Target 24: Dealing With PTSD
By: Chelsea Pompeani
Updated: November 8, 2012
As the
nation prepares to celebrate Veterans Day...it reminds us to support the men
and women of the armed forces...especially those returning home from war...
Even
though the wounds are invisible... Post traumatic stress disorder can be just
as bad, or worse than any physical injury.
Phillip Azevedo lost his battle with
post traumatic stress disorder back in march... Now his sister Venus is doing
everything she can to get people to realize p-t-s-d isn't about what's wrong
with you.. It's about what happened to you.
Phillip Azevedo
always had dreams of becoming a police officer... But things changed when he
went to college, he decided to join the navy and serve his country.
his
older sister Venus recalls getting his phone call telling her he's going to
war... She tells us she was worried from the get go. Her biggest fear? Not that
he wouldn't make it home... But that he would return a different man.
And
that's exactly what happened.
Venus
talked to Phillip hundreds of times about what he encountered overseas, and all
of the friends that were killed right in front of his eyes.
She
watched her brother's life deteriorate and wondered why Phillip received no
help.
Venus
tells us Phillip recognized he was ill and tried to get help while in the
navy... But was turned away, in hopes he'd "snap out of it"
She
concerned about the stigma of PTSD and wants the community to understand
suicide is the result of these men and women not being accepted.
Venus
says Phillip had run-ins with employers who wouldn't hire him because of the
disorder...he faced discrimination for a disability he gained from protecting
our country.
And
she tells us if she would have been educated and realized sooner that these
feelings are real... It could have saved her brothers life.
Venus tells us no one knows what
these soldiers are suffering... And a lot of the times you hear people say they
do support our troops...
But
they need your support even more when they get home.
If
you know someone suffering from PTSD.. there is help...
The
Venus also has a facebook page, to help others.. called "Be The Voice."
