Be "YOU-nique"

Hello my Fellow Warriors;

I am a Vietnam Veteran and have seen the white elephant as so many of you have.  Yes, I have had to heal from the effects of war.  Men and women who have placed themselves in harms way are now at risk for developing different mental health disorders, according to the Institute of Medicine.

According to them, military service in a war zone increases a service members’ chance of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, other anxiety disorders, and depression. Serving in a war also increases the chances of alcohol abuse, accidental death, and suicide within the first few years after leaving the war zone.

War veterans are also prone to marital and family conflict, including domestic violence due to their psychological and emotional distress.

These trouble signs have prompted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the scientific and medical evidence concerning associations between deployment-related stress and long term adverse effects on health.

Although the report cannot give definite answers regarding the connection between these health problems and the stress of war, it is clear that veterans who were deployed to war zones self-report more medical conditions and poorer health than veterans who were not deployed.

PTSD or Post-traumatic stress disorder often occurs together with other anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse. Its prevalence and severity is associated with an increased exposure to combat and also to emotional and spiritual connections. PTSD is no respecter of persons, young or old, military or civilian. It does not matter.

War, any war, physical, spiritual emotional, is such a negative concept to look at, and these people experience war each time they wake up. Such negativity is bound to take its toll to the person, even if they may have good relations back at home.

My friends, I still suffer with depression and PTSD.  Yes it is still with me and it will never go away, but I can fight it.  I write to silence the demons of the night and to help cope with it. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I refuse to be a statistic.

I am stronger than it is.

I am a warrior, forever.

You are stronger than it is.

You are “YOU”-nique!

You are a warrior forever!

Keep your "YOU-niqueness and dreams flying!