Friday, March 20, 2015

PTSD reality.


As said many times before, I try to keep all of my social media as light and happy as possible for the purpose of giving people the chance to leave my blog/FB/Twitter/Instagram a little happier than before. The reality is, I'm a woman with a voice and sometimes I like to share things that are on my heart. 

My dad was diagnosed with severe PTSD. Because of his service and growing up in a military life, I've a loyalty to my country and to American soldiers. Military life for me always feels safe. You may not agree, but the safest I ever feel is on a military base here in Texas. I owe a lot to my dad in the patriotic department. He raised his children to honor all things militia and I could not be more grateful for that particular mindset. 

I was watching a TV show last night and it was mostly centered around two men who were struggling with PTSD. Most of my thoughts as of late are filled with questions about this disorder. Post traumatic. After the trauma. The dictionary definition says it's, "triggered by a terrifying event". I don't know how you still think of your dad, but mine is a real life Superman. He always has been and as far as my book has been written and will continue to read on, he always will be. To have a definite term declaring my dad to have a stress disorder seems unbelievable. 

The truth is, our soldiers are struggling every single day. They're fighting for a reality, stability or some sort of routine normalcy to make its way back into their lives. It seems even after the war is over, there's still a war for our soldiers to fight, even while at home with loved ones. It's really hard to be sitting talking to my dad and then have him get very quiet. It's hard to keep quiet to let him process his thoughts when all I want to do is hug him and ask if he's okay. That's hard, people. My reality and his reality can no longer be paralleled. I did not see those traumatic events. I cannot "unsee" them, even then so, and now neither can he. 

I leave you with these thoughts; remember our Veterans. Remember their sacrifices. Not only were they physical (or maybe they still are!) but quite possibly they're emotional, mental sacrifices; battles that are still being fought each and every day after. 

If you're a Veteran and you're reading this, thank you a million times over. You are in my prayers and I have so much respect for you. All my love from Texas. 

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