OH - LEO Notification goes BAD, really BAD.

[pcgizzmo]

24 years ago when I was in the Army we had just gotten to our first duty post out of basic. A guy I went to basic with wigged out and tried to jump out a 3rd story windows. He went crazy. He was labeled with PTSD

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. What was his stressor?

I believe I have personally experienced a mild case of PTSD. I had just begun reading Helter Skelter (the story of the Charles Manson murders) when I got an album of Christian music in the mail that I had been eagerly anticipating. I played the album repeatedly while reading the book. By the time I finished the book, I could no longer listen to the album. Every time I heard the songs it brought back memories of the horrific murders described in the book. I never played the album again.

I once met a woman who had been a contractor in Iraq. She drove a semi. When she returned to America, she found it really hard to drive a truck at night. She kept having flashbacks of an attack in which her co-driver was hit by an RPG and literally exploded all over her. The truck she was driving after returning was the same make and model as the one she drove in Iraq (so the interior was very familiar). The familiar environment took her right back to Iraq. In Iraq all her trips were at night. Hence the flashbacks when driving at night. She was literally a nervous wreck. I believe that's what PTSD is. It's caused by a really traumatic event (or a series of them) and manifests itself when the affected person is placed in a familiar setting that reminds them of the event or events that originally caused the stress. The more familiar the setting, the more pronounced the reaction will be.

So a person suffering from PTSD can appear perfectly normal for days, weeks, months or even years. They may not even realize they have it. But put them in an environment that brings back the memories of the trauma, and it's next to impossible to predict how they will react, except to say it won't be normal behavior. Mind you, I'm not saying this cop suffered from PTSD, but if he did, his behavior would be understandable while not excusable in that context.

I'm inclined to think that counseling will have little effect on a PTSD sufferer. It's more likely that introducing elements of the familiar setting along with positive reinforcement (music, comedy, happy events in their life) will help alter the memories and make them less stressful. I doubt seriously that a true PTSD sufferer ever truly gets over the event, especially the types of trauma experienced in combat.

Our NCO's lead us to believe it happened to some coming out of basic and then the fear of war with out actually being in war. I have never seen or heard of anything like it since but from what I remember them saying it happened on occasion when some recruits got to their duty stations.

[E.Marquez]

Our NCO's lead us to believe it happened to some coming out of basic and then the fear of war with out actually being in war. I have never seen or heard of anything like it since but from what I remember them saying it happened on occasion when some recruits got to their duty stations.

Your NCO's should have stuck with educating you on things they were qualified to discuss.
Though there are some Docs that would agree with such nonsense, so I guess, it’s not black and white as I would like it to be.
I stand fast in my personal observations and opinion.. The term PTSD is over used, used as an excuse often, diagnosed against people who have not experienced traumatic events relatively when compared to a LEO, first responder, or Military member who sees, kills, wounds, picks up dead blown up, burned, friends, enemy’s alike.

[C-dub]

Our NCO's lead us to believe it happened to some coming out of basic and then the fear of war with out actually being in war. I have never seen or heard of anything like it since but from what I remember them saying it happened on occasion when some recruits got to their duty stations.

Your NCO's should have stuck with educating you on things they were qualified to discuss.
Though there are some Docs that would agree with such nonsense, so I guess, it’s not black and white as I would like it to be.
I stand fast in my personal observations and opinion.. The term PTSD is over used, used as an excuse often, diagnosed against people who have not experienced traumatic events relatively when compared to a LEO, first responder, or Military member who sees, kills, wounds, picks up dead blown up, burned, friends, enemy’s alike.

Bronco78, unless you have some educational background in psychology or psychiatry I think your experience with PTSD isn't all that different from those NCO's. And what little I know about PTSD is that I'm unaware of it being able to be quantified and is still subjective in nature based on a "doctor's" observations. Either post traumatic or a current event, I hope you would agree that stress is an elusive and mysterious thing that effect everyone differently.

When I was in boot one of the guys in my company flipped out in the pool during the test where you jump in from a diving board fully clothed and bit one of the lifeguards that tried to help him. I don't know what ever happened to that guy, but he did not continue with our company. He may have gotten an administrative or medical discharge or passed his swim test on the next try and continued on with another company. I just don't know nor do I have any idea what set him off in the first place. He could have had some traumatic event earlier in his life that made him afraid of the water and he may not have even remembered it when he unlisted in the Navy.

[E.Marquez]

Bronco78, unless you have some educational background in psychology or psychiatry I think your experience with PTSD isn't all that different from those NCO's.

Fair enough position to take.

I don’t have an educational background in psychology or psychiatry, the difference as I read it from what YOU posted is.. I don’t diagnose people with PTSD, as your NCO's seem to have done.
But fair enough, I do undiagnose them

The point is valid, my opinion based on my experience is no more valid then your NCO's telling you what they did.

[baldeagle]

According to the Mayo Clinic, which is about as reputable a source as you can find - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-t ... er/DS00246" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but I believe PTSD is more pronounced when the terrifying event is more pronounced. IOW, the more terrifying (and long lasting) the event is, the more likely it is that the suffering will be acute. It also depends on the person. Some people are more easily terrified than others. Some events will traumatize one person while hardly affecting another.

[Heartland Patriot]

According to the Mayo Clinic, which is about as reputable a source as you can find - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-t ... er/DS00246" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but I believe PTSD is more pronounced when the terrifying event is more pronounced. IOW, the more terrifying (and long lasting) the event is, the more likely it is that the suffering will be acute. It also depends on the person. Some people are more easily terrified than others. Some events will traumatize one person while hardly affecting another.

IMHO, there are NO reputable sources left on a topic such as this. They simply do NOT exist when talking about anything that is subjective in nature. It is one thing to discuss the percentages of specific elements in an alloy of steel. That can be tested and verified by multiple methods and entities. Diagnosing something such as PTSD is not like that in the least. It is too often used as a political tool and propaganda tool, often by those who have something against the Armed Forces. All so-called academic institutions are suspect as being influenced by politics, particularly of a leftist ideology. They have done an incredible amount to reduce the legitimacy of science and medicine. The "anthropological global warming" mess, the "adult baby" in California collecting Social Security because he's "disabled", doctors fudging numbers to make it appear that there is some sort of "safety crisis" in regards to children and firearms in the home...those are three examples right off the top of my head...if I wanted to keep typing, I could make this incredibly long through listing examples. You can call me whatever names you wish, tell me to "wear a tin foil hat", or whatever...I don't care. I simply have lost trust in most of the so-called "experts" when it comes to anything subjective. I am more likely to trust a combat vet like bronco than some doctor who may have an agenda.

[C-dub]

Exactly everyone. It is subjective and the effects of it are all over the spectrum from barely there to debilitating. What was called "shell shock" could now be classified as PTSD. It does exist and PTSD is just what it is called now.

[sjfcontrol]

Exactly everyone. It is subjective and the effects of it are all over the spectrum from barely there to debilitating. What was called "shell shock" could now be classified as PTSD. It does exist and PTSD is just what it is called now.

Just like "Global Warming".

[C-dub]

Exactly everyone. It is subjective and the effects of it are all over the spectrum from barely there to debilitating. What was called "shell shock" could now be classified as PTSD. It does exist and PTSD is just what it is called now.

Just like "Global Warming".

Ha! Oh yeah! Every now and then it warms up and then after a while cools down. I just don't know about the effected by or man made part.

[bilgerat57]

Call it whatever you like, as far as I can see, the man simply has no business being in law enforcement. He's more of a threat to public safety than the criminals he was supposed to apprehend. As much as I wish to see him prosecuted for the laws he has broken, I will be satisfied if he is never allowed to work in law enforcement again. As an aside, I wonder if he will ever try to apply for a CHL (or if he will ever be eligible given his excuse of mental illness).......