How have you dealt with PTSD?

One of the ways i deal with episodes is going fishing. I might be wrong about for doing it alone is my best escape from it. Not only Im away from my loveones i feel is safe. The sight of the ocean the waves and the breeze seems to calm me down. Helps me organize my thoughts and also lets me get a clear picture that life is precious and is not worth choosing the coward path of suicide. After a few hours i feel better enough to return back to my family. At times it feels better not to talk about it, no one around has been or seen. I ll leave here.

First, I'm a life long martial artist. When I got home, I started training and fighting again. This helped surround myself with like minded people, and several other veterans. I've started learning Brazilian Jiu jitsu. It's great for helping you learn to deal with stressful situations.

Second, I got service animal. More helpful than I could have imagined.

Third, I found a great woman. I knew there was something special about her when the first time I had an episode around her, she asked what she needed to do to help instead of freaking out herself.

I think the point in my long winded response is that there's no ONE right answer. You must surround yourself with things to help. And then people that are also helpful. And that's the hard part.

Raising my three daughters on my own has kept me from loosing it and moving deep into the mountains. They know dad doesn't like a lot of crowds and when at an event can tell when my stress level is getting high. Was in Kuwait in 91 and wasn't under enemy fire but was in a massive ammo explosion. Also can remember driving across the desert and having to dodge piles of ammo left by the Iraqs.

I asked for help through mental health and they avoided talking to me about it. I made my dog my service dog. He goes with me everywhere and he keeps me calm. At times in the middle of the night, he'll wake me up when I toss and turn and he knows something is wrong. I cannot celebrate The 4th anymore. Fireworks scare the shit outta me. Friends and family don't understand. Some say they do, but they don't.

It is a struggle every day. There are days I cry, days where I am happy, days I am angry. I do take meds for this... but I ultimately turn to prayer and God for strength. This is how I deal.

Lie to the VA to get them off my back....

The first thing I did was finally get past the stigma that it was only for combat veterans and learned through the Mayo Clinic that it is simply a mental condition brought about by any traumatic event. Knowing this gave me the strength to finally own it instead of allowing it to own me. The next thing I did was to write a book titled "The Veterans 13 stages of PTSD" now on Amazon.com and after that have been able to recognize it when it rears it head and stop the progress dead in it's track. It makes me feel so much better about myself everytime I am able to cast out that demon and even though I know, I will never be cured of it, I know that I will never become a slave to it.

I blog how I feel. If I am down, depressed, having flashbacks or whatever I write about it. On the other hand, if I am having a great day I blog about that as well. The important thing is that I blog every day. It's like I am talking through things with a very good friend that I trust and nothing I say will be repeated to anyone. Try it, it's working for me!

I found that I have a habit of putting on a mask a smile to try to fight tears. But the smiles get to hard to come by the past few years and so I do not go out of the house very much around people. I dont want to spoil the fun things for others when they can tell my pain and troubles are overwelming for me. So have become such a home bodied person. Anxiety attacks hit me or stress attacks when out in crowds for very long. I still have never gotten to dig into the whole thing to get it out the things that happened and how they effected me. And then on top of it to get hit with the reasons I was sick all these yrs and lost my one baby and had one born with deformalities and 9 grandkids with troubles all stems from the toxins and was never in war. How could the government knowingly do this keeps coming to me when I bleed or have more health troubles or am just falling apart and feeling as tho no one cares. I one day prayed God would take me in my sleep after two suicide attempts already the last one was a comma for a few days. I ran across this song and found out this man had spent time over seas and his buddy took his own life and he wrote this song and it helped me I hope it will help you too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgIHW3HP7eI I also ran across this picture of the lonely road but thanks to RP and all the great people on it we are not on this road alone . But also remember behind a soldiers smile could be a hidden tear. So reach out to them REACHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.......This guy is great and has his first cd coming out and is one of us I suggest buying his cd because he has another song about being over seas too. Some of you may even no Matt. He was a blessing for me on that one sad night that his song came across my path.

I HAVEN'T DEALT WITH PTSD WELL......... I'VE BEEN TO 2 OUTPATIENT 12 WEEK PROGRAMS FROM THE MEMPHIS VA.... STILL PISSED OFF. OH WELL THIS WILL NOT LAST FOREVER !