PTSD (credit: Forbes)
The Veterans Affairs reports that approximately 20%, 12%, and 30% of Service members and Veterans that served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the Persian Gulf War, and the Vietnam War, respectively, have had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a given year.
Many experts urge that as painful as PTSD is, we must continue to discuss it and to combat it because far too many combat stress injuries remain unreported, undiagnosed, and untreated due to a lack of awareness and because of the persistent stigma associated with mental health conditions which significantly increases the risk of anxiety, depression, homelessness, drug and alcohol related problems, unintentional injuries, and deaths-by-suicide.
We can help increase awareness to the general public by asking local elected officials to adopt a proclamation or resolution; a sample is downloadable from the June 2020 issue of the California Legionnaire and from https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2019/06/23/nestor-aliga-ptsd-awareness/
Visit https://www.ptsd.va.gov/ for official VA resources for treating PSTD.
Author: Nestor Aliga
Nestor Aliga was born in the Philippines and migrated to Vallejo, CA in 1967. He was in the US Marine Corps from 1974 to 1976 then in the US Army from 1976 to 2008. He is a life-member of the Big-Three, www.CALEGION.org, www.VFWCA.org, and www.DAVCAL.org.