PTSD stigma is over for us

After 26 years of doing outreach work, the stigma of PTSD is finally over for my husband. It was up to him when I started to use my married name because our story has been so personal. It took a long time to get here but from now on you'll see the name DiCesare on my posts and videos.

When I started to write, I was still in high school. The newspaper back home was used to seeing my name and when we got married, they had a hard time adjusting to the new name. I kept it. Back then it came in handy so that I could write about living with PTSD when the stigma was overwhelming the veterans and their families. Trying to get people to understand that living in silence should have never been necessary was nearly impossible. I tried to get people to understand that until they began to talk about this wound, the stigma would live on and they would suffer needlessly.

My husband is a private man, a quiet man and without a doubt one of the most magnificent I've ever met. Out of respect for his need for privacy, very few people knew my full name. While the work I do is because of him, veterans have claimed my heart because of him, this has never been about him. It's been about all of us. The men and women serving this nation and all the ones who came before them. It's been about the families trying to cope and understand what this wound does, not just to the veteran but to the entire family.

While I have responded to emails with full disclosure so that verifying my background can be done, many have not even bothered to ask. If you have any questions, please email me at namguardianangel@aol.com

There are still some things I do want to keep private but our lives have been pretty much an open book and that can be read from this blog on the side bar under Free Book, For the Love of Jack.

We will always run up against people who refuse to understand. We will always come in contact with people who refuse to become educated. It takes courage to talk about this but the more we do, someday, we will get to the point where the shame is laid at the feet where it belongs. Not on the veterans and not on their families, but on the judgmental people too closed minded and hard hearted to listen and learn. Over 7 million people are living with PTSD in the USA alone. Millions more across the globe. We have plenty of company.

We need to do this for the Vietnam veterans, still trying to heal and we need to do this for the new generation so they do not have to suffer in silence anymore. We need to be their voices until they can find their own.

Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
407-754-7526
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

PTSD:When ignorance is not bliss

When ignorance is not bliss
By Caterina Spinaris Tudor , Ph.D.
Published: 10/27/2008
Editor’s note: This story is being shared with us by Desert Waters Correctional Outreach. The non-profit organization and its newsletter, Correctional Oasis, are dedicated to the well being of correctional staff and their families.

Imagine this conversation.

Two correctional officers are chatting. One blurts out, “You wouldn’t believe what a wimp Pete turned out to be! He’s being treated for diabetes! I have no use for him anymore now that he’s on insulin!”

“I have no respect for him anymore either!” exclaims the other officer. “What a weakling! Why doesn’t he just get a grip? Dave is also a big loser. He was just diagnosed with skin cancer and high blood pressure. Can’t trust him with my back anymore!”

This exchange sounds totally ridiculous, doesn’t it? Now, replace the words “diabetes,” “skin cancer,” and “high blood pressure” with words such as “depression,” “panic attacks,” and “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Do the put-downs of correctional employees struggling with psychological conditions sound more justifiable than of those struggling with physical illnesses?

Sadly, if you believe so, you’re not alone. More times than I can count I have been told by corrections staff that to them admission of psychological turmoil equals weakness.

Repeatedly I have also heard staff share how ashamed they feel for not being able to “get over it,” not being “strong enough to pull themselves up by their bootstraps” when it comes to battling with the darkness of depression or the torment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Many have added that they would lose their coworkers’ respect and perhaps even jeopardize their chances for promotion if it became known that they were experiencing psychological difficulties. Consequently several corrections staff who need help decline recommendations to start psychotherapy or to be evaluated by their physicians for psychotropic medications.

Instead, some choose to self-medicate with alcohol or even illegal drugs, preferring to risk their health, career and family rather than to seek appropriate treatment. In some tragic cases the reluctance to seek pharmaceutical or psychological help has cost lives. Other staff keep existing in a “blue”zone, with diminished quality of life and chronic under- functioning.
go here for more
http://www.corrections.com/news/article/19842

Mental Health Month Passes in the House

Congress Passes Rep. Napolitano's Mental Health Month Resolution
Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 16 May 2008 - 0:00 PDT


The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1134 today, a resolution introduced by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) recognizing May as Mental Health Month.

"An estimated 57 million Americans suffer from diagnosable, treatable mental illnesses," noted Rep. Napolitano. "This number is growing because of the epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among veterans returning from Iraq."

"Only one in three Americans suffering from mental illness receives treatment. This statistic is unconscionable and must do more to improve access to critical services and to remove the stigma associated with seeking help," she added. "America's health practitioners, mental health organizations and community leaders - including those in faith-based communities - should use this opportunity to promote awareness and reduce and eliminate the stigma of treatment; ensure access to appropriate services; and support an improved quality of life for those living with mental illness."