The hidden battle: Veterans and the struggle with PTSD
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Earlier this week, millions of Americans celebrated our nation's veterans. While serving your country can be a tremendous source of pride for some, the unseen battle scars of war can leave long-lasting consequences.
Data from the Veterans Administration estimates that in 2016, 8,000 post-9/11 veterans were dealing with some form of post-traumatic stress. In 2021, that number was 46,412 and is estimated to continue growing through at least 2030.
Daniel Slawski has experience working with PTSD firsthand. The former Air Force veteran is the president of Guardian Hills Veteran Healing Center in Kirksville, which provides a week-long retreat for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress. The program emphasizes a healthy lifestyle with a curriculum that features horse therapy, a labyrinth for self-reflection, yoga and meditation. Slawski is hoping to get bring resources like Guardian Hills to more areas of the Midwest.
However, diagnosing PTSD can be difficult because it can be triggered by a variety of different factors. Slawski said one WWII veteran he worked with did not experience post-traumatic stress until 50 years after the war had ended. The veteran was a successful businessman who Slawski was seeing for a shoulder injury.
“He went into the MRI, he never had one before. He became extremely violent,” Slawski said. “He had to be sedated. We had to bring in security police and wound up in the psych unit at the military hospital where I was. When I went to talk to him, he was sitting on the bed and just staring in a corner in his hospital pajamas.”
The congested space of the MRI machine gave him a flashback to the Battle of Hurtgen Forest. While the man was on patrol, his unit was ambushed by German artillery forcing him to dive for cover in a frozen creek bed, Slawski said.
“He was buried in the dirt and only his boots were out. Everyone in his unit was wounded or killed immediately. As he was laying in that hole in the dirt, the Germans came through and killed all of the survivors and he could hear what was going on,” Slawski said. “The Americans came back through later. He didn't know how much later, but you just said it seemed like an eternity; and they were reclaiming them, pulling the bodies out, and realized he was alive. He wound up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge a-month-and-a-half or so later, retired from the military, and then went on to a very successful life. [He] had no problems until he went into that MRI.”
Other triggers can be sounds such as fireworks or smells that reminds veterans of combat.
"One of our board members is a decorated Marine war veteran and spent literally years in the Middle East. Any time he has a certain smell, he goes, 'I'll go back to that same stress' and he has to do breathing to calm back down again," Slawski said. " He was almost killed three times and had pretty major episodes. And he said there was always that pervasive smell from the burn pits around the combat area and war zone he was at."
The US Department of Veteran Affairs Estimates 23-out-of-100 veterans who use VA care suffer from post-traumatic stress. In the United States, it's estimated that 20-24 veterans die by suicide each day, with some scholars estimating the number is even higher.
“There have been some recent academic studies which have looked at those numbers, and it's felt that that may be underreported. Veterans suicides up to a factor of two. So they were estimating there could be as many as 40-to-45 veteran suicides per day,” Slawski said.
But for many veterans, asking for help can be difficult
“Within the military system especially when you're in active duty, if you do seek that mental health help or seeking help for that, it's not only stigmatized, but it can also derail your career,” Slawski said. “You're taught to basically push your feelings down. The mission and the mission's accomplishment is the No. 1 priority at all costs, including human life. “
Guardian Hills Veteran Healing Center focuses on helping individuals grow stronger from trauma and not be victimized by it. The concept for the programs was developed by Dr. Richard Tedeshi at the University of North Carolina.
But that process is not always easy.
“A lot of veterans don't want to talk about their war stories, particularly around non-veterans,” Slawski said. “It's not a situation they feel comfortable in and it can bring back uncontrolled emotions where you feel very vulnerable. So being vulnerable and telling your story is important in healing, but it's also important to do it under the right situation.”
