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Returning Heroes Need Our Help!
[Ankeny, Iowa] As the number of suicides among American soldiers in Iraq and the Middle East has continued to climb, the US Military has dispatched teams of psychologists and therapists to address the growing fatigue and stress that is impacting our fighting men and women. Here at home, families and wives of returning soldiers are clamoring for help as they deal with their loved ones, many of whom have returned troubled and altered emotionally. They are dealing with a unique enemy: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In a recent radio interview, Greg Helle had this to say...
Since the end of the Vietnam War, and for the past thirty years, the public and professionals have gradually become more familiar with PTSD. It is a silent enemy that plagues victims of a catastrophic event. Thousands of rescue workers and survivors who experienced the 9-11 tragedy have dealt with, or are dealing with this illness. American soldiers fighting or returning from overseas are PTSD's latest batch of victims. Once referred to as battle fatigue or shell shock, PTSD alters the brain chemistry resulting in personality changes, short term memory loss and depression (which often leads to suicide). Many PTSD victims are abusive, reclusive, and distant. They often turn to alcohol and drugs, and some have even turned to a life of crime, including murder. The US military is dealing with the problem as best it can with soldiers in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, but the wives and families of returning soldiers are the ones who most need assistance. Helle founded PTSD-Alliance to provide answers to victims and their
families. He laun
With the increasing number of soldiers returning home, the demands on Helle and his organization have escalated. The dedicated veteran handles hundreds of calls and emails (read a few of these compelling letters) every week, and the exhausting work load has prompted him to seek volunteers for assistance. He has assembled a team of sixty people scattered across the country, but they are all stretched to the limit. Many of the volunteers are either wives of PTSD victims, or victims themselves, who live on a disability pension like Helle. He and his wife are funding the 501 (c)3 organization entirely on their own, and now the financial load is also taking its toll. This is a timely topic and many in your audience are desperately hungry for information on PTSD, and assistance in dealing with it. Greg Helle needs the media's help in getting his message out to those who need to be made aware that help is available.
What does the New England Medical Journal say about PTSD? About Greg Helle I Greg's Web Site I Links on PTSD I Recent News Articles |
One Vietnam
veteran is reaching out, because he understands - Greg Helle also
suffers from PTSD. In 1998, some thirty years after army
discharge, his life took an unexpected turn. While at a Boy Scout
camp with his troop, a cannon was fired as part of the morning flag
ceremony. Suddenly Helle found himself back in Vietnam, in the heat
of combat, and his world has never been the same since. He was
diagnosed with PTSD. Now, after being forced to quit a
prestigious corporate accounting job, he begins each day with
therapeutic medication and heads off for his bunker (as he calls it)
located in the basement of his
