Main description:

The chances of service members developing PTSD after military-related traumas is, according to a U.S. study, at least 30 percent. The effects of PTSD can be devastating, ranging, for example, from distressing flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disorders, physical symptoms, irritability, aggressions, memory and concentration problems. These symptoms often cause severe impairment in all areas of life and may lead to despair and hopelessness. PTSD is neither a localized nor a temporary problem. Here, Leah Wizelman relates the true stories of service members from different service branches and ranks from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany, who were participants in various wars (Vietnam, Gulf war, Iraq, Afghanistan, Grenada) and peace missions (Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Cambodia, Somalia, Cyprus, Haiti). They talk openly about their lives after trauma and share their fates with the reader. Spouses of affected military members also tell their stories. They talk about the challenges loved ones face when living with a partner with PTSD, how it affects their children, and how they manage to cope. As these stories show all too vividly, military-related PTSD has not been dealt with effectively or with enough empathy or sympathy. Those affected by PTSD will realize that they are not alone in their suffering, and others will gain insight into the realities of this challenging mental disorder.

Contents:

1 Foreword
2 Author's Preface
3 An Introduction to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
4 Stories from PTSD Sufferers and Their Families
5 I Could Have Been the Poster Child for PTSD (U.S. Air Force)
6 Part of Him Just Didn't Come Home (U.S. Army Spouse)
7 Living With PTSD Has Become a Bearable Reality (Royal Canadian Army)
8 I Look at Life Differently Now (German Army)
9 A Part of Me Died That Night (U.S. Army)
10 I Believed I Did Not Have a Problem (Royal Australian Air Force/Army)
11 He Thought I Was Telling Him He Was Crazy (U.S. Army Spouse)
12 I'll Never Be What I Was Before (Royal Canadian Navy)
13 People Ask Me Where My Smile Went (U.S. Marine Corps)
14 We Walked Around on Eggshells (Royal Canadian Army Girlfriend)
15 My Life Has Been Ruined (Royal Australian Air Force)
16 Many Thought His PTSD Was Bullshit (Royal Australian Air Force Spouse of the Above)
17 At Some Point the Soul Forms a Shield (German Army)
18 I Long to Be Who I Was (U.S. Army)
19 I Had Planned to Have Myself Shot (Royal Canadian Army)
20 Every Day Is a Struggle (U.S. Navy/Army Spouse)
21 Behind Locked Doors and With a Barbed Wire Over the Fence (Royal Australian Army)
22 I Am Learning Not to Take It Personally When He Pushes Me Away (U.S. Army Spouse)
23 I Attempted Nine Suicides (Royal Canadian Army)
24 I Was Certain I Was Going Crazy (U.S. Navy)
25 One Owns Up to It Relatively Late (German Army)
26 PTSD Has Totally Robbed Me of the Man I Married (Royal Canadian Army Spouse)
27 I Feel Guilty for Everything (U.S. Army)
28 For Me, the War Is Still On (German Army)
29 Nothing Will Ever Be the Same (U.S. Army)
30 I'm Looking Forward to My Future (Royal Canadian Army)
31 All I Want Is Acceptance (U.S. Army)
32 I Want People to Know That There Is Hope (U.S. Army Spouse of the Above)
33 It Was Always My Fault (Royal Canadian Army Spouse)
34 I Have Made My Peace With It (Royal Canadian Navy)
35 Scars and Memories Will Remain in My Soul (German Army)
36 You Think You Are the Only One (Royal Canadian Army)
37 Appendixes