Help with Army son with Post Tramatic Stress Disorder?!
Question: My son is 22 and was over in Iraq for 15 months. Had been thru a lot and had also seen his best buddy get his arm blown off. He has a lot of guilt and flash backs he is dealing with. He does talk a little about it to me, but he definetely needs professional help. I can't get him to go to therapy. I have tried everything to get him to go. Does anyone have any advice on this matter? Please only serious answers! I don't know what to do to help him.
Answers: My son is 22 and was over in Iraq for 15 months. Had been thru a lot and had also seen his best buddy get his arm blown off. He has a lot of guilt and flash backs he is dealing with. He does talk a little about it to me, but he definetely needs professional help. I can't get him to go to therapy. I have tried everything to get him to go. Does anyone have any advice on this matter? Please only serious answers! I don't know what to do to help him.
My advice is this...Please ( as much as your son may not want you to) contact the people over at his Command. You can start with (depending on his branch of service) His Key Volunteer or Ombudsman for his Command. These two people are the people in the know as to whom can make the call as to what services are out there for your son.
My husband is in the Navy and I worked as an Ombudsman for his Command from 2005 until the end of July of this year. We were a medical facility who had our corpsmen and doctors constantly being deployed. It surprises me to no end that you son was not screened for signs of this at his time of debriefing or once he returned to his Command. All branches of the military have services for those who are experiencing PTSD, and people who are highly trained to deal with it. Letting his Command know that he is suffering from this disorder (contrary to the belief of many members of the armed services) will have absolutely no impact on his military career. So many young people fear that. Anything he says and every aspect of his treatment will be kept in complete confidentiality.
You might want to direct him to a few of the following websites...One is just for young men and women who served in Iraq with PTSD.
http://groups.msn.com/IraqWarVeterans/pt...
This is military Once Source...
http://www.militaryonesource.com/skins/M...
National Center for PTSD:
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.js...
and Defense Link...
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarti...
E-mail me if you have ANY QUestions or if I can be of further assistance
He needs to vent.
I'm sorry to hear that my dad has PTSD from a war in the early 90s...your son needs to see a professional..you can't reason with him right now..and try not to pressure him into telling you about his experiance. try to get him to really trust you!!!thats important and be patient...he most likely has depression along with PTSD. try to keep him busy with simple things around the house ask him to help you with your car and stuff like that nothing to complicated though...you should contact a psychiatrist and see what they say..he probably doesn't think he has a problem or he doesn't trust anyone..good luck
All you can do for him is be there for him to talk to and to try and convince him to seek help from a professional. My brother is currently deployed in Iraq and My biggest fear (aside from him not coming home at all) is him coming home broken (mentally or physically). I can only say you and your son are in my prayers. I hope he can get through this...and he will as long as you are by his side helping him along the way. Good Luck to you and please, tell your son I said THANKS!
I feel that you just need to tell him that this happens to alot of people that have has seen this alot of people go to councling just to see if they are doing ok. and it doesnt hurt just to see that doctor ya know tell him that it will benefit him then harm him. Give him alot of hugs and tell him you just want the best for him.... and MAKE THAT APPOINTMENT. please for the sake of your son. please.
I am very sorry to hear about your son. I agree he needs therapy. I suggest that he look into 1. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and 2. 5 PATH Hypnotherapy. 5 PATH Hypnotherapy works in 4 to 6 sessions. But your son must be willing to work with the hypnotherapist.
EFT is a healing modality that also has an excellent track record with PSTD. Your son must agree to work with a skilled EFT practitioner. The length of treatment with EFT varies but it is much faster than traditional psychotherapy. Many psychologists incorporate EFT into their practises. Good Luck.
Is there a Veterans Administration Medical Center in your area?
Perhaps he could go for treatment there. They must have support groups for veterans with PTSD.
Many returning from Iraq experience the guilt that you mentioned. I hope there is a VAMC that can help your son.
Best Wishes