Senator Dick Durbin on PostTraumaticStressDisorder
By Bryant Coleman
Carterville, Illinois- Friday April 1st may have been April Fools for some but for Senator Dick Durbin it was all politics.
Senator Durbin addressed a small crowd of spectators and press as well as some former war vets late Friday morning. The topic covered was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the soldiers that deal with it. The overall goal was intended to generate ideas on legislation that could help soldiers adjust to their home life again.
“I think it served its purpose in creating ideas,” said President Dr. Robert Mees.
The Senator sat at a table with a panel of four soldiers that suffers from the disorder and one representative from the Veterans Administration. The panel of soldiers experience range from combat in Kuwait to training Iraqi police to liberating Fallujah. The main point of discussion under the topic seemed to be how to help returning soldiers get treatment for PTSD which the senator says 80,000-240,000 soldiers are diagnosed with.
The problem is help for the disorder is scarce, Durbin suggested that more doctors and counselors combined with proper legislation could help contain the wide spread problem. But there are other problems that need to be addressed as well, when soldiers come home from combat so does the burden of combat.
“It becomes a family issue,” said Senator Durbin.
“A family goes to war not just the soldier” said Panelist Stephanie Stretch.
Stretch served in Iraq and she said one of her most difficult problems were nightmares, trying to determine dreams from reality. She stated that she has been home for a little over a year and has seen a psychologist twice which hasn’t been as effective as she has hoped.
The process for seeing a doctor starts at three months, a time period that discourages many soldiers. In spite of the wait period some panelist described seeking treatment as “a sign of weakness,” on the soldiers’ behalf.
“(The) Army mentality is to go on,” said Panelists Justin Bathey, who served in the National Guard and helped train Iraqi police.
Zach Jones who served in Kuwait and Saudia Arabia commented “A lot can happen in three months, and they (the soldiers) don’t know where to go and how to cope with it.”
By Bryant Coleman
Carterville, Illinois- Friday April 1st may have been April Fools for some but for Senator Dick Durbin it was all politics.
Senator Durbin addressed a small crowd of spectators and press as well as some former war vets late Friday morning. The topic covered was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the soldiers that deal with it. The overall goal was intended to generate ideas on legislation that could help soldiers adjust to their home life again.
“I think it served its purpose in creating ideas,” said President Dr. Robert Mees.
The Senator sat at a table with a panel of four soldiers that suffers from the disorder and one representative from the Veterans Administration. The panel of soldiers experience range from combat in Kuwait to training Iraqi police to liberating Fallujah. The main point of discussion under the topic seemed to be how to help returning soldiers get treatment for PTSD which the senator says 80,000-240,000 soldiers are diagnosed with.
The problem is help for the disorder is scarce, Durbin suggested that more doctors and counselors combined with proper legislation could help contain the wide spread problem. But there are other problems that need to be addressed as well, when soldiers come home from combat so does the burden of combat.
“It becomes a family issue,” said Senator Durbin.
“A family goes to war not just the soldier” said Panelist Stephanie Stretch.
Stretch served in Iraq and she said one of her most difficult problems were nightmares, trying to determine dreams from reality. She stated that she has been home for a little over a year and has seen a psychologist twice which hasn’t been as effective as she has hoped.
The process for seeing a doctor starts at three months, a time period that discourages many soldiers. In spite of the wait period some panelist described seeking treatment as “a sign of weakness,” on the soldiers’ behalf.
“(The) Army mentality is to go on,” said Panelists Justin Bathey, who served in the National Guard and helped train Iraqi police.
Zach Jones who served in Kuwait and Saudia Arabia commented “A lot can happen in three months, and they (the soldiers) don’t know where to go and how to cope with it.”
-supa-
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