Small Rant......

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

I posted this in my Lifestyle group, and wanted to share it here as well...:} And if you see me being refered to as Mama, dont panic, its me..lol ;)
Cat

Ok..somebody help me up on da soapbox and hold my cane....
It's been mentioned that our men and women coming back from the war, or a war-like situation, needs help and support. You have no idea of how right they are. So many of my Vets that I have worked with and still am,(male and female) came/come back with some form of PTSD-Post Trumatic Stress Disorder. Altho this is most commonly known and refered to as a Veteran's malady, it's not, it can happen to Anyone who has had a life-threatening, life-changing experiance. But, right now I'm talking about our Vets.

When you have a Vet come home he or she can use all of the support, understanding, and Love that you can provide them. You can show the best support in the world by just Being there for them if and when they decide it's time to open up and talk. Just lending a shoulder and Listening can be one of the best things in the world for them, and can ease alot of pain and heart ache. It's never good to keep anything pent up inside, and for them, it's tenfold. Talk with them, hold them if that's what they need, cry with them, but above all else, dont judge and know that in some cases it was their lives over others. Be There, dont just sit and go, "Uh huh, ok, whatever" They need your love and understanding, they dont need sympathy. You dont have to understand what they've been through because you never will..unless you've been in their shoes...but be there for them.

So my loves, when you see a Vet, male or female, shake their hand, offer a hug if they'll allow it, give them a smile and a thank you, because they've Earned it and deserved it. Ok, somebody help me down off'n this thing. lol
Yer Mama

[TwylaTwobits]

Well said, Cat. It's a different age now with different reasons for the stresses on returning soldiers. But everyone who has served their country deserves our pride and our respect and our support.

So a big hug to any on here who have served and a extra hug to LDD cause I love you, you Vet you.

[Doggie_Wood]

As a Vet - I can appreciate those Vets coming home - and I always attempt to make eye contact with them. If they are close enough to hear meI give them a hand shake and/or at least a sincere "Thank You for your service". If they are not close, I mouth the words "Thank You" and give them a wink and a nod. They deserve it!

Doggie :doggie:

[tenni]

Cat
I agree with your intent. I have always wondered where these people who write " support our troops" go when the military come home with PTSD.

It is a lovely thought that a shoulder to cry on and a good ear to listen will solve the problem. They need trained counselling. It is a difficult condition to heal from. Give them a shoulder but also pressure our governments to provide the services that vets need asap. A year may pass without treatment and some just don't make it. Some kill themselves without proper care. I've heard that if they kill themselves and are no longer formally in the service, their suicide is not used when calculating death from PTSD.

My cousin was very high up in the Canadian military and it took him five years to recover. Due to his high rank you would think that he would get priority and probably did.

[graytwo]

... Just lending a shoulder and Listening can be one of the best things in the world for them, and can ease alot of pain and heart ache. ... Talk with them, hold them if that's what they need, cry with them, but above all else, dont judge and know that in some cases it was their lives over others. ... You dont have to understand what they've been through because you never will..unless you've been in their shoes...


As an old vet type, circa 1967-1970, I can say your words rang true and thank you for voicing what needs to be said over and over to all of us.

-gray

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Sigh..ok. I'm going to out myself here..there goes my Dumb Country-girl persona that I'm so fond of....:cool:

I worked in the Veterans Administration for 15 years in Los Angeles Calif. I was a Veterans Representative Supervisor's Aide, in Veteran's claims and substanciations. I was also married to a Vietnam Veteran for 30 years, who had PTSD to a degree of 7...meaning that he didnt and doesnt,, get along well in "Polite" society, he is only comfortable around fellow Vets.

I learned a great deal from being around Vets of all kinds, and I respect and honor them more than I can tell you. I love these people from all wars and branches, and always shall. I was in Peer Counsiling for our Veteran's groups, and I learned about PTSD to help my husband, and to better cope with the situation that he was in. Many fear Dr's and counsilors because most of the time they are just "drugged" up and sent home to handle it on their own. This is pure Bullshit. If they dont have a good suppost unit like friends and family and extended family, they can have a difficult time and yes..sometimes death occures because they cant handle it on their own and because they feel no one gives a damn. But many of us DO.

To my Vets on this site, you have my respect and affection, always, and thank you for being there and understanding the new generation going, and coming home.
Cat

[Waltzing_Matilda]

I appreciate the loving, supportive person you are to the Vets, Cat. My father was dropped 13 miles off course during the Normandy invasion and fought off Germans for two days before he was captured...and spent 11 months in a prison camp, repairing coal carts for the Germans for their mining operations. He survived...escaping three times before he actually made it out.
My father was my hero....he survived a lot more than just 11 months of prison camp...he survived the tortures and trauma every single day of those long months. He was always a hard worker and strove for a better life for the ones he loved. His example is one I hope to follow....his trauma never surfaced until the last ten years of his life.
He suffered dimentia and ptsd in those years...and it was so hard to see him go through his pain and suffering...but we stayed beside him all the way.
Although his mind was in his past on the day he died...he asked the nurse to call me...I had always worried he would forget who I was...but he didn't and asked for me by name on that morning. I was able to tell him that his example would live with me forever and my love and respect for him would never die.....he smiled for the last time.
I make a point to tell those that are wearing this countries uniforms that I appreciate their service. It's how I continue to honor my fathers memory.
Thank you again Cat, for being a strong supporter and a voice for these wonderful men and women.
:) Mati

[Giggles100]

I appreciate the loving, supportive person you are to the Vets, Cat. My father was dropped 13 miles off course during the Normandy invasion and fought off Germans for two days before he was captured...and spent 11 months in a prison camp, repairing coal carts for the Germans for their mining operations. He survived...escaping three times before he actually made it out.
My father was my hero....he survived a lot more than just 11 months of prison camp...he survived the tortures and trauma every single day of those long months. He was always a hard worker and strove for a better life for the ones he loved. His example is one I hope to follow....his trauma never surfaced until the last ten years of his life.
He suffered dimentia and ptsd in those years...and it was so hard to see him go through his pain and suffering...but we stayed beside him all the way.
Although his mind was in his past on the day he died...he asked the nurse to call me...I had always worried he would forget who I was...but he didn't and asked for me by name on that morning. I was able to tell him that his example would live with me forever and my love and respect for him would never die.....he smiled for the last time.
I make a point to tell those that are wearing this countries uniforms that I appreciate their service. It's how I continue to honor my fathers memory.
Thank you again Cat, for being a strong supporter and a voice for these wonderful men and women.
:) Mati

That's really sweet. You nearly teased a lil tear from my eye :).

[jamiehue]

All the young vets that have worked for me over the years have been good with the horses better than expected and everybody wins inc the horses.But having witnessed this type of post war ptsd a understanding that as a lay person the space needed by the suffers has to be there but you have to be there for support the reward is your gonna learn something i have.

[bi male 2]

I posted this in my Lifestyle group, and wanted to share it here as well...:} And if you see me being refered to as Mama, dont panic, its me..lol ;)
Cat

Ok..somebody help me up on da soapbox and hold my cane....
It's been mentioned that our men and women coming back from the war, or a war-like situation, needs help and support. You have no idea of how right they are. So many of my Vets that I have worked with and still am,(male and female) came/come back with some form of PTSD-Post Trumatic Stress Disorder. Altho this is most commonly known and refered to as a Veteran's malady, it's not, it can happen to Anyone who has had a life-threatening, life-changing experiance. But, right now I'm talking about our Vets.

When you have a Vet come home he or she can use all of the support, understanding, and Love that you can provide them. You can show the best support in the world by just Being there for them if and when they decide it's time to open up and talk. Just lending a shoulder and Listening can be one of the best things in the world for them, and can ease alot of pain and heart ache. It's never good to keep anything pent up inside, and for them, it's tenfold. Talk with them, hold them if that's what they need, cry with them, but above all else, dont judge and know that in some cases it was their lives over others. Be There, dont just sit and go, "Uh huh, ok, whatever" They need your love and understanding, they dont need sympathy. You dont have to understand what they've been through because you never will..unless you've been in their shoes...but be there for them.

So my loves, when you see a Vet, male or female, shake their hand, offer a hug if they'll allow it, give them a smile and a thank you, because they've Earned it and deserved it. Ok, somebody help me down off'n this thing. lol
Yer Mama

To bad you weren't around when I came home from Viet Nam.

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

BIM2, there was so much that we didnt know about PTSD back then. it was called "Shell Shock" or Melancolia, and it still boiled down to one thing; PTSD..just different names. I got into working with my Vets because of my husband, (ex now) and it was that most rewarding thing I could have done..until I wound up working with disabled college students.

Even though I stopped working with the VA when I left Calif, I find myself still working with the Vets from Now. All they need is some love, understanding and encouragement when they need it. Its a whoole different ballgame for them, but its all the same as well. Different scenerio, same condition.
Just love em, that's all you can do. Offer a shoulder, offer a seat and a beer, and show em you care...:}
Cat

[mikey3000]

I have such high respect for veterans. For What they've done for us, I just want to shake their hands, and give them a big hug, or better yet take them home and cook them a nice meal. If I can just soothe their aches and pains by giving them a full nude body masage and maybe even draw them a bath. I'd slowly strip off all their clothes, massage their sore muscles, and give them a big kiss of thanks, as we slowly climb into a hot bach together and I'd really show them my appreciation...

Wait. did I say that out loud? Whoops! (Tee hee hee.)

My lover is a vet and that's how I show my appreciation every chance I get. We do owe them our lives.

[tenni]

I respect people who have joined the military and placed themselves in to some very dangerous places because that is where my government has told them to go. However, I do not believe that I owe them anything for what they have done for me. Right or wrong, they have done what our governments have told them to do. I will not over glorify what they have done if I do not agree with what my government has told them to do. I do feel great sympathy for those who come back from such places with PTSD. I do not mix up that sympathy with bullshit that governments try to tell us.

In today's society, people voluntarily join rather than being conscripted into a military. They do this for a variety of reasons but I would suspect that none would be prepared or expect to get PTSD. There is a difference between conscription and volunteering but any one who has PTSD does deserve support. How many of these vets believe that they were used by a government and how many believe that they were doing a good thing? I don't know. It must be hell and some entered the military expecting one thing to find out that the reality was something very different.

[mikey3000]

Don't forget Tenni that our government is just as corrupt as any other country's. These young men and women enter the service with the most honourable of intensions and some become so disheartened with, "what our government tells them to do." But they still do it cause that is their job.

I applaud them all. I don't know if I'd have the courage to do it.

[tenni]

Yes Mikey
I did use the term "our governments" and included our country's leaders. For me, it is not about whether I have the courage but whether that was a choice that entered my mind when I was a young'n. It never entered my mind but it was in a cousin's mind. He did join as a niave 17 year old. He did get PTSD and never really told many of us in the family about it. He mentioned it two years ago casually to me but it had happened almost 15 years prior. He did climb the ranks very high from being an able seaman without a high school diploma to being a Commander(third highest rank in our navy). He is now a very successful vice president of a college. Apparently, nothing phases him and he is quite a different person from when we were goofy kids. So, there are success stories for people who suffer from PTSD but he was high enough up in the ranks that I do wonder if he got special treatment. I am concerned about all military persons returning under today's conditions. Sorry Cat but I just don't believe that a hug and an ear will do it for most. I may be wrong.

btw My cousin let something slip about the first Gulf War that was astounding. It is not public information and I did not question him on it. I do not know if it was some distortion still from PTSD or he was where he told me that he was.

[TaylorMade]

I usually offer a hug, a listening ear, and a blowjob...

Most take me up on just the first two. :tong:

*Taylor*

[tenni]

Gee Taylor
I thought a lot of guys would take you up on the bj...and skip the hug and ear.....lol