General Mattis on PTSD

[Peter1469]

General Mattis on PTSD

I am not sure how I feel about this.

Except that it matters to General Mattis, and we should probably care what he thinks because chances are he's right. The problem, he contends, is that eventually we start believing it. We start seeing ourselves as broken. We buy into the myth.


The alternative is something so obvious that it is pathetic we don't talk about it more. "There is also Post-Traumatic Growth," Mattis told the crowd. "You come back from war stronger and more sure of who you are."

[Cthulhu]

General Mattis on PTSD

I am not sure how I feel about this.

Depends on the man and his outcome. There are guys that have no arms and no legs. Sorry, but no matter how your church that up he isn't stronger than when he went in.

Then you have guys who were total push overs, fat slobs, or drifting nobodys who the military literally rescued and turned into something great or at the very least put a halt on the descent - provided the service itself doesn't destroy them via military operations.

I would say the military is still no substitute for parenting.

[Libhater]

The general is right in so many ways. Of course each PTSD case should be judged in a subjective manner, since each of us who suffer from
the ravages of PTSD do so under totally differing circumstances while possessing a wide range of debilitating symptoms.

I found approximately 50% of the VA clinicians dealing with PTSD veterans had prescribed psychotropic drugs as a means to alleviate the
veterans' symptomatic bouts with trauma. Many of these VA clinicians never served in the military, and for all intents and purposes have
no clue as to the extent of emotional/mental damage that is done to each veteran as he goes through the system looking for answers for
his own welfare.


I said it here before that I've had PTSD symptoms since being subjected to physical and emotional abuse by my father back to my adolescence
days.


Keeping in tune with what the general's theme was of ignoring those negative PTSD labels by working to make oneself stronger has been the
driving force behind my Conservative values as a human being. I have never sat on the pity pot of despair expecting to be seen as nothing more
than a burnt-out combat veteran who needs to be pacified by others and living day by day in a suspended state of euphoria from diligently
popping my Prozac pills while doing the Thorazine shuffle from the bedroom to the bathroom. No, I have too much pent up energy (not anger)
to stay bed-ridden in a society where people make a living out of faking various symptoms so as to become a useless ward of the state.


I think the general had people like the Green Arrow in mind when he railed against those looking to belittle or to discourage PTSD veterans
from bettering themselves. For the Green Arrow thinks that I'm a fake and a troll. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because I have
solid Conservative values, I will not give up the fight; I will tell you directly what is on my mind; I will not cater to the whims of the overly
sensitive or to the leftists who give support to those looking to use their perceived victimhood as a means to curry favor to those who would
give them a free ride through life.


So I'm all in favor of "Post Traumatic" growth. What would be the alternative?..... Post traumatic failure! I only envision post traumatic failure
coming from a leftist's perspective. I would call that the leftists' 'Post Traumatic Utopia'

[Libhater]

Another thing that should be quite obvious is that the general in question here shows all the signs of being a staunch Conservative. He
has strong/principled values and believes in the individual as with his faith in the traumatized veterans to rise above their emotional
handicaps to forge ahead in being the best they can be despite whatever debilitating label the pre-conditioned civilian crowd deems them
to be or have.

[Peter1469]

Another thing that should be quite obvious is that the general in question here shows all the signs of being a staunch Conservative. He
has strong/principled values and believes in the individual as with his faith in the traumatized veterans to rise above their emotional
handicaps to forge ahead in being the best they can be despite whatever debilitating label the pre-conditioned civilian crowd deems them
to be or have.

Hey David, got any cross burnings to go to? I grew up not to far from you and I know a bunch of your good friends.

[Libhater]

Hey David, got any cross burnings to go to? I grew up not to far from you and I know a bunch of your good friends.

I take it that with your avoidance of my comments concerning the Conservative values of the general, that you agree with me that the general
was and is indeed a die-hard Conservative? You might also be aware that my good friend David Duke is also a dye-in-the wool Conservative,
and he also shares the same if not similar values as me and the fine general.

[Peter1469]

I take it that with your avoidance of my comments concerning the Conservative values of the general, that you agree with me that the general
was and is indeed a die-hard Conservative? You might also be aware that my good friend David Duke is also a dye-in-the wool Conservative,
and he also shares the same if not similar values as me and the fine general.

I know David Duke and his fan base.

[Libhater]

I know David Duke and his fan base.

Good for you.

[Max Rockatansky]

General Mattis on PTSD

I am not sure how I feel about this.

I liked it. General Mattis had a good point. He's not denying PTSD exists, simply pointing out changing how we look at it. Should vets look at themselves as victims? Weak, broken and unrepairable souls whose only treatment is to medicate them into a stupor? Or should take a more Nietzschean view; "What does not kill me, makes me stronger"? Heal our wounds and move forward?

Everyone who works out knows that sore muscles are caused by micro-tears in their muscle fibers. The muscles have to be torn so they can be rebuilt more strongly.

"The myth of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder tells us that we are now broken and cannot be repaired. We are a threat to ourselves and others. We need medication to be stable. We will be constantly challenged by the civilian world as we stumble along, out of phase with the safe and boring environment back home.
What if instead we could look forward to rapid growth as we heal from our wounds stronger than ever before? What if we could rebuild ourselves, and all we needed was the loving support of those around us and a little bit of time? Progress, evolution, healing, restoration - these are watchwords of Post-Traumatic Growth."

[waltky]

They asked what?!...

Combat Vet With PTSD Sues American Airlines for Barring Service Dog
Oct 31, 2016 - An Army vet who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan claims in a lawsuit that American Airlines refused to let her board a plane with her service dog.

The Army Times reports that Lisa McCombs, of Gulfport, Miss., brought the lawsuit, saying she was humiliated last year when airline staff refused to let her fly home with the dog who helps her deal with her disability and has the papers to prove it. McCombs left the Army as a captain in 2009 after four years of service. The dog is a chocolate Labrador retriever named Jake. The Army Times reported that it tried to interview McCombs about the lawsuit but she referred a reporter to her attorney.

This photo July 17, 2015, photo shows the tails of four American Airlines passenger planes parked at Miami International Airport, in Miami.

The paper reported that when it reached the attorney he declined to comment. The lawsuit says Jake wasn't allowed to fly with McCombs even though the airline says it welcomes service dogs on flights. It took McCombs and Jake two days to fly home. WLOX-TV reported that the lawsuit says American Airline agents were rude and condescending to McCombs in Kansas.

The lawsuit says agents asked her "Are you trying to fly with that?" and "What is your disability anyway?" according to the station. Her lawusit claims violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and seeks unspecified damages. American Airline spokesman Matt Miller told the Army Times that Jim Palmersheim, the airline's senior manager of Military and Veterans Programs, spoke to McCombs immediately after the incident. He also said the airline had no comment on the lawsuit.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...rvice-dog.html