Last week, I went to a Central Oregon Project Healing Waters meeting. This was a special meeting providing information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other issues that are vet related. The speaker was Gary Hunter, Team Lead of The Central Oregon Vet Center which is located down between Lava Lanes and COIC in Bend.
Gary said suicides have taken more soldier’s lives than combat. He said PTSD is caused by going through, seeing or learning about a traumatic event. PTSD symptoms include flashbacks, not being able to get thoughts about the events out of their minds, sleep disturbances (they’re lucky if they get 4 to 5 hours of sleep). They can have nightmares which involve not being in control, even if these things never happened to them. Examples of the dreams are, their gun jamming or they are trapped with no way out.
Vets with PTSD are very sensitive to too much stimuli. They can be overloaded quickly and feel overwhelmed. They like to be in control of their environment. If you are hanging out with such a vet, Gary said, the big thing to watch out for are feelings of being in a war zone. The person may exhibit survivor guilt. They wonder why they lived and someone else died. Gary suggests bring them back to the present and reassure them everything is OK. If they’re having survivor guilt, remind them that this is a time to enjoy themselves and that their buddies would want them to have some fun. He said activities like fly fishing or golfing are helpful for this because they have to concentrate on what they’re doing. He said it also helps them get away from the bad stuff.
Not only are veterans coming back with PTSD and TBI, they’re having physical problems from having so much gear. NPR recently did a story. Some soldiers have been on multiple deployments. Carrying all that weight for all that time and doing the type of physical activities they do, has taken a toll on their bodies. This can also factor in to the stresses they undergo.
One other thing that Gary mentioned was that some Vietnam vets are displaying delayed onset PTSD. He said after years of managing their symptoms, their PTSD may be triggered by the death of a loved one, for example.
There is local help for vets who have symptoms. The Central Oregon Vet Center is a great place for veterans, in particular those who have been a war theater. The center is located at 1645 NE Forbes Rd in Bend (Same road as Lava Lanes) and their phone number is 541-749-2112. The Center has four councilors on board, who all have some family connection to veterans or personal military experience. They are all well qualified to work with veterans with PTSD, mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) also known as concussions, depression, sexual trauma and bereavement counseling. If the need is urgent, it is possible that they can see someone on very short notice or possibly on weekends. They also work with family members of those vets. Something I didn’t know was it is funded through a separate piece of legislation from the VA, this allows for minimal paperwork and no co-pay to deal with for qualified vets and their families. The website for all the Vet Centers is here.
The Central Oregon Veteran 