The events in New York and Washington two weeks ago re-awakened strong feelings and emotions in combat veterans and people with post traumatic stress disorders.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates.... shows us why.
Salt Lake's Veterans Hospital has a team specializing in Post Traumatic Stress.
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More Info
- The Dept. of Veterans Affairs invites rescue workers, children, survivors and family members who need help coping with the emotional trauma of the terrorist attacks to visit
www.ncptsd.org/disaster. The website is maintained by the VA's National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Categories include: Helping Survivors in the Wake of Disaster, Terrorism and Children, How Terrorist Acts May Affect Veterans, Self-Care and Self-Help Following Disasters.
- PTSD Alliance: www.PTSDAlliance.org
Provides educational information on PTSD to patients, families, and professionals.
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For some who've experienced war, sexual assaults, or the loss of a child - recent events only reawakened the imagery, the wounds of their own personal trauma.
DR. STEVEN ALLEN, PTSD CLINICAL TEAM, S.L. VETERANS HOSPITAL: "IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE DELAYED STRESS REACTIONS - CERTAINLY THAT RISK FACTOR IS IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD PRIOR TRAUMA EXPERIENCES - SIGNIFICANT TRAUMA."
For these people, feelings of anxiousness become more pronounced.
DR. ALLEN: "ONE VETERAN WAS VERY CONCERNED WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE BOMBING, CALLING ME TO SAY HE DIDN'T WANT HIS SON TO BE DRAFTED."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF MIXED REACTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON OUR SOIL ON SEPTEMBER 11TH. AMONG THEM - VIETNAM VETERAN LOUIS KOVACS."
LOUIS KOVACS, VIETNAM VETERAN: "THE SIZE OF THE WOUND IN THAT BUILDING MATCHES THE SIZE OF THE WOUND IN MY HEART."
Some veterans remain distant. Others experience anger. In some cases they may react differently than you might expect, now questioning the response from their country.
DR. ALLEN: "SAYING THEY DON'T WANT ANY MORE KILLING, THAT THERE HAS BEEN ENOUGH KILLING AND THEY'VE SEEN ENOUGH KILLING BASED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES."
Louis Kovacs feels a mixture of compassion and anger - anger that we let our guard down.
KOVACS: "AMERICA HAS HAD ITS FRONT DOOR OPENED - AND WALKED RIGHT IN - AND DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT COMING."
Kovacs says for veterans, the attacks two weeks ago were an all too real reminder of something most veterans would like to forget.
Sept. 24, 2001--
