Shame Missing on Veterans Committing Suicide

Veterans continue to kill themselves. There is a lot of shame in that but not in them. It is ours to carry!

It is time to stop the bullshit, stop talking, stop writing, stop walking, pushing up, fundraising and getting publicity for what you want to do because we are only making matters worse for the veterans and families we claim we want to help. For Heaven's Sake! They still think having PTSD is something to be ashamed of!

Shame on Congress!
In 1999, when no one was talking about veterans committing suicide other than veterans and families, this chart shows there were 20 a day taking their own lives. There were over 5 million more veterans in the country. Thus, while the number of reported suicides has remained consistent, the number of veterans has been greatly reduced.

Why? For over a decade of bills being written, and funded, the result has been a higher percentage of veterans have been taking their own lives, not less. In 2007 the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was signed into law. Ever since then, there has been an endless series of politicians writing the same bills, repeating what has failed.

Shame on Veterans Groups!
In 1978 the DAV produced a study on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The title was The Forgotten Warrior Project. This is the pamphlet they were handing out. I got a copy of it in 1993 and received a lot of comfort knowing it was not just happening to my family.

I love all these groups and belong to some of them, as I have for most of my life. Yet, as the DAV, VFW and American Legion groups complain about the lack of younger veterans joining, they have done far too little to remember what it was like when they came home. Seems there is far too much unawareness on PTSD. 

Why? Families are still searching for support and information, yet, these groups sit back and let regular folks make claims to the press about what they are doing. They allow the press to keep making the public believe that the suicides are happening only to younger veterans, while the majority of veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50. They allow Congress to continue to write bills that do not work and waste precious time instead of taking the time to know what they are dealing with before they rush to do anything that makes them feel good but leaves veterans behind. Put together groups and open it up to non-members. Prove they do matter that much to you and then maybe you'll get them to join. As long as that is not your goal and you prove you do care, any help you give them will be appreciated and will actually make a difference.

Shame on Reporters!

Why? You continue to give publicity to people doing pushups while veterans get pushed away from families and friends because they have been living under the assumption there is no hope for them. You jump on what is easy to report on, like repeating a number in a report without reading the report itself, thus perpetuating a headline as if it was correct instead of discovering what the facts really were.

Have any of you actually tried to figure out how taking a walk, doing pushups or having a group run benefits anyone other than the participants? It doesn't help veterans stay alive after surviving combat. I still wonder if any of you take this seriously enough to have noticed that fact? They did everything humanly possible to survive combat but lost hope here? How about you actually go out and interview folks about what worked for them? How about you spend some time in support groups, hearing their stories with open minds and then doing your own research about what they were talking about?

Shame on All of Us! 

 Why? If you are a family member and you decided that you were going to become the answer to save other families from going through the same anguish, great. Not so much if you only have experience in that anguish but have taken no time at all to understand what you are dealing with. If you do not want to invest the time and wait until you actually understand it, don't make it worse for the people you want to help. You are qualified to start a support group for others just like you and that is very much needed. Otherwise, remember, you are heartbreakingly an expert on what failed. Think about what would have helped you help your veteran and then learn all you can about it. It is only by becoming aware of all that comes with PTSD, the different causes, levels and types, that you will be able to begin to put together a team to respond appropriately.

You will encounter veterans in crisis and you need to know what to do, how to talk to them, and above all, who you can call to get them help as soon as possible. You need to know the difference between calling the Crisis Line, 911 and if you should ask for police or the fire department to respond, or when all you need to do is listen.   

You also need to know that once you lose a veteran you were trying to help, no matter how much you knew ahead of time, you do not recover from it.

No matter how many veterans I help, the one I lost over a decade ago is a loss I have never gotten over. My husband's nephew committed suicide because for all I knew, all the research, I did not figure out how to get him to listen. 

 

Camp Lejeune Marine Families Finally Getting Some Justice

VA News Release
VA's Rule Establishes a Presumption of Service Connection for Diseases Associated with Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune
01/13/2017

VA’s Rule Establishes a Presumption of Service Connection for Diseases Associated with Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune

VA to provide disability benefits for related diseases

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has published regulations to establish presumptions for the service connection of eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The presumption of service connection applies to active duty, reserve and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, and are diagnosed with any of the following conditions:

• adult leukemia

• aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes

• bladder cancer

• kidney cancer

• liver cancer

• multiple myeloma

• non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

• Parkinson’s disease

“We have a responsibility to take care of those who have served our Nation and have been exposed to harm as a result of that service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald. “Establishing a presumption for service at Camp Lejeune will make it easier for those Veterans to receive the care and benefits they earned.”

Environmental health experts in VA’s Technical Workgroup conducted comprehensive reviews of scientific evidence, which included analysis and research done by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Environmental Protection Agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Toxicology Program, and the National Academies of Science.

Veterans with 30 or more cumulative days of active duty service, at Camp Lejeune during the contamination period are already eligible for certain medical benefits, following passage of the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012.

In the early 1980s, volatile organic compounds, trichloroethylene (TCE), a metal degreaser, and perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning agent, as well as benzene and vinyl chloride, were discovered in two on-base water supply systems at Camp Lejeune. The contaminated wells supplying the water systems were shut down in February 1985.

The area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River, including satellite camps and housing areas.

The rule will be effective either 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, or following conclusion of the 60-day Congressional Review, whichever is later.

Texas National Guard Soldier Saves Blind Man

Texas Guard Soldier saves life of blind man struck by car
Texas Army National Guard
By Sgt. Elizabeth Pena
January 12, 2017

TYLER, Texas -- Disaster can strike at any time. Citizen-Soldiers of the Texas Army National Guard are taught to always be prepared.

Texas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Aaron Dias, recruiting and retention officer for the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Region II, Team VII in Tyler, was driving back from the Military Entrance Processing Station in Shreveport, Louisiana, to his armory in Tyler with his recruit when disaster struck.

"The sun was starting to set," said Dias."It was to that point where you run into the sun it kind of casts a glare on you."

Hiwatha Hudson, a legally blind 55-year-old man, had just stepped off to cross the street with his cane.
read more here

U.S. soldier committed suicide at Kuwait's Camp Arifjan

Reports: U.S. soldier committed suicide at Kuwait's Camp Arifjan 
Military Times 
By: Staff 
January 12, 2017 

A soldier assigned to U.S. Army Central died in a noncombat-related incident at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Thursday in Kuwait, according to an official Army statement.

Multiple regional media outlets have cited a report from Kuwait's Interior Ministry claiming the soldier died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. read more here

New Hampshire Veteran Overwhelmed by Community

After article, contractors step up to help disabled Raymond veteran with home addition
Union Leader
By JASON SCHREIBER
Correspondent
January 11, 2017

Beauregard was unable to find a contractor willing to commit to the project, which has to be approved by the VA, but he’s been flooded with responses since the story was published.

Veteran Mike Beauregard uses his electric wheelchair in his Raymond home.  

(Jason Schreiber/Correspondent)

Disabled vet has VA cash, but no contractor for accessibility addition

RAYMOND — Disabled Army veteran Mike Beauregard is more optimistic than ever that he’ll be able to find the right contractor to get the home addition he needs as he struggles with multiple sclerosis.

“I have a feeling it’s going to happen,” he said Wednesday as he continued to return phone calls and reply to emails about the project he’s been trying to get done for years.

The 51-year-old Beauregard has been overwhelmed by the response to a story published Jan. 5 in the New Hampshire Union Leader in which he detailed the trouble he’s had trying to hire a contractor to build a handicapped-accessible first-floor master bedroom and bathroom through a $73,768 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ specially adapted housing program.
read more here

Combat PTSD Wounded Times Broke 3 Million Hits!

To the National News, this should be a lesson to all of you. With no advertising, no budget, no paycheck, or publicity beyond word of mouth, this site dedicated to veterans has managed to break 3 million hits!

There was a time when most of the stories on this site were on the National News stations but someone decided that reporting on politicians running for the Office of Commander-in-Chief was worth two years of non-stop coverage. That Tweets warranted mass-frenzied breaking news and Facebook shares dictated what was shared. 

Well it seems that reporters, all over the country still valued good reporting and cared enough to cover the veterans readers discover here everyday. Within the over 27,000 posts on this site are examples of reporters doing their jobs and being held accountable when they fail our veterans.

Readers get the truth and not some haphazardly shoved words strung together to repeat what someone claimed, but actually did the work to find out what the truth is.

Isn't it time National News reporters actually returned to being reporters and not social media stalkers?

TO READERS

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW ALL THIS WORK DOES MATTER TO YOU. 

Florida National Guard's First Female 12B NCO Combat Engineer

Florida National Guard's First Female 12B NCO Combat Engineer

CAMP BLANDING, FL, UNITED STATES
01.07.2017
Story by Sgt. Christopher Vann
107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP BLANDING, Fla. - Braving the January wintry conditions and hectic pace, a Soldier from the Florida National Guard’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team led the charge in a new wave of females into what has historically been an all-male combat arms environment. That Soldier was Army Sgt. Chelsea Peebles.

As soon as Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter opened up all combat arms to females in Dec. 2015, Peebles jumped at the opportunity to change her military occupational specialty from military police to combat engineer or military classification of 12B.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to have a combat MOS, which is why I enlisted in the FLNG’s MP unit,” said Peebles. “Once it became available to be a 12B, that’s when I decided to go ahead, take that step and go to school for it.”

With her unit’s restructuring, Peebles, who maintains peak physical readiness, seized the chance to give her maximum effort while fulfilling her dream and proving her mettle.

During her combat engineer training, Peebles tackled numerous hazardous and demanding tasks. One of those tasks was route clearance that included mine detection and live improvised explosive device removal.

Lt. Col. Elizabeth Evans, who recently became the first female 53rd Brigade Special Troops commander, praised Sgt. Peebles’ achievements and recalled when combat arms opportunities were more restrictive for female Soldiers.
read more here

Fort Campbell Hurricane Force Winds

Hurricane-force winds down trees, topple trucks and prompt outages around Colorado Springs
The Gazette
By: Jakob Rodgers
January 10, 2017

In El Paso County, 21 semis were blown over in a six-and-a-half hour span, Colorado State Patrol reported. Most were along Interstate 25, though at least four were toppled along Colo. 115 outside of Fort Carson. No serious injuries were reported.

Near-hurricane force winds continued to pound the Pikes Peak region Monday afternoon, uprooting trees into houses, ripping roofs from buildings, overturning nearly two-dozen semis and leaving thousands of children without after-school bus rides home.

An uprooted tree upended Dean Byrne's WWII-era German jeep in his front yard on Monday. (Kaitlin Durbin, The Gazette)

The winds – which gusted to 101 mph at one point – wreaked havoc across Colorado Springs while turning the Pikes Peak region into a dart board for dislodged tree limbs and other detritus from wind-ravaged buildings.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Laid to Rest by Community

Community becomes family for fallen Vietnam veteran
CBS 7 News
By Amanda DeBerry
Posted: Jan 10, 2017

ODESSA -- Tuesday was a day to honor Vietnam veteran, Charles Ray Sorrell who passed away early last week in Odessa, but there was not one picture or family member to be found.

“When you’re taking your last breath someone needs to be there,” Hospice Nurse Rhonda Thompson said. “Somebody needs to care that you exist and that your life matters.”

An emotional day at the Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home as strangers from all walks of life came together to say farewell to Sorrell.

The veteran served his country for nine years where he made the ultimate sacrifice, but recently he spent many days in hospice fighting for his own life.

“In hospice you find out that a lot of people are alone,” Thompson said. “They’ve outlived their families and their money.”
read more here

Homeless Veteran, Beaten For His Shoes?

Homeless Veteran Attacked, Shoes Stolen Off His Feet
Arkansas Matters
By: ISABELLA MOLLER
Posted: Jan 10, 2017

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Caught on camera... a homeless veteran at the door of a gas station being robbed of his shoes.

Police say the incident happened Friday at the Super Stop Gas Station along I-30 in Little Rock.

The attendant at the Super Stop said he was at the store after a busy snowy day. He heard commotion outside and looked quick enough to see a rough turn of events outside the shop. It was all caught on the security cameras.

Two men in the video come up to where the veteran is standing, knock him out, and can be seen taking his shoes.

The attendant says he called police, and police say the man was bleeding from the mouth and had a small cut under his right eye.

Customers at the super stop say it's terrible that this happened in their community.
read more here

Trump VA Nominee Not A Veteran?

Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs
NPR
Camila Domonoske
January 11, 2016

Evan Vucci/AP

David Shulkin, the under secretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaves a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday at Trump Tower in New York.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to nominate David Shulkin to be his secretary of veterans affairs, a position that requires Senate confirmation.

Shulkin is currently the under secretary for health at the VA, which means he runs the Veterans Health Administration. He was nominated for that position by President Obama in March 2015 and confirmed by the Senate that June.

Shulkin's official bio says he is a physician — a board-certified internist — and was the chief executive or chief medical officer of several hospitals and hospital systems. He's also an entrepreneur who founded a health care information company called DoctorQuality.

Notably, he's not a veteran. As NPR's Quil Lawrence reported last month, the VA has always been headed by a veteran.

"I have no doubt Dr. Shulkin will be able to lead the turnaround our Department of Veterans Affairs needs," Trump said in a statement following the announcement. "Dr. Shulkin has the experience and the vision to ensure we will meet the healthcare needs of every veteran."
read more here

Fort Campbell Soldier From Texas Dies In Jordan

Fort Campbell Soldier From Texas Dies In Jordan
News Channel 5
Jan 9, 2017

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - The Department of Defense has announced the death of Special Forces soldier who was serving in Jordan.

According to a statement from the DOD, Spc. Isiah L. Booker of Cibolo, Texas, died Jan. 7 in a noncombat-related incident. Booker was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell, a sprawling Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
read more here

Orlando Police Increase Reward to $100,000 For Loyd's Capture

Hundreds searching for suspect in Orlando officer's death; reward raised to $100,000
WESH 2 News
Updated: 3:08 PM EST Jan 10, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla.
Authorities have increased the reward to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the slaying of an Orlando police sergeant.

Orlando police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, 42, was shot by Markeith Loyd, 41, after she spotted him outside the Walmart on Princeton Street around 7:15 a.m. Monday, police Chief John Mina said.

Loyd has managed to elude authorities since the shooting, despite hundreds of Central Florida law enforcement agents joining the search.

After shooting Clayton, authorities said Loyd fled toward the Pine Hills neighborhood, where he fired shots at a deputy’s cruiser and carjacked a vehicle.

Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Norman Lewis, an 11-year veteran, was killed in a crash as authorities gave pursuit.
read more here

Travis Airman Rushed to Help Rider After Motorcycle Crash

Travis AFB Airman treats motorcycle crash victim
By T.C. Perkins
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
Published January 09, 2017

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- Just nine days before Christmas, Airman 1st Class Richard Crawford, a 60th Communications Squadron cyber security journeyman, decided to take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle to go fishing in Northern California.

Little did he know that by the end of the day, he would be instrumental in possibly saving the life of an injured motorist on U.S. Highway 50.

“I was heading back from a fishing trip when a motorcyclist passed me, lane splitting,” Crawford said. “He got a few cars ahead of me and eventually out of my line of sight; soon after, I heard a collision.”

The collision Crawford heard was a car slamming into the motorcycle at about 50 mph sending the rider skidding across the highway.

Crawford exited his vehicle and noticed the man holding his left leg. He also saw blood dripping from the man’s left foot.

Using skills he learned in self-aid and buddy care training, -- a course that teaches Airmen how to prevent the loss of life, limb or eyesight and treat battlefield casualties -- Crawford tended to the man’s injuries.
read more here

Veterans 2017 National Veterans Golden Age Games

Applications to be accepted for 2017 National Veterans Golden Age Games

Event Takes Place in Biloxi, May 7-11

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will accept applications from Veterans interested in competing in the 2017 National Veterans Golden Age Games beginning Feb. 1. Veterans ages 55 and older and enrolled in VA health care may complete applications online at www.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov. Applications will be accepted through March 1.

“VA is committed to offer sports and fitness as an integral part of a successful healthcare program, and I encourage every eligible Veteran to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Carla Carmichael, National Veterans Golden Age Games director. “There are significant health benefits to leading an active lifestyle, and in keeping with the Games motto, we want every Veteran to achieve 'Fitness For Life.’”

The 2017 National Veterans Golden Age Games will take place in Biloxi, Mississippi, May 7-11. Nearly 800 athletes are expected to compete in the national multi-sport competition for senior Veterans, embracing the “Fitness for Life” motto. The event encourages participants to make physical activity a central part of their lives, and supports VA’s comprehensive recreation and rehabilitation therapy programs. Competitive events include air rifle, badminton, boccia, bowling, cycling, golf, horseshoes, nine ball, powerwalk, shuffleboard, swimming, table tennis, and track and field. Exhibition events include: air pistol, archery, basketball, blind disc golf and pickleball. 

VA research and clinical experience verify that movement and exercise are important to maintaining good health, speeding recovery and improving overall quality of life. The games encourage participants to continue in local senior events in their home communities and every other year serve as a qualifying event for competition in the National Senior Games. VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System will host this year’s games. The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System provides care for more than 50,000 Veterans throughout Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

For more information visit www.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov and follow VA Adaptive Sports on Twitter at @VAAdaptiveSport or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vaadaptivesports.

Orlando Police Officer Killed and Motorcycle Deputy Killed Responding

Slain officer identified as 17-year-veteran of OPD

WESH 2 News
Updated: 2:50 PM EST Jan 9, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police have identified the officer who was gunned down while on duty Monday morning.

Chief John Mina identified the slain officer as Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, a 17-year-veteran of the department.

Clayton was shot and killed in the line of duty near a Walmart in Orlando.

Police Chief John Mina said the suspect, Markieth Loyd, 41, also is also wanted in the slaying of a pregnant woman.

Colleagues of Clayton said she was married and a mother of two. She was being remembered Monday as a person who always had a smile on her face and often took time out of her day to interact with the community.
read more here

Slain Orlando police officer Debra Clayton called a hero
Orlando Sentinel
David Harris
January 9, 2017

A sheriff's deputy later was killed in a crash with a 78-year-old driver.

Debra Clayton, the 17-year Orlando police officer killed Monday morning, was hailed as a hero by Chief John Mina.

"She will be deeply missed," Mina said

Clayton, 42, was married and the mother of an adult son who is in college, according to Mina. She was assigned to dayshift patrol and will be "missed beyond words."

"She always had a smile [and] high five for every kid she came across," the department tweeted.

Hours after the killing, friends gathered in front of her home on a tree-lined street in Ocoee, where neighbors say they shared power washers and tools with each other.

Teresa Sokolovic, a teacher at St. Cloud High School, met Clayton in December 2015 at a charity event at Camping World Stadium.
read more here

UPDATE

Click OrlandoORLANDO, Fla. - An Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy was struck and killed Monday morning during a search for a man who is accused of killing an Orlando police officer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The deputy, identified around 5 p.m. Monday as Deputy First Class Norman Lewis, was on a motorcycle when a van hit him. Lewis, 35, was hired at the Orange County Sheriff's Office in 2005. He's a University of Central Florida alumnus and played football for the Knights, deputies said.

Sgt. Maj. William A. Robles Passed Away

Army South soldier dies from illness
Army Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
January 6, 2017

A Texas-based soldier died Thursday after a prolonged illness, according to an Army release.

Sgt. Maj. William A. Robles, who was assigned to the Regional Affairs Directorate at U.S. Army South, died at the San Antonio Military Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

Robles served as an instructor at the Brazilian Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, part of the Army South Military Personnel Exchange Program, according to the release.

“We are extremely saddened and will miss Bill tremendously. He was an incredible Soldier who has served his country for decades and inspired everyone he encountered. I extend my heartfelt sympathy to Sgt. Maj. Robles’ family and to everyone who knew him,” Maj. Gen. K.K. Chinn, commander of Army South, said in the release. “He was a credit to the uniform he wore.”

Robles, born in El Salvador but raised in Los Angeles, enlisted in the California National Guard in 1986 and entered active duty in 1988 upon graduating high school.

He became an Army Special Forces communications sergeant and served multiple assignments in the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
read more here

Combat Medic Gets Help From Veterans Community to Heal

Wounded veteran finds healing in community
Daily Sun
Taylor Mahoney
Special to the Daily Sun
January 7, 2017

In Iraq in 2005-06, as an army combat medic assigned to sappers (sappers go first, clear the obstacles, clear the land mines so the infantry can follow), he attended to wounded soldiers, hunted IED’s, survived the focus of an infamous sniper, and helped save more than 2,500 lives.

Blood, pain, earth shaking explosions: William Golliher knows about these. Golliher experienced hell in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the Flagstaff man, like millions of war veterans across the ages, carries that hell within him. His journey continues as he struggles to find a new normal. Critical to that process, he said, is the company of other veterans.

Marine veteran Ralph Boyer knows Golliher through the Marine League Charities Flagstaff group.

“What you have is a hero here,” Boyer said. “That’s what.”

Golliher immediately protests.

“I don’t consider myself a hero. I did a tour in Iraq and in Afghanistan,” he said.

Golliher proudly traces his family's military history back to a soldier in the Revolutionary War and continuing unbroken through subsequent conflicts involving the United States. His grandfather fought in World War II. His father is a United States Coast Guard veteran.

Despite this, he has found healing through family and community. Although he can’t work, he keeps busy volunteering. Last September he got married. His wife, Philan Tree, just found out she’s pregnant. Golliher has trouble concentrating but has found it helps him to keep to a routine. His wife and a service dog are constant companions.

But his biggest source of support, he said, is other veterans who speak the same language. He has a support network of veterans who understand what he has had to live through and the nightmares he now has to live with.
read more here

Veteran Faces New Battle, Saving Her Baby From Opioid Dependency

U.S. Army veteran Jaclyn Alexander returned from Iraq to face new battle -- saving her baby girl from opioid dependency
MassLive.com
By Dan Glaun
January 08, 2017

This is first in a MassLive special report on the the impact of the opioid crisis on children in Massachusetts.

Jaclyn Alexander and her daughter Ella Donna, who has neonatal abstinence syndrome. Alexander developed an opioid addiction after being prescribed painkillers in the military; she is now clean.

When Jaclyn Alexander returned to the United States from military service in Iraq, her war was just beginning.

From an airbase nicknamed "Mortaritaville," to nerve damage in her back, to oxycodone, to morphine, to addiction. From addiction, to motherhood, to theft, to heroin, to detox and dope sickness, to recovery, to the Baystate Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where she sat holding her second daughter, quiet and calm but born dependent on the suboxone keeping her mother from relapse.

It has been, she said, a long road.

"I could not be in a better place. If you asked me a year ago if I would be right here right now I would absolutely have said no," Alexander said, amid the soft whooshes and mechanical chirps of the medical ward. "It's a phenomenal turnaround."

Alexander's baby, Ella Donna, is one of the growing number of children born dependent on opioids - what doctors call neonatal abstinence syndrome. It is a condition that requires special care, but is treatable, with approaches that have been refined as Massachusetts' addiction crisis has given the state one of the highest rates of NAS in the country.
read more here

Is Bad Research on PTSD Considered Fake News?

Bad Research on PTSD Continues
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 8, 2017

When we buy something to ingest, most products come with an expiration date to let us know when the good time has run out and it can make us sick if we use it. So why hasn't bad research ever included an expiration date? After all, the research on PTSD has been going on for over 40 years. Most of the "research" being done now has been repeated, dismissed or expanded on, yet reading most of the new research is more like reading a shampoo bottle with "wash, rinse and repeat."

The so called new or ground breaking research was washed out but if you are new to all of this, you were not warned about how long great research has sat on the shelf gathering dust. 

Congress has a habit of taking what they think is new and then fund it so they can appear to be informed but we've suffered for their lack of curiosity and inability to direct their staff to research the subject. In the case of veterans with PTSD, that neglect has been deadly while making the rest of us sick over the results.

In 1999 the Department of Veterans Affairs research put the number of veterans committing suicide at 20 a day. If you got up to page 18 on this report you'd find this chart.

If that number sounds familiar, it should. They came out with that same number in their latest report. What they did not say was back in 1999, there were over 5 million more veterans in the country.

When doing any kind of research, the findings should only be taken seriously if the previous research was actually reviewed.

I consider most of the reporting being done on PTSD fake news. This morning was one of those encounters with an article that made me want to go back into my bed and cover my head.

This was my first clue that this article should not be taken seriously.

"In earlier studies, Morozov and Wataru Ito - a research assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute - investigated observational fear in a rodent model. They found that animals that witnessed stress in others, without experiencing any negative events themselves, displayed an increased fear response in other situations."

Rodents still being studied? Seriously? Ok, in the beginning when there were not enough people talking about having PTSD, that kind of made sense. But that need was obliterated about 40 years ago. With around 7 million Americans walking around with PTSD, you know, actual people they are supposedly trying to understand, the supply of human lab rats was readily available. Great researchers understood that way back then.

Simply observing fear in others changes brain connectivity
Medical News Today
Tim Newman
January 8, 2017

Research shows that it is not necessary to experience trauma directly to be affected by it. A recent study provides evidence that simply being around someone who has had a stressful experience can make changes to the way the brain processes information.

Research shows that observing other's stresses can change connectivity in the brain. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in some people following a frightening, dangerous, or shocking event.

Although most people do not develop PTSD after such an experience, an estimated 7-8 percent of people in the United States will experience PTSD during their life.

Symptoms vary from individual to individual, but can include flashbacks, intrusive negative thoughts, avoiding places, events, or objects, and being easily startled.

Even if a specific event does not trigger PTSD at the time, it raises the chance of an individual developing it at a later date.
read more of this here.

Enough of that nonsense. Not living through an event/situation/circumstance, yet developing PTSD actually has a term and it is called Secondary PTSD.

This is from the Department of Veterans Affairs on how caregivers develop Secondary PTSD.

Partners of Veterans with PTSD: Research Findings

References

Calhoun, P. S., Beckham, J. C., & Bosworth, H. B. (2002). Caregiver burden and psychological distress in partners of Veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 205-212.

Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C. B., Fairbank, J. A., Schlenger, W. E., Kulka, R. A., Hough, R. L., et al. (1992). Problems in families of male Vietnam Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 916-926.

Kulka, R. A., Schlenger, W. E., Fairbank, J. A., Hough, R. L., Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C. R., et al. (1990). Trauma and the Vietnam War generation: Report of findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. New York: Brunner/Mazel. Silverstein, R. F. (1996). Combat-related trauma as measured by ego developmental indices of defenses and identity achievement. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 157, 169-179.

Waysman, M., Mikulincer, M., Solomon, Z., & Weisenberg, M. (1993). Secondary traumatization among wives of posttraumatic combat Veterans: A family typology. Journal of Family Psychology, 7, 104-118.

Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Solomon, Z. (1995). Marital intimacy, family support, and secondary traumatization: A study of wives of Veterans with combat stress reaction. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 8, 203-213.

Riggs, D. S., Byrne, C. A., Weathers, F. W., & Litz, B. T. (1998). The quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam Veterans: Problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 87-101.

Carroll, E. M., Rueger, D. B., Foy, D. W., & Donahoe, C. P. (1985). Vietnam combat Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Analysis of marital and cohabitating adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 329-337.

Cosgrove, D. J., Gordon, Z., Bernie, J. E., Hami, S., Montoya, D., Stein, M. B., et al. (2002). Sexual dysfunction in combat Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Urology, 60, 881-884.

Solomon, Z., Waysman, M., Avitzur, E., & Enoch, D. (1991). Psychiatric symptomatology among wives of soldiers following combat stress reaction: The role of the social network and marital relations. Anxiety Research, 4, 213-223

President's Commission on Mental Health. (1978). Mental health problems of Vietnam era Veterans (Vol. 3), pp. 1321-1328. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Byrne, C. A., & Riggs, D. S. (1996). The cycle of trauma: Relationship aggression in male Vietnam Veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Violence and Victims, 11, 213-225.

Nelson, B. S., & Wright, D. W. (1996). Understanding and treating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in female partners of Veterans with PTSD. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 22, 455-467.

Verbosky, S. J., & Ryan, D. A. (1988). Female partners of Vietnam Veterans: Stress by proximity. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 9, 95-104.

Williams, C. M., & Williams, T. (1987). Family therapy and Vietnam Veterans. In T. Williams (Ed.), Post-traumatic stress disorders: A handbook for clinicians (pp. 221-231). Cincinnati, Ohio: Disabled American Veterans.

Beckham, J. C., Lytle, B. L., & Feldman, M. E. (1996). Caregiver burden in partners of Vietnam War Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1068-1072.

Ruscio, A. M., Weathers, F. W., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (2002). Male war-zone Veterans' perceived relationships with their children: The importance of emotional numbing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 351-357.

Harris, M. J., & Fisher, B. S. (1985). Group therapy in the treatment of female partners of Vietnam Veterans. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 10, 44-50.

Williams, C. (1987). The veteran system with a focus on women partners. In T. Williams (Ed.), Post-traumatic stress disorders: A handbook for clinicians (pp. 169-192). Cincinnati, Ohio: Disabled American Veterans.

Johnson, S. M. (2002). Emotionally focused couple therapy with trauma survivors: Strengthening attachment bonds. New York: Guilford.

Monson, C.M., Guthrie, K.A., & Stevens, S. (2003) . Cognitive-behavioral couple's treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapist, 26, 393-401.

This is about those who work with veterans or anyone else living with PTSD.

This is from 2007 article on counselors developing PTSD list of references at the bottom, indicating that this article is far from new research. I do not agree with the report itself because it dismisses what many experts have been proven right on. Treating people, not rats, for PTSD requires a triple play of treating their mind, their body and their spirit/soul. Leave one out and healing does not happen to the whole person.

Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Counselor Spirituality: Implications for Counselors Working with Trauma

References

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Chrestman, K.R. (1995). Secondary exposure to trauma and self reported distress among therapists. In B.H. Stamm (Ed.), Secondary traumatic stress: Self care issues for clinicians, researchers, and educators (pp. 29-36). Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press.

Cooper, A.E. (2003). An investigation of the relationships among spirituality, prayer, and meditation, and aspects of stress and coping. Dissertation Abstracts International (UMI no. 3084474).

Figley, C.R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel.

Graham, S., Furr, S., Flowers, C. & Burke, M.T. (2001). Religion and spirituality in coping with stress [Electronic version]. Counseling and Values, 46(1), 2-14.

Koenig, H.G. (1999). The healing power of faith. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Morgan, H. (2004, June). Spiritual healing. Learning Disability Practice, 7(5), 8-9.

McCann, I.L. & Pearlman, L.A. (1990b). Vicarious traumatization: A framework for understanding the psychological effects of working with victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 131-149.

McCann, I.L. & Saakvitne, K.W. (1995). Treating therapists with vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorders. In C.R. Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized (pp. 150-177). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Pearlman, L.A. & MacIan, P.S. (1995). Vicarious traumatization: An empirical study of the effects of trauma work on trauma therapists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26, 558-565.

Pearlman, L.A. & Saakvitne, K.W. (1995). Treating therapists with vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorders. In C.R. Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized (pp. 150-177). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Ryan, P.L. (1998). Spirituality among adult survivors of childhood violence: A literature Review [Electronic version]. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 30, 39-51.

Simpson, L. R. (2005). Level of Spirituality as a Predictor of the Occurrence of Compassion Fatigue among Counseling Professionals in Mississippi. University of Mississippi.