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    spaced99Hamilton Nolan
    9/03/13 3:56pm

    I wonder how many of these vets with PTSD have tried EMDR for therapy. I've met a few folks with PTSD who have had great success with it and much quicker progress than tradition therapy sessions.

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      Nilla Wafflerspaced99
      9/03/13 3:58pm

      EMDR is pretty remarkable. I've had it myself and I do believe it helps people.

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      WaterWishspaced99
      9/03/13 4:31pm

      I second Nilla's endorsement. I had EMDR a few years ago for PTSD (not military-related) and I read a couple of books on it at the time. Its success on soldiers with PTSD is pretty well-documented. It's an amazing process.

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    DoraDoraBoBoraHamilton Nolan
    9/03/13 4:36pm

    My husband's grandfather served, and he didn't like to talk about it. Stepped on a mine and spent over a year in a hospital learning how to talk, write, read, even feed himself and walk again. (Apparently, this is also where he developed a dislike of the Red Cross. He said he kept trying to get the nurse on his ward to write a short letter home for him to help him let his family know he was alive, and she kept saying she had no time.) He passed away last year of cancer, and while he lived a long life with a 50+ year happy marriage full of world travel and would talk your ear off about every other event in his life, he would NOT talk about the war. Said he didn't even like to think about it. Most of the time it didn't seem to bother him, but he got a lot more withdrawn and contemplative towards the end. Makes me wish had HAD been able to unburden himself just to make it easier.

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      HobocamperHamilton Nolan
      9/03/13 3:58pm

      These stories are so important. Citizens like me care, even if I can't do more than listen. I think giving our service men and women the floor is vital. Thanks to those who shared their stories.

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        TJ LiferHamilton Nolan
        9/03/13 3:59pm

        All I could say is that I thank these people and their families for their service, and that Congress and the President need to do whatever it takes to get the VA the funding, leadership and staffing to help these soldiers ASAP!Thank you for this important story!

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          f'(AllNeonLike)Hamilton Nolan
          9/03/13 6:53pm

          Not sure exactly what I can add to this, except: my father was a Green Beret who did 3 tours of duty in Vietnam. Decades later (mid 90s, when I was an adolescent/teen), he was finally diagnosed with PTSD. It was a rough upbringing for sure, and I think that only now as an adult can I truly sympathize and sort of understand, in my own way, why he was the way he was.

          Thanks, Hamilton, for giving a voice to these people who are often forgotten.

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            SourPinaHamilton Nolan
            9/03/13 6:26pm

            My heart really goes out to the military wife that posted. I can't imagine how much that spouses suffer from a vet's PTSD, too.

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              HieronymusHiroshigeHamilton Nolan
              9/03/13 3:51pm

              These particular stories always bring a tear to my eye. But I read them anyway. I have nothing to add, really. Life is...

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                stopcallingmemomHieronymusHiroshige
                9/03/13 6:30pm

                I could only get through the first one. These stories make me way too emotional. One of my closest friends did 3 tours in Iraq in less than 5 years, the 2nd was by far the worst, he still won't tell me everything that happened, almost 4 yrs later. The Air Force made him complete 6 weekly therapy sessions, then sent him back to work. It's so upsetting to see him as a totally different person than he used to be.

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                HieronymusHiroshigestopcallingmemom
                9/04/13 10:47pm

                Yes. My son's father was in the army and well, let's just say it didn't turn out well. I always get butterflies before going ahead and reading these. I like that gawker is putting this out there, though. They get many gold stars from me.

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              Nilla WafflerHamilton Nolan
              9/03/13 3:56pm

              Perhaps someone already posted this in another installment but the Soldiers' Project is a great resource for military families in some areas.

              Seeking mental health services through the VA can be problematic for some people, this is a network of therapists volunteering/donating their time to provide assistance, worth checking out.

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                Jeffrey12Hamilton Nolan
                9/04/13 12:33am

                These stories make me sick to my stomach. I feel so bad for the men and women suffering through all of this.

                If you remember the unemployment tales that Gawker used to publish, I wrote one of those. I have 2 BS degrees (1 in computer science and 1 in Health Care Administration) and I've been unemployed for 6 1/2 years.

                I called the VA to see if there was something I could do to help. Not only do they not hire civilian contractors, they don't even allow civilian volunteers.

                I need a job in the worst kind of way and all I want to do is help. If I could cut through the red tape for 1 soldier in need, it would make my life worthwhile. I guess we're all fucked by this miserable shitty system.

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