering up close and it sometimes becomes very difficult to cope with the aftermath.
Smells, sounds and reliving witnessed events create lasting painful memories that haunt these men and women for life. It is their legacy for helping others in times of human suffering. The Tema Conter Memorial Trust was established to end the silence and ease the suffering. Through research, education, training, and through the provision of peer and psychological support, we aim to help these men and women when they need it most.

There is no way a person can prepare for tragic events in their lives but by learning how or what to do mentally now will give you a greater chance later.

I thought I would start my day by giving you a quick description of PTSD.

For whatever reason, A shocking memory or series of events refuses to cycle fully into long term memory. We have all had something truly shocking or painful happen in our lives. Think back to that event. Over time, the pain of that event diminishes and eventually it becomes a memory that happened along time ago. For the person with PTSD, The initial events Replay over and over as if it just happened the first time. At my worst, I was experiencing the initial shock 50 to 100 times a day (Several times an hour). Needless to say, this adrenalin shock is hard on the body. Over time the brain rewires itself to only focus on the threatening event. Other parts of the brain cease to function, thus attention and memory loss issues, and rage responses to small threats, like being an animal in a cage being poked with a stick continuously. For some like myself there is a disassociation, where the brain ceases to recognise the part we identify as the self. Its like someone else is walking around in our body. I found myself wondering if I had died and don't know it. Am I a Ghost or Is this Hell where I keep reliving the same thing every day. This still happens to me every couple of months now but It is now easy for me to catch happening and stop it. It was uncontrollable by the third and fourth year. It takes a large number of years just to get used to this new person walking around in your skin.
The necessary part of recovery is to talk about it in a safe place, Not hide the event (None of this, Just be a Man and Just Get over it, Shite), hopefully disengaging the events from its perpetual loop and then, hopefully allowing the memory to begin cycling into long term memory, where it is still a shocking painful memory but its just a memory that slowly moves into the past.
Unfortunately, Its probably not your friends or wife you want to share this with. That's a great way to have them never look at you the same way again. You will need someone outside of your group, trained in listening and encouraging to reveal more. For me, the triggers were every where so I slowly removed all the triggers. Less triggers meant more safety and thus giving the brain a chance to heal.

That's all I got at the moment. Time to do some repairs to get the tractor ready to cut hay.

thank you for sharing {{{hugs}}}

Enrico Colantoni and TEMA

http://youtu.be/Fon-071x0lo