Hi, my name is Amber. I am the wife of a medically retired soldier battling post-traumatic stress disorder. He was diagnosed six months after the birth of our daughter and the years since have been full of depression cycles, isolation, black outs, public blow ups, health issues, hyper-vigilance, and emotional numbing.
Not knowing how to handle a newborn baby and a husband battling PTSD, I did the only thing I could. I went on auto-drive, survival mode, and I stuck my head in the sand. I completely checked out of life and just focused on my baby girl; and for that I lost countless friends and upset family, but most of all I wasn't there for my husband.
At some point in the three years since, I snapped out of my 'coma', but I didn’t become what I call proactive until an incident involving my aunt. My husband had posted a comment on Facebook as a response to people putting the flag upside down after Obama was elected and she responded that she was completely appalled by his language and preceded to break down his character by judging every action he’s ever done that she didn’t approve of. To make a long story short, she said his PTSD stressed her out and she cut him out of her life.
After that incident I immersed myself into researching anything I could regarding PTSD. While I found valuable knowledge and various therapies, I have to say the most eye opening of everything I read was how people treat veterans with PTSD. I realized it wasn’t just me and my family - it was happening to everyone. I wasn’t the only wife who felt completely isolated from not only her husband, but her friends and family too. My husband wasn’t the only one dealing with the backlash from family, friends, and strangers because they didn’t or wouldn’t understand.
After my epiphany I resolved to do whatever I could to help the families like us and to educate the people who didn’t understand. That is how I ended up here - in hopes that by telling our story and reaching out to other people in similar situations, like you reading this, to let you know you are not alone.
