Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center…click to learn more…
Healing Invisible Wounds…Quote from this link…
June is #PTSD Awareness Month
PTSD can occur after someone goes through trauma. Learn about PTSD. Connect with someone. Share how treatment can help. Make a difference today
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It was a true honor to be invited by the Education Department at the Raymond G Murphy VA Medical Center, to speak about “Children & Families in Life After Trauma” to a group of clinical staff members on Monday June 2nd. My talk and engaging conversation with staff was a way to make a difference by sharing my story of the challenges living in a post WWII and Korean War home as a military child. It was also the first time since publishing my book and writing a blog to meet with mental health professionals to discuss the broader impact of intergenerational PTSD.
I talked about how ignorance on the part of families and civilian community hinders the process of readjustment and healing when warriors return home. We discussed how children inhale the pain of parents and carry the baggage forward as adults. The reality of eventually confronting and treating the symptoms of secondary and complex PTSD as a result of living in toxic home circumstances is evidenced by aging veterans and civilians receiving treatment in later years. It is clear from my own experience that the scope of treatment for PTSD must include the family as a whole.
Most agree that we are just beginning to realize that mitigating the long term effects of PTSD symptoms must start very early, including education and support for children and families. This approach has the potential to break the intergenerational cycle of pain. As a nation, we must address the broader implications of PTSD for the family and society.
With the apparent damaging effects of intergenerational PTSD on the children of warriors, it is critical to provide ongoing treatment and services closer to home. Once the VA transitions a veteran returning home from war to the journey of healing in life after trauma, local community resources must have the awareness and capacity to continue treatment not only for the warrior but for the family as a whole. As a global American community we must step up to the lifelong family caregiving critical to achieving the goal of mitigating PTSD in society and future generations. Treatment and caregiving for veterans of all wars does not start and end with the VA. Local communities everywhere must take responsibility for the caregiving of our heroes and their families to win the battle of readjustment and healing at home.
Steve Sparks, Author, My Journey of Healing in Life After Trauma and Reconciliation: A Son’s Story…
Please support my mission of helping families who suffer from PTSD and moral injury…order my books, My Journey of Healing in Life After Trauma, Part 1… (Kindle $2.99), and Reconciliation: A Son’s Story. Click and order paperback or download Kindle version. Buy my book at Barnes & Noble as well… Thank you! Steve Sparks, Author
