This Jarring Photo Series Captures What PTSD Really Looks Like; According to Buzzfeed

What is jarring about the pictures is how they depict how one saw themselves vs how they see themselves now. Proud vs regretful. Strong vs vulnerable. Full of life vs suicidal.

For too many of us, we see ourselves as not living up to our own proud service. We feel the demands of life, the highs and lows, and long for a time when things were simpler.

Few can understand how we feel. Not our loved ones, not a therapist. Only our brothers and sisters we served with can truly know.

Alone with regrets is a terrible place to live.

Thank you for sharing the pictures. They are thought provoking.

I think it just goes to show that we are vulnerable to our pasts and that a lot of people need help understanding how to reach out for help.

Much work is needed in dismantling the stigma associated with mental health issues. Not just in the military but society as a whole.