The friend I mentioned above who can't forget the ashes in his hair told me he is still 'a different person' on that/this day.
My brother is not going to forget being over there, holding a mans brains in what is left of his skull as they dripped onto his boots.
I don't think we can understand PTSD unless we've experienced. I've had a little taste of it - how just words, names, colors, faces take me back to the event as though it were happening at that very minute. I don't even want to try to imagine what PTSD from 911 would be like.
Well one can have PTSD from many things, it is not simply tied to a tragic event that some are not directly affected by. Try having a parent that in their own words brought you into this world and can take you out of it. Coupled with severe beatings and psychological torture, as well as having a knife fly past your face with a threat to cut off your fingers as a child. A decade of that is more than enough to mentally fuck someone up, let alone a day of horrific shared pain and death. I actually have two Brothers that went over seas on active deployment, and according to my little sister they have a blood lust from their experiences. The younger of the two brothers was medically discharged and the elder is in Officer School and working towards his PA. They have seen and done some shit that we can not even begin imagine.
Yes, I agree. As silly as it may sound, I have flashbacks or trigger events from stuff I've experienced on the internet. Doesn't even compare to the real serious stuff but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. My point is, I guess, is that it's amazing how the mind works regarding bad or negative situations. I read once about how most of have a chemical that reacts to a scene to protect us from reliving the pain of that particular event. In PTSD something goes awry. There are medicines for it but I'm not so sure about that kind of thing.
@cydney It is most amazing what the mind does to preserve itself. Though it is best to simply get the help that you need to get past the majority of if so it doesn't run your life. Also I agree that meds are an option, but can have unintended consequences of their own.
Unfortunately, help doesn't always heal us completely. Just like everything else, we simply have to accept and deal with it.
