Very interesting and informative post, thank you. I guess that it remains to be seen what results will come of this and other treatments.
Since my events 52 years ago, I have had many long hours of contemplation about the many changes that happened. I remember the “flinches” - now called the Startle Reaction - and of course, nightmares. The most common for me was a small sound, a distant pop. Then some seconds later, a louder pop. Then a much louder pop. Then a loud, shattering Bang and I’d fall out of bed.
But what nobody mentions is that combat also heightens the senses. You found out that you had instincts you never knew you had and after you returned, everything else seemed intensely boring.
It didn’t help that people at home were either indifferent or openly hostile. My fellow workers at Lockheed thought it was great fun to drop a sheet of metal behind me when I wasn’t expecting it and watch me dive towards the ground while they yelled “hit the deck, hit the deck” and laughed.
I was spat upon very a very attractive young woman, and told I deserved the wounds I had for “taking part in an unjust, immoral war”
I drank myself to sleep for a long time until things finally settled down.
Very happy that they treat this generation of veterans than they did mine.
Yes, you and your fellow soldiers really had it coming at you from all directions.
Back in the 60s, nobody knew about PTSD. It was still called “shell shock”, or “battle fatigue” in most quarters.
Effective treatment options were not available. Even seeking treatment was stigmatized.
And compounding the suffering, our troops had to return home to an ungrateful nation that had lost its moral compass, seemingly, overnight.
I am sorry for all you have endured. And, I thank you for your service to our country.