Search the Community

I am submitting a claim for anxiety. My wife wrote a letter where she has included the following to show my military connection and timeline. I have been retired for 19 years (20yr Marine 0331) and have not submitted a claim for this prior to now. I am rated at 10% for migraines and service connected for back pain but rated at 0% for that. I do not have my military medical records although I requested them back on January 2nd. I know they will take a long time to get. I was seen by a clinical psychologist at the VA clinic and her diagnosis says "Adjustment disorder with mixed emotions r/o Trauma-related stressor". She is sending me to classes and recommended on-line options as well. Any suggestions? My husband served 20 years in the Marine Corp where he was exposed to many conditions that he tries, unsuccessfully, to deal with to this day. He suffers from impaired short and long term memory. He retains only highly learned materials while forgetting to complete simple tasks. This started very early in his military career when he studied long hours for promotion boards. He was trained to memorize and recite. He is suspicious of everyone and everything. Again, this is due to his military training, be aware of your surroundings at all times and be prepared for the worst. He sees the world as a completely dangerous place. He is easy to anger and very irritable. In his military career he was trained to do things at the drop of a hat, always ready to react at a moment's notice. When things don't move at the pace he thinks is appropriate he has difficulty dealing with it. “Little” things easily anger him. He suffers from lack of concentration. If the subject doesn't interest him he zones out. He was taught in the military to focus on the relevant and ignore the irrelevant. This makes it nearly impossible for him to concentrate on learning new things, i.e. new jobs. He served as a drill instructor at both Parris Island and San Diego. During those 4 years he trained many young Marines who later served in combat. He has expressed to me many, many times the feelings of anxiety and guilt he continues to have knowing that some of those young men were either injured or killed. He feels that he should have been there with them instead of on the drill field. His 20 years of training dictate his life to this day. He has a difficult time functioning in the “civilian” world. His nights are restless and his days are frustrating. He sleeps with a CPAP machine to control his breathing. He frequently gets up to check and recheck doors and windows. He is not comfortable in social situations unless he is surrounded by his military buddies. He can not work around other people unless they share the same military background. He believes that if he asks for help it is a sign of weakness. When he was on active duty he did not go to sick call or ever ask for help because he did not want to be labeled a “sick bay commando”. Although most of these conditions have been present since he was on active duty, they have gotten worse over the years. Only recently did he agree to seek help.