Possibly we could get this string to expand with comments from other vets who may have or in the future will visit this string and don't comment not because they don't want to because it is so very difficult to explain how they/we are feeling.

I have at least a half a dozen stories of my PTSD which I have to come clean and admit is not near as bad as the majority of you and our vet buddies, but I've always wanted to write them out to encourage stories from others.

As well I wouldn't be surprised if non-combatant civilians who are curious have visited vet sites to see what PTSD is all about. But maybe not, who knows. Something that I think we must overcome and somehow put out to our American non-combatant brothers and sisters is the silence over PTSD that government has so very successfully created in order to squash the truths of war we know so well and our non-combatant counterparts are... well... clueless.

The thing is... how I see it anyway is that before Iraq not in my wildest dreams could I have ever figured that PTSD is a very wierd, wild and crazy thing. Before I joined the Army I had a Vietnam Vet roommate and when his PTSD rolled out on the occassion I was just dumbfounded to know how to feel or what to say. However in my ignorance it is not that I didn't want to know more.

In any case I'll toss out a couple of examples of my experiences that I think are 'endemic' of PTSD and if anyone wants to hear more stories let me know and I'll tell ya more.

Maybe I can even make you smile or laugh a bit too.

How many times when someone hears you've been to war they become rather 'dishoveled' in knowing what to say [because you and I know we make our non-combatant Americans nervous and I for one have come to rather enjoy calmly looking them straight in the eyes and seeing, feeling their nervous tension] upon which most say, "Thank you for your service..." The first thing that always pops in my head and I am just silent but want to say, "Oh, stick it in your ear!"
That comment makes my PTSD kick in and and I have to walk away because I have no control over my body getting nervy-shaky-figity and anything I'd say after that my voice betrays my anger at our American peoples' deadly ignorance.
Familiar to anyone?

More in a moment...
Mek