PTSD's Purple Heart Medal

Image via Wikipedia
NAMI StigmaBuster Alert: January 12, 2009

PTSD's Purple Heart

A Department of Defense (DOD) advisory group has recommended that current DOD policy not be changed to allow Purple Heart medals to be awarded to soldiers stricken with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The current policy bestows the medal only on soldiers who are "physically" wounded in the line of duty.

Read the story in the New York Times and an excellent editorial in the Kansas City Star. DOD's current policy is as much an outrageous "slap in the face" to soldiers and veterans with PTSD as General George Patton's slapping of a soldier with "shell shock" was in World War II.

DOD can still reverse its policy, despite the advisory group's decision. Please contact the Secretary of Defense and tell him it's time to end stigma and discrimination against soldiers with PTSD. Their wounds are real.

Mailing Address

The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1000

Contact DOD Online

DOD Online Question/Comment Form

Telephone Number

DOD Public Affairs "Leave a Recorded Message" Line
703-428-0711 (not toll-free)

Hi, Ho: Free Teleconference on January 27

The federal government's "ADS Center" which supports the fight against stigma and discrimination is holding an online teleconference on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM (Eastern Time) on how to promote acceptance of people with mental illnesses in the work place.

Registration is free. Anyone can submit questions to promoteacceptance@samhsa.hhs.gov in advance for speakers to consider. Not all questions will be used in the teleconference, but contact information for speakers will be available. The Center will email registrants further information before that date.

WHY DO WE PANIC?

Image by Forty Photographs via FlickrI just ran across a great article written about anxiety disorders that has some relevant and useful resources. Take the time to read up on panic disorders, in case you or someone you knows begins to experience them. As a sufferer, I know the pitfalls, but I also know, that good, solid, understandable information, will be the first step in recovery. My anxiety disorder is under control now, but every once in awhile I have a bout of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that sets me back for a few days. It's all controllable, that is why articles like THIS ONE are so important. Do as much reading about this disorder as you can, especially if you or a loved one are suffering. It goes without saying, get help.
We all carry baggage and sometimes we don't don't know what the price of holding it all in, will cost us, until we are hit with something like a panic attack. Trust me, they are no fun. Be prepared, get informed, and if you do suffer, get help.