I was addicted to war.
Seriously. After being under fire for the first time it sent my adrenaline through the roof; I wanted more and more and more. The problem was that each firefight became less of an adrenaline rush and so I began doing riskier and riskier things.
I did 3 back to back tours of Afghanistan making them 4 in total and 2 tours of Iraq. Throw in Bosnia and Northern Ireland, I spent more time on operations than I ever did in garrison.
All came to an end after a TBI and gunshot to my left shoulder, burnt legs etc. - Complex PTSD followed where my rage and anger was my withdrawal. I felt I could only function with adrenaline high. Realising I would never again be deployed with all my injuries, I started hitting the gym like a madman with 4 and 5 hour sessions. Then cardio for an hour and then I could sleep. Then Alcohol. 1 bottle of whisky then 2 and then 3 a day...
Don't drink now, moderate my time in the gym mainly because I would end up with repetetive strain injuries and a divorce. My girl is the focus of my world and my dog. The gym just manages my bad temper. And so the spiral begins...
My cousin had a similar "problem"
Him and I have had countless conversations about his deployment. (He's the only person I've ever really had a open and honest conversation with about being in a warzone and everything that comes with it) The things he's done, what he's proud of... What he's not so proud of. The parts he enjoyed the most....
Well... What I've learned is... Apparently not everyone has PTSD from pulling a trigger.
That part was... Well easy for him. He said being in war was incredibly long stretches of boredom. Like counting ceiling tiles kinda boring. With moments of the greatest adrenaline rush you could ever imagine. "Like bungee jumping while having people shoot at you" was his words.
He ended up getting a really nasty cut on his leg during a fire fight. Unfortunately because of the situation and location of his deployment
He was in the 160th SOAR
So he couldn't tell me everything. But unfortunately his leg got a really bad infection... Like skin falling off... Bone showing kinda shit. Unfortunately it did irreversible damage to his calf muscle so he could no longer be sent over to fight.
That's when his mental health took a hit.
It wasn't the action, fighting for his life or even... Um... "Engaging with the enemy"
It was knowing his brothers needed help and he couldn't go and help.
Before this I always thought most people with PTSD had it because they killed other people, or the stress they were under during fire fights. While sometimes that is the case... I found more people than you think have no problem pulling that trigger and can handle the pressure just fine. It's when it stops... That's when the problems occur. Especially if they are made to stop. He definitely wasn't ready to stop. He really wanted to be a green beret.
he's doing ok, he's got a family and a little girl. But he is always bringing up "if I didn't get hurt"