The Defence Department has sent a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder a bill for $427.97

Dove, my best suggestion is to have your husband help fill it in, if you are married. You need someone who is in your life every day and sees your symptoms. It helped when I filled in mine, because I didn't realize that I would go days without eating, or needed a reminder to go grab a shower, because I just didn't care if I starved or stank, but my wife did. She noticed when I didn't sleep, or all I wanted to do was sleep, and when we filled out the paperwork, she was really able to voice how my illness affected my life. The other person may not know the reason for your illness, but if you have a previously approved physical disability, VAC may link it to that as consequential, even if you don't, since that is what happened in my case.

My case worker recommended I apply for this and is sending me a claim package for this also.
I found reading through the tables a bit difficult.
Silly I know but seeing and recognizing symptoms that I have is unnerving.
I haven't received the paperwork yet and don't know what to write. It is so personal.

Brayon, that is impossible for anyone here to answer. It is dependant on your individual circumstances ( the cause of the issue) and your symptoms.

Your first step should be to read this

VAC table of Disabilities - Psychiatric Conditions

This should give you a general idea as to how VAC classifies mental health disorders for the purpose of disability claims.

Best of luck.

Hello, I need a bit of guidance to those who have the experience in benefits from Mental Health. I have been recently diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder None Otherwise Specified(subthreshold PTSD) onset my second tour. I just sent in my claim. I am currently going thru individual/group sessions. What percentage would I fall in as far mental health condition due to service. I thank you very much and open you to comments.

Le Brayon

Very candid and heartfelt RR!

For myself, I was both embarrassed and ashamed of getting a dx of PTSD. I don't know why I felt that way, but I did.

The worse is bumping into old acquaintances and seeing them MWO's and CWO's and thinking to myself "Damned!"

Then the inevitable question or comment comes up such as "wow I wished I was in your shoes to get a pension for life" My first gut instinct is to drop them on the spot but I just tell them to be careful what they wish for and should really think twice how they say things because it comes across as if we are faking it.

I take it one day at a time nowadays. Some days are good, some days are shit!

Sorry I have been absent from this topic and not posted the abstracts from my essays on PTSD. Im having a hard time extracting the details to fit into a small paragraph each. Plus its hard to revisit this dark subject. The data is good just having to relive why I wrote it is hard.

Cigarettes my old friend.
I was a chain smoker until 1 year ago.
I didn't use any gum or patches. I could not afford it.
I had to make a choice smoking or food for the family.

Funny you should post this because just today i went and bought myself a tin of smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco). Now, in my head I see it working but will I be able to keep at it and slowly get away from chewing? Who knows but wat I do know is I need nicotine to calm me down.

In regards to the e-cigarette, i found I had a chronic bronchitis when i was on it. I'm sick of smoking! Maybe switching the delivery method of getting the nicotine in my system will be the trick?

I was a heavy smoker while serving. Once I was released, my wife got me a book called "Stop smoking Now" by Allen Carr. This along with ecigs help me quit. I'm a believer of ecigarettes cause your not inhaling tar, carbon, and so on. Just water vapours and nicotine. It's been a year I've been smoke free.

RobbieRoyal, you share such wisdom about our ongoing plight for survival. I believe you should be a direct spokesman to GOC, VAC, VRAB, for some of us which haven't found our voices yet. We have become mere statistics, numbers. We are thought of but once a year on November 11th. We gain the publics sympathy, then like a bad dream, we are forgotten. We carry on, like all good soldiers do, suffering in silence. PTSD, letters that has forever changed who I am

I dont know where to really start on your topic heading. It is so vast yet so specific. As with the disorder kyou can get lost inside the vast empty spaces of the thought.

All I can say is that most of what we hear from the docs on the subject is wrong on the why and what it is but they are accurate on the how to fix it.

One must truly understand the make up of the brain and the interactions of the different parts of the brain coupled with the evolution of our brain though the ages and why our brain evolved to what it is today. Only then can one grasp the complicated inner workings that are now broken and why they broke and for what purpose they broke. Then and only then can we start to repair it.

If I may please bear with me as I walk this path with anyone who wants to know what I have found out on my own journey. You may not agree you may not like what I have to say on all points but it comes from allot of work with allot of really good and really bad doctors those I fired and those I kept. this will take several parts and installments so to get it right as best I can I will take a few days and some time to post it in parts. It is hard on my own mind being a sufferer to to go down this road again.

I will break it into parts as follows:
Part 1 - Combat Stress and its eventual untreated change to PTSD. (not to be confused they are different)
Part 2 - Defining Combat Stress why we get it and why its normal.
Part 3 - Defining PTSD why we get it and why its normal if untreated.
Part 4 - Inner workings of the Comabt stress and PTSD brain.
Part 5 - The fix, how do you fix Combat Stress....ya dont its good!
Part 6 - The fix, how do you fix PTSD......ya dont let it occur!
Part 7 - Now that Part 6 failed how do you repair the PTSD brain.

I can only hope Teen is right and important people read this in the med community and get a feel for what they know and dont no matter what their degree......most of them have it wrong less a few. As many here have said .."you cant know or understand us unless you have been at the sharp end of the smoking gun or the good end looking over the smoke of what you just did."

For my Brothers and Sisters

Part 1 will be done tonight.

thanks will do robbie.

propat

I know all to well my friend, and these stories all be it right now hurt and bring back that ugly we stirred. It will soon become it's own medicine and take a place right next to letting the dog in and out of the house, we and only we can find room for our pain these doctors try to expose it and force it before letting the dog out. You and I know we go not roll that way so lets build our own narcotic solution among fighting men. Thanks for your medicine ProPat and if you see that young man tell him I said hello and thanks

we are no longer we did die.they just cant bury us yet by law and im sure thoes concerned about money ore pention entitlement are thinking the sooner the better.ya i can say im still me that same guy.im the same guy i allways was ive said it a thousand times.its i lie.robbie i know this guy tom D he was on that road move from hell with you guys.shortly there after we had to take away his rifle bayonet and anything sharp and then constantly watch him.back home getting ready for our first live fire since he lost it and we sent him to the MIR.he ended up released with nothing.man they were quick less than 90 days.i know another from that tour that was in more loud situations on that toure than anyone.he was getting on the same plane as the CO to go home and the CO joked and said you are not getting on my plane becouse you will probobly be the only survivor of the enevitable crash.he was never the same he has a little shrine in his home with his tour book a peice of the carrier that blew up while he was driving,three empty casings from when he had to pump three in some guys chest and various other stuff.no thats not him but again left with nothing.

lest we forget

we must forget

we cant forget

we are forgoten

do unto others as they have done to you.

propat

“Casualties of war are an accepted risk when involved in conventional warfare”. “Heroes will be decorated and the fallen will be honored”. Well what about the soldiers that suffer from invisible wounds, did they not participate, why are they not decorated or honored? Oh I forgot we don’t decorate cowards nor do we honor them we just get rid of them and forget them. I know many retired and still serving soldiers that have been diagnosed with PTSD and I can guarantee you that none of them are considered heroes by our military leadership, our citizens or the government. When was the last civic holiday dedicated to the brave but mentally fucked up soldier given? Have you ever attended a parade or social event where the military or the government praised or even paid tribute to these soldiers and thanked them by stating publicly, “You are the sod of the earth and your service to Country and Mankind will be forever etched into the hearts of all Canadians”.