ptsd It's All In Our Head?

[simple fly]

this was on col dan's site..pisses me off

To: Ed Gentry, thefirstcav@ yahoo.com, or is it Larry Gentry?

VSO's like you give veteran advocacy a bad name….Thank you Dr Gentry for your medical diagnosis

You know so much more than the thousands of Dr's who have studied PTSD for years.

You surely don't work for the VA? Although you sound like you do. You have anger issues, recommend

You seek treatment for your PTSD

See Gentry's remarks below

"None of these men were depressed, sad

or disturbed in Vietnam. Yet today they are either getting PTSD money

or applying for it. These men are criminals. I am glad that my

Congressional testimony helped get the VA to require a lot more

evidence before they approve a PTSD claim. I am just waiting for the

day real soon when the FBI begins investigating fraudulent PTSD claimants."

From: Ed Gentry

To: disabled-veterans@ yahoogroups. com

Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 9:40 PM

Subject: [disabled-veterans] Re: A nutty idea: Give the PH medal for wartime disability

--- In disabled-veterans@ yahoogroups. com, "Allan Pederson"

<allanp@...> wrote: Ed: You are wrong! PTSD is definitely a mental

disorder, but these men/women are not nuts! I pity the Veterans who

have to work with you as a VA Service Officer. Allan

People who want others to believe that they are perpetually mentally

ill are nuts.

People who enjoy spending decades living in the past are nuts.

People who love sympathy, enjoy having their family members feel sorry

for them, use their PTSD to avoid working and responsibility, are nuts.

People who were having a great time in Vietnam, getting laid, doing

drugs, popping caps and rabble-rousing, only to claim 20-30 years

later that all of that fun is now depressing to them: are nuts. I know

men today who were in my unit. None of these men were depressed, sad

or disturbed in Vietnam. Yet today they are either getting PTSD money

or applying for it. These men are criminals. I am glad that my

Congressional testimony helped get the VA to require a lot more

evidence before they approve a PTSD claim. I am just waiting for the

day real soon when the FBI begins investigating fraudulent PTSD claimants.

As for pity, I tell the vets I work with not to seek pity but to get

their act together and become men again. Vietnam, Iraq and war are too

small and too brief a part of a soldier's life to make it his entire

life. Pitying is for punks.

American soldiers and American veterans are supposed to be strong,

heroic, decent and solid. They are supposed to be men, not girly-men.

They are not supposed to be whiny sissies and putrid little punks

begging for sympathy and welfare, which is was PTSD checks are.

__._

Allan, I agree with Ed. Millions upon millions of dollars are sucked

out of the VA budget every year by a bunch of lazy guys who have

perfectly full and healthy bodies. Their only complaint is that they

can't work, sleep, eat, xxxx or party because they keep remembering

about an experience they had over thirty years ago in Vietnam.

I have a question for you, Allan. Do you think the VA would be able to

give more and better care to wounded vets with physical disabilities

and missing body parts if the lazy PTSD welfare kings would get jobs

and stop leeching off the VA's budget?

Or how about this question: Do you think wounded and injured vets

wouldn't have to wait so long for appointments if the doctors and

staff didn't have to spend so much time with crybabies and sissies

who's only complaints are bad memories they don't want to forget if

they can get paid with PTSD to keep those memories?

Allan, the PTSD leeches have been a terrible drain on the VA system.

They eat up money, time, services and resources. These men with full

and healthy bodies are the scum who rob much-needed care from men who

were physically injured or wounded. And what makes these scumbags even

worse is that they not only don't give a damn about stealing time,

money and care from men like you, they also want a xxxxxxx medal for

being looney!!!!

Allan, your biggest enemy in Vietnam may have been Charlie. But the

guys that are making it harder for the truly disabled in the VA system

are the xxxxxxx PTSD punks who are getting attention and money because

being physically healthy they can cry and whine the loudest!

Allan, you need to take off those rose colored glasses you're wearing

and start seeing reality. Ed is right about PTSD being nothing more

than welfare for assholes who don't want to get jobs and work like

honest people.

,_.___

Les(in MN

Edited February 16, 2009 by simple fly (see edit history)

[purple]

Besides being pissed off....I'm confused. Who are these ppl?

[mike/3/8/cav]

This is why I avoid people. He makes me sick...or sicker.

[purple]

Well, whoever this is.....they disgust me.

[sharon]

Sounds like a hater that was denied a claim for PTSD. Probably a rater at the VA!

[mike/3/8/cav]

Well, whoever this is.....they disgust me.

Me to, I'm not gonna let it get me down. Don't you either.

[MikeR]

Ed, if we ever meet allow me to explain my life in the latter part of my service, and after service. I had an onset of my issues since the time of the occurrence and have tried to deal with this thing on my own for years, before taking medications and the whole gambit. It was the VA doctor whom brought me to the reality of PTSD. I tried to tough it out as you say, but after my near death suicide attempt and living through it, I guess someone that needs help should get it. I have real issues that are physical as well as PTSD and depression. There are two issues I don't even claim. Something that has cost me jobs, and relationships is something I need to deal with. I have a job and an education. I don't so much want any money, all I want is for someone to understand, and acknowledge. PTSD has been around a long time, in WWII in 1943 more men were discharged for mental health issues than they took in that year. Vietnam was an exercise in Eugenics where they tried to take the poorest in society and their deaths would be no great loss. Of course no one would advocate for the poor Vets, after all the draft is over. I have a civilian friend that went to Iraq for 6 months that came back with PTSD. The number of suicides speak for themselves, the only difference is the stigma is wearing off. Of course there are ignorant, sad, and lazy VSO's who never call you back even though they take your money gladly to "represent" you in the form of dues. That is why we are getting the attorneys involved, because only a true advocate should represent veterans. Now, the VA system is seriously protracted ordeal, with many barriers, and stumbling blocks that is completely adversarial in nature. If you can make it through that, and a VSO like Mr. Gentry than most likely you have a real problem. Maybe some have faked it, but not as many as one might have us believe. It's like not understanding a back problem until you have one. You sir, are a "tool" and should go advocate for Industrial Pollutor's, or for the gambling industry so you can feel good in the morning knowing your skills are not going to waste. Please do us all a favor and cease speaking about Vets at all, because you sir: Are part of the problem.

Edited February 16, 2009 by MikeR (see edit history)

[luvHIM]

Now, the subtitle on this thread should have read ***TRIGGER*** because after you read it you are definitely fired up and ready to knock somebody out...namely...ED Gentry (obviously he doesn't have a daughter, if he did he would know that PTSD for sexual trauma is something you try to suppress and eventually without treatment and help it turns on you and begins to oppress you...then next thing you know- anxiety and depression are going to bed with you every night). Oh...what am I doing...I don't need to explain anything

[SFCTRUCKDRIVER]

what an idiot that guy is.

He does have a point though, there has to be some people who wont get treatment because they dont want their money to go down. I would give anything to get rid of this, I know what I am withoug med's and even with them I have issues but not the same or nearly as bad. I got a nick name cause I was so hard on some of my men in Iraq sometimes, Smeogel, and gollum from the lord of the rings. or jeckyl and hyde. I ahve seen members here almost begging for therapy, and then I am sure there are members who go just to check the block. The lady who chatted about sex during a therapy session is probably a faker just going to check the block, while the member who got upset and left is trying to get rid of her PTSD. There are frauds out there for every government benefit, but it is hard to figure out where they are. I dont think there are alot, but as usual, one bad apple spoils the lot. That lot for us means we dont get what we deserve as vets...... I would welcome more tests and therapy, I hate PTSD.

[Pete53]

Les in MN reminds me of a guy who used to post on Hadit. He was after 100% and left after he got it.

[allan]

Pete,

I remember the guy your talking about.

There are vets that hate any vet getting anything. They run their crap through here from time to time. No one should get to worked up over it. They may not even be a Veteran. First of all, any vet telling another vet to just suck it up is an idiot. They have no idea what another experienced or how the trauma effected them unless they crawled into their body & mind. We shouldn't let a fool effect us in anyway when it comes to our experiences

Statements like this may have a ring of truth to it, but it's difficult for me to believe theres any number but a small amount getting away with PTSD they don't honestly have & getting an award for it. It's a job for the Dr's, not a jerk shooting off their mouths.

These are people who hate to see the starving get fed, the homeless get shelter, the sick get health care and disabled vets get benefits. But they have no complaints when it comes to wallstreet welfare.

[Tbird]

who is this guy? and why would i pay any attention to him?

[mags1023]

who is this guy? and why would i pay any attention to him?

Exactly! Like my Grandmother used to say "take it from whence it comes". Translated means, if it's coming out of a BS'rs mouth than take it as BS! I don't have PTSD, but I know it is real and I have known many who have it. I thank the lord that I was spared that condition. For the folks on here that do suffer from PTSD, please try to ignore people like this but I know it's difficult to do so when emotions start to flow.

[tagandbag]

I googled ed gentry and came up as a writer of fictional books, also googled larry gentry and a couple of the profiles for him is a san francisco based gay singer/songwriter and another was a murderer from alaska. Maybe ed/larry would like to come on and tell us where he is in this mix, if he is really a person. <_<

T&B

[simple fly]

sorry everyone,i get lot's of emails from col dan's site and when i read this,i wanted all of the orld to see the movement against what we are trying to accomplish.i have fought hard on both battle fronts and i know my wounds well.we need to silence fools like this or they will become heard by the very enemy we meet daily, the va.

[Commander Bob]

"...These are people who hate to see the starving get fed, the homeless get shelter, the sick get health care and disabled vets get benefits. But they have no complaints when it comes to wallstreet welfare."

Yes allan, and IMHO, Among Baby boomer civilians and many of the draft dodgers from the Vietnam generation, they are committed out of shame and cowardice in their youth, to deny or dismiss a veteran's PTSD experience. For the most part in the past, war related stress disorders were considered simply manifestations of poor self discipline and/or cowardice. The remarks voiced in the article are an archetypical point of view of that era. We are more enlightened about PTSD today, than just a few years ago. Dylan wrote "The times, they are a-changin'.

Edited February 17, 2009 by Commander Bob 92-93 (see edit history)