Living with an unseen injury!! ( Pt 1)
Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often times frustrating and difficult! People see you on the street or in the shopping centers and assume because they can't see the physical signs of an injury that you must be in good health. This is often untrue, especially for our service members in the Armed Forces of the United States. Those of us suffering with a TBI often deal with mood changes, memory loss, chronic pain and migraines which are more often times than not very debilitating. Often times sensitivity to light and sounds are frustrating. Then there is PTSD the most haunting and terrifying of the unseen injuries, as it affects our minds, emotions, moods, and families. Often times service members are very easily irritated by the smallest of things, keys miss placed, shoes not in their place, children playing, television shows, over bearing conversations! We are often afraid to enter a crowded restaurant to enjoy a meal with our families, hyper vigilance while driving terrified to stop at a red light or stop sign for fear of being vulnerable to ambush. Unable to hold conversation of more than a few short moments with loved ones. Loss of memory is very prominent among sufferers of PTSD. Fear of being exposed in the open, unable to stay focused one any tasks for more than a few seconds. Often times PTSD sufferers are easily (set off) by the slightest memory or trigger of any traumatic event or memory. More and more the military tries to deny a diagnosis of PTSD to our service members and labeling them as having only anxiety or adjustment disorders.
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And may I add it is almost as difficult to be the spouse or child of the disabled person. This is truly something that affects the entire family! There are numerous coping skills that we learn as we go - but then there are some days that no matter what you do to prepare and plan something just seems to explode and crumble. Our kids have become resilient and have learned to adapt or at least not complain loudly when their expectations go unmet and our plans suddenly change without notice. In the end it is LOVE and understanding that keep us all going and moving forward on this adventure...
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