Don't talk about it
Why common advice given to veterans with PTSD is wrong
I just finished rereading my official VA 100% Total and Permanent disability letter. For maybe the 100th time. The Internet forums all advise that veterans should not talk about achieving this status because of human nature, blah, blah, blah. That advice goes against basic psychology. You cannot process what happened if you keep it to yourself. Keeping it to yourself isn’t mentally healthy.
I’m going to discuss my status with an end goal in mind: positive change. I am a fortunate, totally permanently disabled veteran. Even with my “flat affect” and 70% rating for PTSD, I have somehow managed to navigate the badlands of VA bureaucracy hell in only a decade. I had a lot of help along the way. If you are a vet who is struggling, please, please click on the preceding link.
Here’s a snapshot of how the VA disability process works.
You realize something is wrong with you. This could happen anywhere from during your combat deployment up to the moment you have a …
