PTSD / OSI [Merged]

[MG34]

Of course there are soldiers/civilians out there that are faking their symptoms and falsely claiming PTSD/OSI,it would be naive to think otherwise. Some do it for the cash some to escape disciplinary action  and a host of other reasons. The fact is it is easy to fake PTSD/OSI because there is no definite profile for it.

 

[Blakey]

There are some individuals that have been put onto the SPHL or have sought help for either PTSD or OSI's that are or were from the Bn (past and present).

I see one or two of these individuals occasionally in passing (mostly on Remembrance Day).

Within the unit the discussion of people "faking" PTSD or an OSI comes up more often than not around the "beer cooler" and the discussion usually plays out like "did you know that so and so has PTSD/OSI?" "no way, I was on that tour and he didn't see shit...." etc etc.

I cannot say for certain %100 that a person is "faking" an OSI but I can say that sometimes the "circumstances" surrounding the timing of some peoples diagnosis leaves a lot of questions.

My input into the OSI conversation usually stays the same, "It is the individual that has to wake up every day for the rest of his or hers life and look into the mirror and be content with themselves for the direction that they have taken"

I know that I couldn't, in good conscious, claim to have an OSI and not be ashamed that I could very well be hurting other soldiers that in fact need the help.

Times have changed indeed WRT OSI's, I would hope that anyone that is having a hard go to seek out that help, even if it means that they have to swallow their pride, and if any of their friends notice anything, I would hope that they to would try and help that person.

 

[Sub_Guy]

I knew a guy who I thought was faking it, but that was only because of all the time we spent together (BSQ, roomies on QL3 6 mos, roomies on QL5 6 mos), his personality never changed and he was always the same.  Then we do Swissair with no real issues (nothing changed), and all of a sudden he caught word of someone who got a medical release out of it.  2 years later my buddy did the same thing, with the advice from guy who did it 2 years earlier (what to say to the doctors), then after the release he would brag about how good of a deal he got.

My neighbour (ex-military) decided to try for some money from veterans affairs for his sleep issues, he claimed that since joining the military that he can't sleep a full night.  He ended up getting a payment from them.  He claims that (he is a business owner now) since the government went after him for owing taxes, he figured he would get them back.

Personally I don't care, I feel that people could fake it, but I never assume they are faking it.  People take advantage of everything, if there is a way to make money from it, people will do it.

Although my wife says she has never faked it.  

 

[The Bread Guy]

On the flip side, and maybe completely off topic for this thread, I wondered when I read your post "and how many people that have PTSD are faking they don't, so they aren't labelled, past over for career progression, kept off the next tour or shunned and "silently suffer on the inside but with smiles on their faces in the Coy/Sqn/Bty lines"..or whatever their unit lines may be.

I believe, for every soldier 'faking' PTSD or any OSI there has got to be a least 10 suffering with the symptoms and going with out help.

Like welfare abuse, the number will never be zero, but based only on my personal contact with a handful of people who've been downrange (some recently, some not so recently), I'd have to agree with Eye in the Sky and Piper.

I, too, hope anyone needing help goes out and gets it.  Sounds cliche, but there really is no need to suffer in silence...

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Ok i am back!
I am on a course with the Speakers Bureau here in Ottawa about Mental Health and OSI and plus i am a Sgt who you suffer from a OSI from Afghanistan 06. The reason i wrote this post is because i read a post from a person i know very well and mentioned that PTSD is thrown out there so much that it makes it easier for people to fake it. Well i was kinda taken back by that and i thought well if he might think that what is the the feeling of the military as a whole and well i have read it and i happy with what i read

Rob

 

[Kat Stevens]

There are (good) days when I feel like I really don't deserve the label.  Then there will come a two week crashing depression, when I don't sleep, don't eat, drink maybe more than I should, and am just a general prick to be around.  Those are the times I would gladly give back every second of time off work, and every dollar spent on me, just to have my head right and my life and career back.  I can't imagine anyone voluntarily taking on this label.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

And i honestly don't think you can fake it! Why would anyone want to? Money always seems to be the answer, but to go through all the stigma, lost friendships, career for a few bucks and yes its VA so its a few bucks. So out of all injuries a soldier can recieve money for i would think PTSD/OSI would be near the bottom.

Rob

 

[1feral1]

How many people out there actually thing members are Faking PTSD/OSI injuries out there? Just curious! Is it lack of education or what?

Perhaps this quote should be placed in 'whats the most stupid thing you've heard today' thread.

It takes all kinds to make the world go around.


OWDU

 

[Blakey]

"but to go through all the stigma, lost friendships"

Looks to me that they really weren't "friends" to begin with.
Although this statement does allude to previous posts and threads about the question of "a suck it up" attitude still within the CF, no?

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Yes the thread of " Suck it up" attiude is what brought this question.

and thanks OWDU.

Rob Dolson

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Also so you all know, i should have but more though into my post, so to gain more understanding in what i was trying to say. Sorry to anyone who might of taking offense to this post. I will work on my Infantry Sgt with a laptop skills next time.

RD

 

[Greymatters]

And i honestly don't think you can fake it!  

I think the issue is not so much who is 'faking it' but rather 'does it truly interfere with your ability to live a normal life', i.e. family relations, hold down a job, maintain social friendships, etc.  It is very easy to exaggerate the impact, no different from fraud that occurs with soft tissue damage injuries (STI).

Consider a person who tears all the ligaments in their knee.  For some people this might be a career-ending injury.  For others its merely a minor disability to overcome.  For most it is a temporary issue that does not prevent them from continuing on with their chosen career, or switching to a less physically strenuous role.

Now consider a person who has been diagnosed with PTSD.  Not every person can be expected to be 'injured' to the same extent.  Their condition may prevent them from ever working again, or may be overcome with support or medication, or they may have short periods of relapse they endure, or in other cases the affected person feels able to handle the issues and continue with their chosen lifestyle.  It seems that all of them are affected by PTSD to different degrees but all labelled under the same diagnosis.

Unfortunately PTSD is not the same as physical damage.  Its very difficult to determine the gradient of injury without diagnosis from a subject matter expert...

 

[traviss-g]

The way I see it is just like the judicial system. It's better to let a few guilty people go in the interests of never throwing an innocent person in jail. And it's the same here, better to let some "fakers" milk the system if it helps insure no one who really needs help gets left behind.
That's my two cents

 

[the 48th regulator]

Now we are having a very good discussion!

Operational Stress Injury.

A stigma that has plagued mankind since the dawning of the age of warfare.  Even to this day, we are wary of dealing with it.  Whether it is ourselves, our friends, or anyone who comes forward.

The black mark that must be conquered is not the concept of accepting one has an OSI, but the stigma that still exists within the military, VAC, and society that people are Faking it.

From the posts today, I am stoked to see that the general view has swung in the right direction.  Look at posts from a multitude of members past and present, just as we were entering the War in Afghanistan, and you will see the Suck it up attitude was still prevalent.  I know for a fact that even up until 3 years ago VAC was unwilling to help, due to lack of knowledge.

However, this is changing. 

And again I reiterate, that from the posts on this thread, it appears we are finally conquering the views within the military.

DND has made huge efforts in tackling OSI's, with programs like www.osiss.ca, and opening up numerous OSI clinics throughout Canada.  The speakers bureau, that SBD was talking about, is another step that DND and OSISS has taken to concentrate on getting the message out, that there is help.

Once again, I am glad we got this going in the direction that it should be going, and a thread like this will help draw more people who are suffering, towards the right direction in getting the help they need.

dileas

tess

 

[GAP]

And i honestly don't think you can fake it! Why would anyone want to? Money always seems to be the answer, but to go through all the stigma, lost friendships, career for a few bucks and yes its VA so its a few bucks. So out of all injuries a soldier can receive money for i would think PTSD/OSI would be near the bottom. Rob

I wish you had explained that at the get go. It would have focused the discussion around what you were querying everybody about.

 

[Haggis]

I will work on my Infantry Sgt with a laptop skills next time.

I spent 7 years at NDHQ working on my Infantry Sgt Maj as an IT geek skills.  You may have better luck with your "other" affliction.

Nonetheless, good on you for stepping up to the plate for the rest of us!

 

[1feral1]

SBD, my appologies if I too came off a bit harsh, as I thought this thread was going elsewhere and would end up locked.

For the record, I still have obvious issues from my tour, and many of the same emotions I have experienced have been mirrored by others on here. Kat Stevens post in this thread really hit home with me for sure. It was like he crawled into my brain and read my mind. I feel a common bond yet not knowing many on here personally.

I have not been diagnosed with PTSD, but show some traits of this. The Psychs said I was not broken like a bone split in two, but described my condition like a fracture, which would heal in time, and I would be okay in the end. Looking back, I think I often told them what they wanted to hear, and I was not really honest with them. I truly feel I would have felt so embarassed if I had 'lost the plot' with them, and I almost did on a few occasions. I am sure they could see right through me, or I hope they did.

My RASM and I had a fireside chat just last week, as he knows my character quite well, and knows these issues are still present. He suggested I return to the Psychs for more follow-up. My stubborness has lead me to beleive that I can win this without assistance. I talk to others who have been, and felt what we all have. I get some sort of twisted peace with this.

Under the RASM's direction, for the past two weeks I have been instructing on mandatory trg with our lads returning from AFG. Although very dry topics on OHS and other stuff, I get some very good feelings just being in the same room with these men, many of them old enough to be my Sons. For they are now going through what I did just last year.

I had been to the Psychs on numerous occasions in 2007, and felt good about venting my issues, but I am not sure if anything was accomplished. I do not want to become blacklisted.

I have learned not to keep this bottled up, as it brings out the dark side especially when influenced by Jack D and company.

At times it does not take much to flare up, just yesterday I wrote a two page letter explaining a handmade flag made by an Iraqi local, which I presented to the Quill Lake Legion (Sask) in August, they had sent me a card expressing gratitude for the Iraqi flag, embriodered with many of our names on it. They said it was unique with the craftmanship. The letter explained of the story of the polite well natured kind young man who made it on an old Singer sewing machine. He was killed in a truck bombing north of Baghdad. That flag has more meaning than craftsmanship to me. Needless to say that letter, and the memories put me on edge last night. I can still see that blokes smiling face, sitting behind that old Singer, sewing like mad, in a cluttered smelly shop, with an old baklite radio blarring out distorted Arabic music. For as long as I live, I won't forget that. He had become so familiar, and was really a great bloke who appreciated us, and enjoyed our business.  Anyways, I ended up sleeping like shyte last night, tossed and turned, and was very restless, waking feeling very drained. So, its been a long day.

Again Rob, sorry for my initial post in this thread.

Cheers/beers,

Wes

 

[2 Cdo]

Into which category do you usually put PTSD people, when you don't know them , 2Cdo ? Faking it, or sick ?
And how do you distinguish the 2 category , on what observations do you make a judgement that they belong
to one rather then the other ?

I don't distinguish categories until the person places themselves into a category with their actions ie. admitting that they are trying to milk the system.

On the flip side, and maybe completely off topic for this thread, I wondered when I read your post "and how many people that have PTSD are faking they don't, so they aren't labelled, past over for career progression, kept off the next tour or shunned and "silently suffer on the inside but with smiles on their faces in the Coy/Sqn/Bty lines"..or whatever their unit lines may be.

That too is the flip side of issue. I too,  have known people who fit into this category.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Wes!

No need for sorry!

Rob

 

[Greymatters]

That too is the flip side of issue. I too,  have known people who fit into this category. 

It would be very informative if someone could give numbers that break down total applicants, current members and retired members who are afflicted...