Those who have been forced to commit terrible crimes and atrocities are changed.
The lives that once fit them no longer fit, they are alone. Misunderstood. Different.
A soldier with PTSD will continue their life under the constant threat of being immersed back into battle, where their largest fears and deep angers reside.
“For anyone who wonders what it's like to have a tragedy shatter your existence, this is what I would tell them: it's like going through the motions of everyday life in a zombified state. It's having outbursts of anger for what seems like no apparent reason, for even the smallest of offenses. It's forgetting how to be your once cheerful, perky self, and having to relearn basic social skills when mingling with new people (especially if those people are ignorant, or just plain terrible at showing sympathy). It takes a while to re-learn all those basic skills. Maybe...it's possible. Maybe you have to want your life back first, before it can start repairing itself But then you also have to accept that the mending process may take the rest of your life. I don't think there's a set time limit for it.”
― Sarahbeth Caplin, Someone You Already Know
Those who are afflicted by PTSD are in a "hole", a pit that they cannot dig themselves out of.
As a nation, we do not do enough to provide for those who have had their whole lives changed in such a traumatic way.
The lives that once fit them no longer fit, they are alone. Misunderstood. Different.
A soldier with PTSD will continue their life under the constant threat of being immersed back into battle, where their largest fears and deep angers reside.
“For anyone who wonders what it's like to have a tragedy shatter your existence, this is what I would tell them: it's like going through the motions of everyday life in a zombified state. It's having outbursts of anger for what seems like no apparent reason, for even the smallest of offenses. It's forgetting how to be your once cheerful, perky self, and having to relearn basic social skills when mingling with new people (especially if those people are ignorant, or just plain terrible at showing sympathy). It takes a while to re-learn all those basic skills. Maybe...it's possible. Maybe you have to want your life back first, before it can start repairing itself But then you also have to accept that the mending process may take the rest of your life. I don't think there's a set time limit for it.”
― Sarahbeth Caplin, Someone You Already Know
Those who are afflicted by PTSD are in a "hole", a pit that they cannot dig themselves out of.
As a nation, we do not do enough to provide for those who have had their whole lives changed in such a traumatic way.