PTSD

Michael served in the Army.

He deployed to Iraq twice.

There are things that happen in war that veterans never talk about, but that never leave their minds.

Last week, Mike was in a very scary vehicle accident.

It could have been fatal.

Last week was very rough and I didn't really know why.

I just knew I didn't ever want to do it again.

Vehicle accidents.

School starting.

Work.

My own anxieties.

Then, Mike not quite acting like my Mike.

It wasn't until Friday that he said to me,
"I think since the accident, I am regressing with my PTSD."

Oh!

Come close for this one...

I've never dealt with PTSD, and certainly not at the level that Mike and all veterans deal with PTSD.

This is a REAL thing, based on REAL life that I will never understand.

I am empathetic and sympathetic.

But, I don't fully understand the feelings he is having.

We talked about getting him back into counseling through the VA.

We talked about how his anxiety is sky-rocketing as well...

I went into hyperactive mode...

I was constantly asking him if he was fine, what he needed. what I could do, what he was thinking, etc.

Like I said, I'd never dealt with this before.

Then, I started researching PTSD and the generalizations on how to help or support someone you love.

Asking 53890 questions per day is actually not recommended.

Weird.

I asked him how he felt about it.

He said that he will talk to me when he is struggling and that it's okay for me to ask, but not every minute.

We are working through times when he feels overwhelmed.

We are working on making sure he has time to process thoughts and feelings.

This is what I'm learning and what WE ALL need to be aware of:

We have NO clue what people are going through right now OR what they have gone through in their past that might explain why someone is acting a certain way.

Those men and women who have gone through war and who are in law enforcement or in fire fighting or in teaching or in whatever...

That is real stuff that causes real changes to our brains.

It's brave and heroic that they continue on with life in such a high-functioning manner.

I love you, Michael.