Sunday, August 8, 2021

How about we start to let veterans know they are only human?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 8, 2021


Why is it that too many think PTSD strikes only veterans? That is because veterans get all the attention. Rightfully, that is true but you may not know why they deserve the bulk of the attention. It isn't for the most obvious reasons. It is for the reason few know about. Had it not been for them, hardly no one would understand what trauma does to survivors, including me.

Vietnam veterans, came home the same way all other generations came home with the traumas of war tagging along deep inside of them. Unlike other generations, they decided that even though the American people basically gave up on them, they did not give up on us doing the right thing for them.

They pushed for all the research and funding that began everything available to them, as well as civilians. While we focus on veterans and PTSD, we do them a disservice by ignoring the others with PTSD from all other traumas. If we point out that humans develop PTSD from just facing trauma as a civilian, they are more able to understand why they get hit as hard as they do after facing multiple traumas while deployed.

If we withhold the commonality they share with members of emergency responders, again, we do veterans a great disservice.

In total, 47% of the sample screened positive for PTSD, which is approximately 9 to 10 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population. Further, 29% of the sample was in the moderate to very severe range of anxiety, which is approximately 2 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population. Finally, 37% of the sample was in the moderate to very severe range of depression. This is approximately 5 times greater than the prevalence seen in the general population.

Among recent well publicized suicides, four police officers who fought off the attackers at the US Capitol committed suicide. 

Firefighters
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - First responders are nearly 10 times as likely to contemplate suicide than other adults, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
I was thinking about movies that came out long before the Vietnam War but PTSD is obvious to anyone who can see it within themselves.

In 1946 The Best Years Of Our Lives was about veterans of WWII coming home changed. Roger Ebert wrote "The home front is also not without its casualties" in 2007. It is a really great read especially about the veterans the movie focuses on, including an amputee veteran.
Russell won an honorary Oscar, "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." Although he was actually nominated for best supporting actor, the Academy board voted the special award because they thought he didn't have a chance of winning. They were wrong. He won the Oscar, the only time an actor has been given two Oscars for the same role.
"As long as we have wars and returning veterans, some of them wounded, "The Best Years of Our Lives" will not be dated."
The movie The Robe was one of the first movies I saw that was about PTSD. The Robe came out after WWI, WWII and the Korean War ended the year it was released. No one made the connection to the movie and how it was like what the memories of veterans. It had it all! The power of the past haunting us. A woman thinking that love could heal the afflicted. Some people thinking the one with PTSD had gone insane.

By the time I was old enough to watch it on TV and enjoy it, my Dad, a Korean War veteran, said it was haunting. I didn't understand why until he used the word "shell shock" to explain what veterans went through. I just associated it with my own traumas and struggles between what happened why clinging onto my faith.

Marcellus (Richard Burton) became haunted and Diana (Jean Simmons) loved him. She thought that he was possessed and said "you're ill" when it was clear he was not the same man she fell in love with. At one point, when he returned to her, he attempted suicide.

He had nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and paranoia. It is all in this movie including the fact that he was healed and became happier!
Marcellus Gallio (died 38 AD) was a Roman military tribune and Christian martyr during the 1st century AD. He was the commander of the detachment which crucified Jesus in Jerusalem in 33 AD, and he won Jesus' crucifixion robe in a dice game. After experiencing the robe's miraculous powers, Gallio became a Christian, and he was martyred by the Roman emperor Caligula in 38 AD because of his conversion.
(Note: He was a tribune and not a centurion)
The Robe (1953)
The first movie ever filmed in CinemaScope, The Robe was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1953, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Richard Burton. Burton stars as Marcellus Galilo, the Roman centurion charged with overseeing the crucifixion. But when he wins Christ's robe in a gambling game at the foot of the cross, his life is forever changed.


Also in this movie is the healing power of spirituality. This movie took hold of me to the point where when I was working for a church, I was told I'd be giving the Children's Sermon at the last minute. As a matte of fact, 10 minutes before the service began. The new Pastor didn't like me very much, and he problably thought he could trap me, or cause me to walk out. I looked up to Heaven and said, "take this over" because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it.

My heart was racing and all of a sudden this scene popped into by brain.

That was what I talked about to the children. It turned out, the grownups were listening too. After the service, many told me it was the best sermon I ever gave. The Youth Pastor, who was a friend, told me how wonderful it was and event the new Pastor congratulated me. Both of then wanted to know where it came from.

I told them while I knew what was in the Bible, I couldn't quote chapter or verse and wasn't sure where I read it. That night I had a dream about Victor Mature, also in the movie, and Cecil B. DeMille. The next morning I told both Pastors where it came from and we had a good, long laugh about it. Really funny considedring that had I remembered the real director's name, Henry Koster, it wouldn't have dawned on me that was a movie. My brain always associated movies to DeMille.

Another movie that explains PTSD is It's A Wonderful Life (1947)
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

How about we start to let veterans know, while they are different from us, we have a lot more in common with them than they are aware of and maybe, they'll understand exactly how human they still are after all.

Here are some more movies you may not think about that are also addressing what comes after trauma.

10 Films About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
"Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition that may develop in people who have experienced a traumatic event. While it’s widely associated with veterans returning from war, victims of sexual abuse and assault, domestic violence, or robbery, any serious physical or psychological injury can be affected by this disorder."
1. The Deer Hunter (1978)
2. Coming Home (1978)
3. Born On The Fourth of July (1989)
4. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012)
5. First Blood (1982)
6. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
7. Forrest Gump (1992)
8. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
9. Iron Man 3 (2013)
10. Mystic River (2003)
find out why from InspireMalibu.com
Disney movies with trauma survivors
1. Maleficent from “Maleficent”
2. Elsa from “Frozen”
3. Quasimodo from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
4. Merida from “Brave”
5. Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch”
6. Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”
7. Sadness from “Inside Out”
8. Cinderella from “Cinderella”
9. Princess Jasmine from “Aladdin”
10. Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”
11. Mowgli from “The Jungle Book”
12. Belle from “Beauty and the Beast”
13. Rapunzel from “Tangled”
14. Jim Hawkins from “Treasure Planet”
15. Eeyore from “Winnie the Pooh”
16. Mulan from “Mulan”
17. Chief Tui from “Moana”
18. Tinker Bell from “Peter Pan”
19. Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”
find out why from TheMighty.com

Seeing it in others, helps them to know, they are not alone and shouldn't think they should try to hide from us, especially when it is within many of us! 

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Is Congress finally getting it right on suicide prevention?

Among the many things I had to get certification on, was Military Cultural Compentence. Working with veterans for all these years was a little easier for me, because I grew up with veterans. I was actually an Army brat! My Dad was a Korean War veteran and my uncles were WWII veterans. I understood the difference between veterans and civilans early on.

I also married a Vietnam veteran, spending most of my time surrounded by more of them.

All these years, veterans have been saying that sending them to a civilian therapist for help with PTSD was not working, Congress failed to listen. It looks like they are finally ready to, not just hear them, but act on it.
“Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.” 
Veterans belong with veterans. Police Officers belong with Police Officers and Firefighters belong with Firefighters. Why? Because there is a cultural difference. They already feel out of place when they have PTSD, so putting them in with civilians only adds to their level of feeling like an outcast. 

There is one more huge reason for this. The civilian world has a track record of not even being able to serve civilians! The rate of suicides in each group has grown despite all the years of "efforts" to reduce suicide and change the conversation from suffering to healing.

"Suicide rates increased 33% between 1999 and 2019, with a small decline in 2019. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.3 It was responsible for more than 47,500 deaths in 2019, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2019, 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide." CDC

The numbers of members of the military committing suicide have gone up as well over the years. 

The first Bill Congress passed to "reduce" suicides was back in 2007 and ever since then, they have been repeating the same things that failed. I just got hopeful reading about this effort this time and thinking IT'S ABOUT TIME~

Gus Bilirakis: Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act Will Help Reduce Veteran Suicides

Florida Daily
Kevin Derby
July 27, 2021

Last week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., a member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, championed a proposal to “ensure veterans receive the highest quality care possible from private providers.”

Bilirakis is the main co-sponsor of U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s, D-Del., “Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.”

Backers of the proposal, which also include U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., insist the bill will help reduce the number of veterans committing suicide.

“As the suicide rate of our nation’s veterans continues to worsen, more must be done to provide them with quality mental health care. The need for quality care is most acute with private providers in two key areas: cultural competency and evidence-based treatment,” Bilirakis’ office noted.
read more here

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

“Too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist..."

Today on PTSD Patrol I posted about the officers who testified today at the House hearing over the Capitol being attacked. 

Listen to the members of the committee recount what it was like for them that day when they feared for their lives.

The officers detailed the horror of their experiences, their injuries and the lasting trauma as they begged the lawmakers to investigate the attack.

“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room,” (Michael) Fanone testified.

Pounding his fist on the table in front of him, he said, “Too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist or that hell actually wasn’t that bad. The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful.”

AP “This is how I’m going to die.”
I will let the officers speak for themselves. When you listen, you don't have to imagine what that day did to them, or what it is like to have that day in their mind. You don't have to image what it has been like to hear people say it didn't happen, the way it happened. What you should do, is imagine a way to take a stand for them!

Sunday, July 25, 2021

It is up to all of us to keep them from trying to steal further elections!

Kathie Costos
July 25, 2021

When we listen to reporters talking about the election they don't seem to get it. How could they miss the biggest part of all these allegations over the right for people to vote in this country? This was a stolen election! Not the one from 2020 because Trump lost that one over and over again, as you'll read below, but this was the beginning of stealing elections to come.


Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they push barricades to storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C on Jan. 6, 2021. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote certification. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) SOURCE: ROBERTO SCHMIDT (KMBC News)
We watched in horror as the US Capitol was attacked by fellow Americans screaming about "stopping the steal" when they were in fact attempting to do exactly that. They didn't like the results, so they tried to stop it from being accepted by Congress.

Trump set the stage for all of this by claiming if he lost, it meant the election was stolen. That was all he had to do to set things in motion.

Fact Check took a look at the claims made by the previous president. Point by point, they showed how the claims were false. 

Courts rejected the claims of a stolen election.

Fact check: Courts have dismissed multiple lawsuits of alleged electoral fraud presented by Trump campaign
In the early morning of Jan. 7, hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, the U.S. Congress certified enough Electoral College votes for President Biden to declare him winner of the election ( here ).  

As reported by Reuters here , state and federal judges - some appointed by Trump - dismissed more than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump or his allies alleging election fraud and other irregularities.
So many claims were made about absentee ballots it was impossible to keep track of. What was missed, among many, was they were also claiming military votes were stolen because Trump couldn't believe so many members of the military were not supporting him. Facts proved he was wrong, no matter what his ego would not allow him to even contemplate.

Members of the military rely on absentee voting
According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program's 2018 post-election report to Congress, the Defense Department sent 655,409 absentee ballots to personnel serving abroad, and more than half, or 344,392, were returned, a rate comparable to the overall percentage of Americans who voted in the midterm elections.
Georgia military votes were not stolen but over and over again, he and his supporters, pushed that rumor with no evidence to prove anything they claimed. Over and over again, in each state, they attacked mail in ballots during a pandemic setting the stage for all other elections to be jeopardized.

There are members of the Senate who refused to see that Republicans Senators will never support voter integrity legislation to protect the rights of voters when they can easily take over the results. 

There was a time when people wanted their votes to be earned by politicians. After all, the funds they spend come from what taxpayers pay for. Now they want to use our tax dollars to prevent us from using our voice to vote for who we believe will do the best job for us.

Now in state after state, they are passing laws that will take away our voice by vote, using rumors started by Trump and his supporters to cover up for what they wanted to do all along. It doesn't matter how many citizens served in the military to protect and defend the Constitution, including the right to vote, as long as they win. 

It was appalling to hear people were pleased the Capitol was attacked. It is appalling to hear the lies about what we saw with our own eyes. It is repulsive to know so many of our elected officials are standing in the way of holding people accountable for all of this. If they stand in the way, we need to wonder if it is because they were part of all of this and do not want their participation proven. The innocent would want the evidence to come out to prove they were wrongly accused. The guilty want to prevent evidence from proving their guilt!

It is time for members of the Senate to remove the obstacle of the filibuster and defend the rights so many generations of American fought for.

Editorial: Senate Republicans won’t even consider voting rights. The filibuster must go
"...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Democrats were aiming to “tilt every election in America permanently in their favor.” That was an unfair, even outrageous, characterization of the Democrats’ proposal, the ambitious For the People Act, not to mention an exercise in projection.

The For the People Act in its Senate and House versions was arguably too large and complicated a piece of legislation, stitching together a multitude of proposals including disclosure requirement for political contributions, public financing of congressional elections and even an ethics code for the Supreme Court."
The 19th Amendment was hard fought for to allow women the right to vote. This was when elected officials fought to expand voting rights, not prevent them! Notice how many "Red" States were among the first to do it?
Between 1910 and 1918, the Alaska Territory, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington extended voting rights to women.

Also during this time, through the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women (later, the Women’s Political Union), Stanton’s daughter Harriot Stanton Blatch introduced parades, pickets and marches as means of calling attention to the cause. These tactics succeeded in raising awareness and led to unrest in Washington, D.C.

Did you know? Wyoming, the first state to grant voting rights to women, was also the first state to elect a female governor. Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977) was elected governor of the Equality State—Wyoming's official nickname—in 1924. And from 1933 to 1953, she served as the first woman director of the U.S. Mint.
The article goes on to point out how long this was fought for.
In 1918, President Wilson switched his stand on women’s voting rights from objection to support through the influence of Catt, who had a less-combative style than Paul. Wilson also tied the proposed suffrage amendment to America’s involvement in World War I and the increased role women had played in the war efforts.

When the amendment came up for vote, Wilson addressed the Senate in favor of suffrage. As reported in The New York Times on October 1, 1918, Wilson said, “I regard the extension of suffrage to women as vitally essential to the successful prosecution of the great war of humanity in which we are engaged.”
The Bill failed in the Senate by 2 votes.

Rep. James Mann brought it up again. This time, it passed.
On May 21, 1919, U.S. Representative James R. Mann, a Republican from Illinois and chairman of the Suffrage Committee, proposed the House resolution to approve the Susan Anthony Amendment granting women the right to vote. The measure passed the House 304 to 89—a full 42 votes above the required two-thirds majority.

Two weeks later, on June 4, 1919, the U.S. Senate passed the 19th Amendment by two votes over its two-thirds required majority, 56-25. The amendment was then sent to the states for ratification.

How could we have gone from elected officials fighting for the rights of citizens to vote, into what we have now when so many of them are fighting to take away the right to vote? It is up to all of us to keep them from trying to steal further elections!

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Warning on royal commission cover-ups on suicides

why is this all still happening?


‘I have nothing to lose. My son is dead’: Warning on royal commission cover-ups

Sydney Morning Herald
By Melissa Cunningham and Angus Livingston
July 8, 2021
“I am concerned there will still be cover-ups, or people not talking about the issues that have caused some of the suicides." Julie-Ann Finney

Julie-Ann Finney campaigned for a royal commission in veteran suicides after her son David took his own life.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN
The mother of a navy sailor who took his own life is promising to come out swinging at the federal government if it allows more cover-ups, demanding whistleblowers get protection if they give evidence to a royal commission probing veteran suicides.

Former deputy commissioner of NSW Police Nick Kaldas will lead the national Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicides, which was formally created on Thursday. The commissioner will be aided by James Douglas QC, a former Queensland Supreme Court judge and Peggy Brown, a consultant psychiatrist.
War veteran Rob Campbell said he had struggled “enormously” when he returned to Australia after serving in Afghanistan and East Timor and had watched his close friends grapple with PTSD and mental anguish, following years of serving in the army.
read more here

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

treat the whole person and to change the conversation

This is about Stellate Ganglion Block treatment. It works for some. This is not an endorcement of it. What is really important about this is the fact they acknowledge the need to treat the whole person and to change the conversation! Now that, I fully endorce!


The War Inside: Near death experience pushes veteran to search for help

CBS 21 News
by Michael Gorsegner
July 5th 2021

“It's not about treating the veteran, it’s about treating the person that is really in pain,” said Dr. Sean Mulvaney, Regenerative Medicine Specialist.
York, PA — Over the past several days, a significant step was taken in the post 9-11 conflicts as more American troops exit Afghanistan. However, the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for our country are facing an increase threat at home, suicide.

In the final story of a three-part series, CBS21’s Michael Gorsegner is pulling back the curtains on this growing epidemic and the push to expand a treatment that is saving lives. “I feel so fortunate,” said Robin Cody.

Nurse, mother, veteran, Robin Cody wears many hats. On the surface, this career woman is the face of success. But underneath was a deep dark struggle.

“The body and the mind don’t forget trauma even if you are trying to will yourself to forget it,” she said.
read more here

Friday, July 2, 2021

7 Year old daughter of firefighter found in Surfside rubble

Please pray for all the families involved but hold a special place in your prayers for this firefighter. 

Miami Firefighter's 7-Year-Old Daughter Found in Surfside Collapse Rubble
NBC Miami
Published July 2, 2021

The body of the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter was recovered from the site of the collapsed condominium tower in Surfside, officials said Friday.

The girl's body was found in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South Thursday night by members of the Urban Search and Rescue Team.

The firefighter, a member of the team that found his daughter, was notified immediately, officials said.

Family members identified the girl as Stella, the daughter of Graciela Cattarossi, who lives in the building with her parents, Gino and Graciela Sr. The three adults remain missing.
read more here


Thursday, July 1, 2021

Firefighters don’t just fight fire

Firefighter helps veteran suffering from PTSD episode on airplane
FOX News
Michael Hollan
The firefighter is part of a specially trained support team that helps other firefighters deal with tragedy and PTSD. Capt. Davidson used his training to keep the other veteran calm and the plane was able to land without diverting its course.
Captain Bobby Davidson, who was flying home with his family from vacation, rendered assistance to the passenger and was able to prevent an emergency landing. (Burton Fire District)

Firefighters don’t just fight fire.

The captain of a South Carolina fire department helped calm a fellow airplane passenger down who was in distress. According to reports, the other passenger was a veteran who was suffering from a PTSD crisis.

Captain Bobby Davidson, who was flying home on an American Airlines flight from a family vacation on June 15th, rendered assistance to the passenger and was able to prevent an emergency landing, according to a Facebook post from the Burton Fire District. The firefighter was also able to keep other passengers calm during the ordeal.

The Burton Fire Department confirmed to Fox News that the other passenger is a military veteran and was experiencing a PTSD crisis. While the flight crew was concerned that the plane may need to make an emergency landing, Capt. Davidson stepped in to help.
read more here

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