Quote Originally Posted by Schmedlap View Post
I was just shocked by the amount of medications he was on. I don't see how that helps him.
Guys take uppers (Redbulls, WildTigers, Monsters) during the day to keep themselves awake. They take Ambien and other downers to force themselves to sleep. It is a vicious cycle that counters the natural adrenaline forced to the brain, but we do not yet understand the unintended consequences.

I'm leary of the drugs prescribed to soldiers. I've refused anything stronger than Motrin even to counter the migraines, dizzyness, and vertigo. I just dealt with it and allowed my body to heal naturally.

Regarding "getting people out of the tent" - I'd try to find a way to give that guy a bunch of responsibility so that people are relying upon him, forcing him to forget about his current issues. How specifically to do that, I don't know. Maybe start him off, first, with pets. Put him in charge of a giant kennel of 100 dogs who rely upon him for food, water, and shelter. Something like that. I suspect he'd be so focused on their needs that he'd forget about his problems.
Concur

I know when I was in the Army - particularly while deployed - it was easy to forget about simple things like eating and sleeping because I was so focused on making sure my Soldiers ate and slept. When I got out, it was a bit disorienting. Nobody relied on me. It took quite a while for me to figure out what I was supposed to do when nobody was relying on me for anything and I was not accountable to anyone. If I had PTSD, I could see that leading to me just closing myself off from the world and focusing on the condition.
One trend that we're seeing in the overused term of resiliancy is the family support structure. No man is an island, and when a spouse or family leaves them, then they hit a break point that leads to being stuck or worse.

Eventually, I want to find a means of preventive medicine- a point of intervention prior to the officer retreating to his tent or the soldier commiting manslaughter/murder.