The first thing we need to understand about PTSD is that it is never cured.  Just as an amputation, a bullet fragment, and the loss of vision or hearing is never recovered, PTSD never goes away.  It is as constant as nerve damage, and as painful as the phantom pain of a lost limb. I will first share my experience living with a veteran with PTSD as well as posting some information that is valuable for vets, their wives, husbands and extended family from the National Center for PTSD.

The most devastating symptom of this disorder, this disease, this cancer of the soul, is that it is invisible.  It devastates the self by becoming a open wound in the heart of the veteran that can't be cured with alchohol, pot, opiates, the VA Medical Center, couseling or the mind-numbing meds that they throw veterans on when they go into the VA for PTSD treatment.  Civilians don't see a uniform or medals, they see a man who can't hold a job, his temper or his family together.  Hence he is treated as a man with a character defect,  someone that you cross the street to avoid, someone that you don't sit with at church, someone that disappears into themselves and into the cracks of society.  They rarely seek treatment or help, because we have carefully taught them that they are defective and not deserving of our help or care.

My husband's ex-wife has taught her children that my husband doesn't have PTSD, that it is all a ruse.  She knows what he did in Vietnam.  In her mind's eye, his fault is one of character defect, not of his service in Vietnam.  And the last time I checked, she never stepped foot in country, much less served a day in the military, so she speaks from a corner of denial. 

I have lived with my husband, Andrew, and his  PTSD for over twenty years.  I don't know where my husband begins and the PTSD ends some days.  It is a difficult and often progressive disorder to deal with.  It remains a puzzle to me after all of these years.   He has been hospitalized five times at the VA, each time for three to four month treatment programs, all with varying degrees of success.  He is 100 percent rated for his disability, and his children from his first marriage have all enjoyed his VA benefits for college and gradutate school, even though they each treat him with varying degrees of distance.

The betrayal for Vietnam Veterans comes in all shapes and forms.  While it is a badge of honor for my brother to have flown off of carriers During Desert Storm, and we go out of our way to help our recent IA Vets, Vietnam Vets are still killing themselves these many years later.  More Vietnam Vets have died at their own hands than died in country.  That is more than 50,ooo men and women who were so despondent over their loss of soul and self, left feeling so unwanted and defective because of their service,that they took their lives and ruined the lives of those they touched forever.  It is a continuing embarrassment to our country.  And the returning vets are falling into the same pattern.  We have come so far with new tools and understanding of the management of this disorder that it becomes our collective need to reach out and help, understand and embrace this syndrome, not as a character defect, but as a symptom of the warrior battlemind.

Many veterans from each of our conflicts from WWII forward are  finding that these two new wars are increasing their anxiety, flashbacks and PTSD symptoms.  We need to be an educated citizenry to help alleviate the pain of this disorder and recognize the symptoms in order to help the veterans and families get the help that they need.

Here are some current facts to consider from the National Center for PTSD:

How common is PTSD?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something horrible and scary that you see or that happens to you. During this type of event, you think that your life or others' lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or that you have no control over what is happening.

Experiencing a traumatic event is not rare. About 60% of men and 50% of women experience this type of event in their lives. Women are more likely to experience sexual assault and child sexual abuse. Men are more likely to experience accidents, physical assault, combat, or disaster or to witness death or injury.

But going through a traumatic event doesn't mean you'll get PTSD. About 8% of men and 20% of women develop PTSD after a traumatic event.

Here are some facts:

Most people who experience a traumatic event will not develop PTSD. However, you are more likely to develop PTSD if you:

• Were directly exposed to the traumatic event as a victim or a witness
• Were seriously injured during the event
• Went through a trauma that was long lasting or very severe
• Believed that you were in danger
• Believed that a family member was in danger
• Had a severe reaction during the event, such as crying, shaking, vomiting, or feeling apart from your surroundings
• Felt helpless during the trauma and were not able to help yourself or a loved one.

You are also more likely to develop PTSD if you:

• Had an earlier life-threatening event or trauma, such as being abused as a child
• Have another mental health problem
• Have family members who have had mental health problems
• Have little support from family and friends
• Have recently lost a loved one, especially if it was unexpected
• Have had recent, stressful life changes
• Drink a lot of alcohol
• Are a woman
• Are poorly educated
• Are younger

Some groups of people, including blacks and Hispanics, may be more likely than whites to develop PTSD. This may be because these groups are more likely to experience a traumatic event. For example, in veterans who survived Vietnam, a larger percent of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans were in combat than whites.

Your culture or ethnic group also may affect how you react to PTSD. For example, people from groups that are open and willing to talk about problems may be more willing to seek help.

If you are in the military, you may have seen combat. You may have been on missions that exposed you to horrible and life-threatening experiences. You may have been shot at, seen a buddy shot, or seen death. These are types of events that can lead to PTSD.

Experts think PTSD occurs:

• In about 30% of Vietnam veterans, or about 30 out of 100 Vietnam veterans.
• In as many as 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, or in 10 veterans out of 100.9
• In about 6% to 11% of veterans of the Afghanistan war (Enduring Freedom), or in 6 to 11 veterans out of 100.
• In about 12% to 20% of veterans of the Iraq war (Iraqi Freedom), or in 12 to 20 veterans out of 100.

Other factors in a combat situation can add more stress to an already stressful situation and may contribute to PTSD and other mental health problems. These factors include what you do in the war, the politics around the war, where it's fought, and the type of enemy you face.

Another cause of PTSD in the military can be military sexual trauma (MST). This is any sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs while you are in the military. MST can happen to men and women and can occur during peacetime, training, or war.

Among veterans using VA health care, about:

• 23 out of 100 women (23%) reported sexual assault when in the military
• 55 out of 100 women (55%) and 38 out of 100 men (38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military

Even though military sexual trauma is far more common in women, over half of all veterans with military sexual trauma are men.

Partners of Veterans with PTSD: Caregiver Burden and Related Problems

Jennifer L. Price, Ph.D. & Susan P. Stevens, Psy.D.

Introduction

A number of studies have found that veterans' PTSD symptoms can negatively impact family relationships and that family relationships may exacerbate or ameliorate a veteran's PTSD and comorbid conditions. This fact sheet provides information about the common problems experienced in relationships in which one (or both) of the partners has PTSD. This sheet also provides recommendations for how one can cope with these difficulties. The majority of this research involved female partners (typically wives) of male veterans; however, there is much clinical and anecdotal evidence to suggest that these problems also exist for couples where the identified PTSD patient is female.

What are common problems in relationships with PTSD-diagnosed veterans?

Research that has examined the effect of PTSD on intimate relationships reveals severe and pervasive negative effects on marital adjustment, general family functioning, and the mental health of partners. These negative effects result in such problems as compromised parenting, family violence, divorce, sexual problems, aggression, and caregiver burden. ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Marital adjustment and divorce rates

Male veterans with PTSD are more likely to report marital or relationship problems, higher levels of parenting problems, and generally poorer family adjustment than veterans without PTSD. ^{2, 6, 7} Research has shown that veterans with PTSD are less self-disclosing and expressive with their partners than veterans without PTSD. ⁸ PTSD veterans and their wives have also reported a greater sense of anxiety around intimacy. ⁷ Sexual dysfunction also tends to be higher in combat veterans with PTSD than in veterans without PTSD. ⁹ It has been posited that diminished sexual interest contributes to decreased couple satisfaction and adjustment. ¹⁰

Related to impaired relationship functioning, a high rate of separation and divorce exists in the veteran population (those with PTSD and those without PTSD). Approximately 38% of Vietnam veteran marriages failed within six months of the veteran's return from Southeast Asia. ¹¹ The overall divorce rate among Vietnam veterans is significantly higher than for the general population, and rates of divorce are even higher for veterans with PTSD. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) found that both male and female veterans without PTSD tended to have longer-lasting relationships with their partners than their counterparts with PTSD. ³ Rates of divorce for veterans with PTSD were two times greater than for veterans without PTSD. Moreover, veterans with PTSD were three times more likely than veterans without PTSD to divorce two or more times.

Interpersonal violence

Studies have found that, in addition to more general relationship problems, families of veterans with PTSD have more family violence, more physical and verbal aggression, and more instances of violence against a partner. ^{12, 2, 3} In these studies, female partners of veterans with PTSD also self-reported higher rates of perpetrating family violence than did the partners of veterans without PTSD. In fact, these female partners of veterans with PTSD reported perpetrating more acts of family violence during the previous year than did their partner veteran with PTSD. ²

Similarly, Byrne and Riggs ¹² found that 42% of the 50 Vietnam veterans in their study had engaged in at least one act of violence against their partner during the preceding year, and 92% had committed at least one act of verbal aggression in the preceding year. The severity of the veteran's PTSD symptoms was directly related to the severity of relationship problems and physical and verbal aggression against the partner.

Mental health of partners

PTSD can also affect the mental health and life satisfaction of a veteran's partner. Numerous studies have found that partners of veterans with PTSD or other combat stress reactions have a greater likelihood of developing their own mental health problems compared to partners of veterans without these stress reactions. ¹⁰ For example, wives of Israeli veterans with PTSD have been found to report more mental health symptoms and more impaired and unsatisfying social relations compared to wives of veterans without PTSD. ⁵ In at least two studies, including the NVVRS study noted above, partners of Vietnam veterans with PTSD reported lower levels of happiness, markedly reduced satisfaction in their lives, and more demoralization compared to partners of Vietnam veterans not diagnosed with PTSD. ² About half of the partners of veterans with PTSD indicated that they had felt "on the verge of a nervous breakdown". In addition, male partners of female Vietnam veterans with PTSD reported poorer subjective well being and more social isolation than partners of female veterans without PTSD.

Nelson and Wright ¹³ indicate that partners of PTSD-diagnosed veterans often describe difficulty coping with their partner's PTSD symptoms, describe stress because their needs are unmet, and describe experiences of physical and emotional violence. These difficulties may be explained as secondary traumatization, which is the indirect impact of trauma on those in close contact with victims. Alternatively, the partner's mental health symptoms may be a result of his or her own experiences of trauma, related to living with a veteran with PTSD (e.g., increased risk of domestic violence) or related to a prior trauma.

Caregiver burden

Limited empirical research exists that details the specific relationship challenges that couples must face when one of the partners has PTSD. However, clinical reports indicate that significant others are presented with a wide variety of challenges related to their veteran partner's PTSD. Wives of PTSD-diagnosed veterans tend to assume greater responsibility for household tasks (e.g., finances, time management, house up-keep) and the maintenance of relationships (e.g., children, extended family). ^{13, 14} Partners feel compelled to care for the veteran and to attend closely to the veteran's problems. Partners are keenly aware of cues that precipitate symptoms of PTSD, and partners take an active role in managing and minimizing the effects of these precipitants. Caregiver burden is one construct used to categorize the types of difficulties associated with caring for someone with a chronic illness, such as PTSD. Caregiver burden includes the objective difficulties of this work (e.g., financial strain) as well as the subjective problems associated with caregiver demands (e.g., emotional strain).

Beckham, Lytle, and Feldman ¹⁵ examined the relationship between PTSD severity and the experience of caregiver burden in female partners of Vietnam veterans with PTSD. As expected, high levels of caregiver burden included psychological distress, dysphoria, and anxiety. More recently, Calhoun, Beckham, and Bosworth ¹ expanded this understanding of caregiver burden among partners of veterans with PTSD by including a comparison group of partners of help-seeking veterans who do not have PTSD. They reported that partners of veterans with PTSD experienced greater burden and had poorer psychological adjustment than partners of veterans without PTSD. Across both studies, caregiver burden increased with PTSD symptom severity. That is, the worse the veteran's PTSD symptoms, the more severe the caregiver burden.

Why are these problems so common?

Because of the dearth of research that examines the connection between PTSD symptoms and intimate-relationship problems, it is difficult to discern the exact correspondence between them. ^{7, 16} Some symptoms, like anger, irritability, and emotional numbing, may be direct pathways to relationship dissatisfaction. For example, a veteran who cannot feel love or happiness (emotional numbing) may have difficulty feeling lovingly toward a spouse. Alternatively, the relationship discord itself may facilitate the development or exacerbate the course of PTSD. Perhaps the lack of communication, or combative communication, in discordant relationships impedes self-disclosure and the emotional processing of traumatic material, which leads to the onset or maintenance of PTSD.

Riggs, Byrne, Weathers, and Litz ⁷ did examine the connection between PTSD symptom clusters and the relationship condition. The study examined the connection between the cluster of avoidance symptoms and the decreased ability of the person diagnosed with PTSD to express emotion in the relationship. The results of the study suggest that avoidance symptoms, specifically emotional numbing, interfere with intimacy (for which the expression of emotions is required) and contribute to problems in building and maintaining positive intimate relationships.

What are the treatment options for partners of veterans with PTSD?

The first step for partners of veterans with PTSD is to gain a better understanding of PTSD and the impact on families by gathering information. Resources on the National Center for PTSD website and in the reference list for this fact sheet may be useful. Particularly helpful are the National Center for PTSD fact sheets listed below under "related fact sheets."

With regard to specific treatment strategies, Nelson and Wright ¹³ suggest, 'effective treatment should involve family psychoeducation, support groups for both partners and veterans, concurrent individual treatment, and couple or family therapy' (p. 462). Psychoeducational groups teach coping strategies and educate veterans and their partners about the effects of trauma on individuals and families. Often these groups function as self-help support groups for partners of veterans. Preliminary research offers encouragement for the use of group treatment for female partners of Vietnam veterans. ^{17, 18} Individual therapy for both the veteran and his or her partner is an important treatment component, especially when PTSD symptoms are prominent in both individuals. Couples or family therapy may also be highly effective treatment for individuals' symptoms and problems within the family system. Several researchers have begun exploring the benefits of family or couples therapy for both the veteran and other family members. ^{14, 19,20} In light of the recent research on the negative impact of PTSD on families, Veterans Affairs PTSD programs and Vet Centers across the country are beginning to offer group, couples, and individual programs for families of veterans.

Overall, it seems that the most important message for partners is that relationship difficulties and social and emotional struggles are common when living with a traumatized veteran. The treatment options listed above are but a few of the available approaches that partners may find useful in their search for improved family relationships and mental health.

Additional Resources

http://www.vietnamveteranwives.com/

Vietnam Veterans Wives (VVW), established in 1996, is an organization designed to meet the needs of veterans and their families. The specific and primary purpose of VVW is the advancement of research and the distribution of information about PTSD, Agent Orange, and Gulf War diseases. VVW publishes a variety of literature, including newspapers, magazines, and brochures. VVW provides PTSD counseling, safe retreats for wives during times of crisis, a national hotline, and assistance to the families of incarcerated veterans. Membership is open to all family members and significant others of anyone that served in the military during any period.

Matsakis, A. (1988). Vietnam Wives. Washington, DC: Woodbine House. Aphrodite Matsakis is a psychotherapist specializing in PTSD. She has worked extensively with Vietnam veterans and survivors of child sexual abuse. A new edition of her 1988 book Vietnam Wives: Facing the Challenges of Life with Veterans Suffering Post Traumatic Stress (Sidran Press, 1996, $19.95 paper, 1-886968-00-4) deals with the stresses arising from midlife as well as those stemming from the experience of combat.

Patience Mason writes from personal experience in Recovering from the War: A Woman's Guide to Helping Your Vietnam Vet, Your Family, and Yourself (Viking, 1990, out of print hard, 0-670-81587-X; Penguin, 1990, out of print paper, 0-14-009912-3; hardcover copies still available from Patience Press, P.O. Box 2757, High Springs FL 32643 at $27.50 postpaid). Her husband was a Vietnam helicopter pilot who developed all the symptoms of PTSD. Mason describes the Vietnam experience and its impact on veterans and tells what a family needs to do to heal itself from the lasting wounds of Vietnam.

Children of Veterans and Adults with PTSD

Jennifer L. Price, Ph.D.

Researchers have recently examined the impact of veterans' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on family relationships, and on children of veterans in particular. Family members of individuals with PTSD may experience numerous difficulties. This fact sheet explains the common problems that children of veterans experience and provides recommendations for how to cope with these difficulties. Although much of the research described here has been conducted with children of Vietnam veterans, it is likely that much of the information applies to children of combat veterans of other conflicts.

Individuals who have PTSD often 're-experience' traumatic events through vivid daytime memories or dreams. Re-experiencing can occur suddenly and without intention, and it is typically accompanied by intense emotions, such as grief, guilt, fear, or anger. Sometimes these intrusions can be so strong or vivid that the individual believes the trauma is reoccurring.

These symptoms can be frightening not only for the individual experiencing them but also for children who witness them. Children may not understand what is happening or why it is happening, and they may start to worry about their parent's well-being. Children may also worry that their parent cannot properly care for them.

Because the re-experiencing symptoms characteristic of PTSD are so uncomfortable, people who have been traumatized tend to try to avoid thinking about the traumatic event. They may also attempt to avoid places and experiences that could trigger upsetting memories. As a result, veterans may not want to do things or go places, such as to the store, to the movies, or out to dinner. Children may feel that their parent does not care about them when really it is that the parent is avoiding places that are just too frightening. In addition to these active avoidance strategies, traumatized individuals often struggle with experiencing positive emotions and may feel 'cut off' from other people, including family members. These avoidance and numbing symptoms can have a direct impact on children. For example, when a parent with PTSD withdraws from family members and has trouble feeling positive emotions, children can inaccurately interpret this as the parent not being interested in them or loving them, even though the parent may try to indicate otherwise.

Individuals with PTSD tend to have a high level of anxiety and arousal, which shows up as difficulty sleeping, impaired concentration, and being easily startled. They tend to have a high level of irritability and may experience an exaggerated concern for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones. It is easy to see how these hyperarousal symptoms can influence family members. For instance, irritability and low frustration tolerance can make a parent seem hostile or distant, again making children question the parent's love for them. This perception is simply a misunderstanding of the reasons behind the symptoms.

Researchers have observed a direct relationship between each of the parent's PTSD symptoms and the children's responses. Researchers also have noticed patterns in the ways children respond to the parent's overall presentation of PTSD. Harkness (1991) described three typical ways these children respond: (1) the over-identified child: the child experiences secondary traumatization and comes to experience many of the symptoms the parent with PTSD is having; (2) the rescuer: the child takes on parental roles and responsibilities to compensate for the parent’s difficulties; and (3) the emotionally uninvolved child: this child receives little emotional support, which results in problems at school, depression and anxiety, and relational problems later in life.

These theories certainly do not represent every possible reaction children may have to parents with combat-related PTSD, but they offer some useful ways of understanding how symptoms might develop for these children.

Research has shown that there is significantly more violence in families of Vietnam veterans with PTSD than in families of veterans without PTSD, including increased violent behavior of the child. ¹ Several studies have examined the effect that fathers' combat-related PTSD and violent behaviors have on their children. ^{2, 3, 4} Results have generally revealed that children of veterans with PTSD are at higher risk for behavioral, academic, and interpersonal problems. Their parents tend to view them as more depressed, anxious, aggressive, hyperactive, and delinquent compared to children of non-combat Vietnam era veterans (who do not have PTSD). In addition, the children are perceived as having difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships. Chaotic family experiences can make it difficult to establish positive attachments to parents, which can make it difficult for children to create healthy relationships outside the family too. There is also research showing that children may have particular behavioral disturbances if their parent veteran participated in abusive violence (i.e., atrocities) during combat service. ⁵

Results have also shown that children of veterans with PTSD are at higher risk for being depressed and anxious than non-combat Vietnam era veteran's children. Children may start to experience the parent's PTSD symptoms (e.g., start having nightmares about the parent's trauma) or have PTSD symptoms related to witnessing their parent's symptoms (e.g., having difficulty concentrating at school because they're thinking about the parent's difficulties). Some researchers describe the impact that a parents PTSD symptoms have on a child as secondary traumatization. ² However, because of the increased likelihood that violence occurs in the home of a veteran with PTSD, it is also possible that children develop PTSD symptoms of their own. Having a seemingly unsupportive parent can compound these symptoms.

Adolescent children of veterans with PTSD may also be affected by their parent's symptoms. Compared to adolescent children of non-veteran fathers, adolescent children of Vietnam combat veteran fathers show poorer attitudes toward school, more negative attitudes toward their fathers, and higher levels of depression and anxiety. They also receive lower scores on creativity ⁶ . Adolescent children of Vietnam combat veterans may also have more problematic behaviors as rated by their mothers, although their behavior at school does not show evidence of disturbance. In spite of these differences, the two groups of adolescents were actually quite similar on a range of other measures of social and personality adjustment. One of the potential reasons for the limited impact on this group of adolescents is that the fathers in this study experienced combat but were not actually diagnosed with PTSD. It seems that children of combat veterans may struggle with some psychological and behavioral difficulties, but higher levels of impairment are much more likely when the veteran is struggling with mental health issues of his/her own, such as PTSD.

It is possible for children to display symptoms of PTSD because they are upset by their parent's symptoms (secondary traumatization). Some researchers have also investigated the notion that trauma and the symptoms associated with it can be passed from one generation to the next. Researchers describe this phenomenon as intergenerational transmission of trauma. Much research has been conducted with victims of the Holocaust and their families (see Kellerman ⁷ for review), and some studies have expanded on these ideas to include families of combat veterans with PTSD.

Ancharoff, Munroe, and Fisher ⁸ described several ways to understand the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of trauma. These mechanisms are silence, overdisclosure, identification, and reenactment.

• When a family silences a child, or teaches him/her to avoid discussions of events, situations, thoughts, or emotions, the child's anxiety tends to increase. He or she may start to worry about provoking the parent's symptoms. Without understanding the reasons for their parent's symptoms, children may create their own ideas about what the parent experienced, which can be even more horrifying than what actually occurred.
• Overdisclosure can be just as problematic. When children are exposed to graphic details about their parent's traumatic experiences, they can start to experience their own set of PTSD symptoms in response to the horrific images generated.
• Similarly, children who live with a traumatized parent may start to identify with the parent such that they begin to share in his or her symptoms as a way to connect with the parent.
• Children may also be pulled to reenact some aspect of the traumatic experience because the traumatized parent has difficulty separating past experiences from present.

Parents can help children by using the information provided in this fact sheet and in the resources identified below. Preventive interventions can be helpful and include explaining to family members the possible impact of intergenerational transmission of trauma, before it happens. Education about the potential impact on children can also be a useful reactive response, when a child is already being affected by his or her parent's trauma history.

An excellent first step in helping children cope with a parent's PTSD is to explain the reasons for the traumatized parent's difficulties, without burdening the child with graphic details. It is important to help children see that the symptoms are not related to them; children need to know they are not to blame. How much a parent says should be influenced by the child's age and maturity level. Some parents may prefer to have help with what they say to their children, and seeking assistance through therapy or written materials can be helpful. The National Center for PTSD's fact sheet below on "Children and disaasters" can help parents talk to children about trauma. This fact sheet also describes how children may react differently, depending on the child's age.

In addition to this basic first step, there are multiple treatment options available for affected families. Treatment can include individual treatment for the veteran (symptom improvement for the person suffering from PTSD would indirectly benefit the family) and family therapy (to support the parent who is struggling with symptoms and teach family members how to get their own needs met). Family therapy is typically more effective if the veteran with PTSD has first received some type of trauma therapy such that he or she is better able to focus on helping the children during family sessions ⁹ . Children may benefit from individual therapy as well, with variations based on the child's age (e.g., art or play therapy for younger children, supportive talk therapy for older children and adolescents). Each family is unique, and decisions about what kind of treatment to seek, if any, can be complicated. The most important thing is to help each member of the family, including the children, have a voice in expressing what he or she needs. In light of the recent research showing the negative impact PTSD can have on families, Veterans Affairs PTSD programs ( http://www.va.gov) and Vet Centers ( http://www.va.gov/rcs/) across the country are beginning to offer group, couples, and individual programs for families of veterans.

 I know that much of this information feels overhelming and as if you are trying to drink from a firehose when dying of thirst.  It is a long and winding road for both the veteran and the family. 

I most likely have PTSD now.  I startle easily, am hypervigilant, have anger management issues, and my body has betrayed me early on with daily migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, a collapsing neck and fibromyalgia. I know that my  husband will never be cured.  I don't know what my options are.  There are a few groups for wives of vets with PTSD and I believe that it is one of the major reasons for the demise of the family when the veteran returns home is lack of information for the family and the vet.  It is like walking through a mine field, trusting that you will make it to the other side without too much trauma.  Reach out and find help, the sooner the better. 

To my husband's credit, he is working non-stop to help returning vets, and is careful not to forget the surviving vets from all of our previous conflicts, for they are the bridge to help the ones returning.

Please check out his work at:    www.utvet.com   He is a good and strong man, he defended his country when he was called and was honorably discharged with medals of commendation.  He has worked hard on this site to help others who suffer with this same invisible and cruel companion.

My thanks and prayers for all veterans and their families, may you walk in light and peace.