HELPING VETERANS WITH POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER & TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

PTSD/TBI seriously compromises the Veteran’s ability to function as a family member, at work or in society.  Its prevalence in returning veterans is thought by some to be as high as 20%, and is strongly associated with an increased risk of substance abuse and suicide. There is little agreement on how best to provide treatment for PTSD/TBI. Veterans often end up on large regimens of drugs with addictive potential or serious side effects.

In his deeply moving book Until Tuesday… A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retrieve Who Saved Him, Captain Luis Montalvan stated that “PTSD is a dwelling disorder; it makes a person psychologically incapable of moving beyond the traumas of his or her past.”

One of our participating veterans shared the following: “As a Combat Veteran, with PTSD, I work harder in my SLEEP, than I do when I’m awake,.. just to go back and do it all again, … and again, and again.”

The participants in War Dogs universally describe being trapped in their lives, of being unable to leave their homes to shop except at midnight when it’s dark and safer. They can’t drive a car, take a subway, or talk to anyone who did not share their experiences. They can’t escape from the prison of their experiences and their memories.