My hospice patient Nat was
like many men and women who have served our country during wars. He suffered
with repressed fear and sadness resulting from his experiences. We had many
conversations about his life during my weekly visits with him. His story is
typical of many veterans who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder. These
are words he spoke that I remember well:
(Excerpt from Becoming Dead
Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes)
“I fought in a war years ago.
Gave the best I could give. I’ve seen and done things you couldn’t imagine.
Some of them were horrible, I mean really horrible. Don’t ask me to tell you
what they were. I can’t talk about
it. They say time heals all wounds, but it’s a lie. I left Viet Nam, but Viet
Nam never left me. I carry it with me everywhere I go. All these years later, I
still have nightmares like you wouldn’t believe. The doctor says it’s
post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. I wake up shaking, gasping for breath
with tears in my eyes. In my dreams, I’m always running hard trying to escape.
Sometimes my enemies are close enough for me to touch. I almost stop breathing
to keep them from hearing me. I’m constantly thinking I’m not going to make it.
Some nights they kill me before I wake up. My dreams are so raw, so real they
turn my soul inside out.”
Not much research is
available about veterans like Nat regarding their search for support from clergy and
spiritual counselors for their depression and PTSD. In this
Veterans Administration research study, 761 veterans with probable major depression
participated in telephone surveys. They were asked about their openness to
seeking help and their actual contact with clergy and spiritual counselors
during a six-month period. Almost half endorsed this support at some level.
Ninety-one participants (12 %) reported actual clergy/spiritual counselor
consultation. Others indicated support for primary care providers,
psychiatrists and other mental health providers.
Knowing that veterans
suffering with PTSD and depression are agreeable to receiving help from clergy
and spiritual counselors as well as other providers is important. Including
clergy and spiritual counselors, particularly those with specific PTSD
training, on care teams for veterans can improve health of patients like Nat.
This video shares the PTSD
journey of one marine veteran. Veterans Healing Initiative is a nonprofit dedicated to providing veterans of all eras access to
treatment for substance abuse and PTSD.
Frances
Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book
editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
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