Green Beret shares combat stories, struggles with PTSD and how to overcome them. *GRAPHIC*

I deployed with this man. He is legit one of my heroes

I know this man because of jujitsu, but I never knew any of this I’m just speechless

This dude is a real warrior. I’ve had the opportunity to train with him. Outstanding jiu jitsu professor

My dad was a retired Marine who did a beach landing in WWII at the age of 16, two tours in the Korean War and Vietnam in 1967-68. When he got home he retired and we moved to a non-military town. He went from a violent life to being a dad working at a lumber mill with non-veterans over a six-month period. Dad was difficult to live with and we never got along until years later. Never realized what his issues were until much later in life after I served, though never to the extent he did. It took him a long time to find peace, which in his case was through faith in his savior, Jesus Christ. Something he really never had before and it changed him! He had so many regrets. One takeaway I had with my service is that our current veterans experience the care and quality-of-life because of what the Vietnam vets were subjected to, and subsequently, took action to ensure we were taken care of. Sure, more could be done, but we have so much more than dad and his comrades did. RIP. Love you, dad.

My buddy Dan was an IED specialist in the Army. The things he saw messed him up so bad. He took his own life a few years back. Rip brother, see u on the other side

Took me 12 years after my last deployment to actually acknowledge and accept my mental health issues. I've never felt better.

As a kid I remember running thru the woods with my uncle chasing the enemy. I thought it was a game we was playing. Didnt realize it was an episode, they really didnt give a damn back in the day. Glad yall are getting treatment and putting out more awareness. Yall def deserve more than what this country has provided

The amount of meds he was taking alone could mess you up... So much respect

Sad thing is that most people will never fully understand PTSD,, not even your physiologist!!! Unless they suffer from it.... 🙏🏻🇺🇸

Your brain biologically adapted to the life threatening environment you were over exposed to... Your brain was dumping so many stress hormones and stress signaling proteins that the receptors on you neuronal cell surfaces had to reduce the number being expressed. Large numbers of receptors allow an attenuated response that is varied upon the level of threat. Due to the severity and continual exposure, it was safer for your body to be in a heightened state of fight or flight no matter the level of threat. When the receptors reduced their numbers, the brains response to stress hormones loses its capacity to deal with the stress in a multifaceted manner that is dependent upon the threat level. It becomes an all or nothing response that can trigger the fight or flight response in a more robust manners in a shorter period of time which improves survivability and response times in life threatening situations. Hence the capability to slow down time during a fight and process information and threats at a much higher capacity. The trade off comes in trying to change gears back to normal without going all out in a civil situation that triggers the stress response. Nothing is wrong per say... It is a normal biological adaptation to exposure to life threatening events. It takes a long time to regrow the receptors, retune the mindset and to let go of the trauma. First step is not harboring guilt for the way you over react. It kept you alive and served a purpose. The second is to not try to cover the raw nerve with a bandage by consuming alcohol or self medication. The third is to learn to ground yourself, practice mindful breathing and learn to catch your triggers before you act out instinctually. Become mindful of your warrior state of being, acknowledge and value it as a tool and learn when to pick it up and when to set it down through practice and mindful effort. The best way to regrow receptors is through support and human contact with caring compassionate people and dogs. Dogs will show you how to be gentle, compassionate and get you out of fixated mindsets by having to care and nurture another living being. Reduce stress, find a release. Hunt, fish, shoot competitively, find a partner who you can trust and talk with. Allow yourself to be honest with your state, acknowledge and accept where you are and figure out a plan to march yourself out of the war in your head and into one of self acceptance, healing and growth. It takes a tough man to face his demons. Those that do can go on fighting for their brothers in arms by providing support and making sure no man is left behind. You are not alone. God Almighty is with you. Reach out and ask for help. God bless our soldiers, every last one of you!

You see struggle in he's eyes even when he speak about most normal things for us... This is what war does to people, it makes a machine that cant find he's own place in any other place then war... My grandfather's survived WW2, they could not sleep sometimes for 5/10 days, no drinking no eating, always having a weapon next to him, waking up middle of night screaming, crying everything at the same time... horrible... they could not find peace anywhere... i do not wish PTSD to even my worst enemy... Sir thank you for telling your story to us, could not ask for more motivation at the start of 2021. Thank you for your servise Sir ! God bless you.

My youngest brother was a 2/75 Ranger for 7 years and has also struggled with ptsd.

Firstly, thank you for your service. I’ve never served in the military; but, PTSD really hit home for me today. A really good friend of mine committed suicide this morning by shooting himself in the head. I’m basically speechless. He just had re-upped in the National Guard again and moved to a new town with his wife for a new auto mechanic job. He was deployed to Qatar with the National Guard on his last tour a couple years ago. I just never saw any signs. I just saw him a couple weeks ago. He was my room mate for a couple years. When I got the call from a friend who is an army vet, he said he knew of some issues and tried to reach out to him for some help. I’m just numb and sad. Met with a bunch of buds tonight to remember and celebrate his life. It’s just surreal.

😭 this poor guy. He clearly has been through hell and back. I'm glad he made it through.

Amazing. My dad was a Battalion Sergeant Major in the Special Forces. He was my step father but he raised me as his own, and that is who I call dad. He often took the role of two parents because my mother was ill and struggled severely in many ways, often gone for most of the time. Jimmy Hale was his name. He has since passed away and I will forever miss him and owe him my life. He was the most impactful family member I have ever had. I only wish that I had spent more time getting to know him before he passed away. He had a purple heart due to two serious injuries in his upper thigh. He continued to serve after his injuries for a while. I believe he retired when he was around 58-60. He was also a registered nurse back here in the states. If there is anyone I admire and strive to be like, it's my dad. Rest in peace to all of those lost in battle who struggled severely with PTSD and other mental health issues. You are truly adored and deserve so much more praise and recognition than what you get.

No one understand the pain until they've been through it.

Every time I watch such a video my tics, my shakes, my tears, they don’t take long to appear. I know watching them, and this video especially, will take me out of the game for the next 30mins but I need to. When I see ANYONE brave enough to tell their story to the world: military, emergency services, civilians, when I see such bravery it makes me feel proud. Not for my diagnosis but there are those out there brave enough to make people aware and to demystify this curse. And that is my word for it, my curse, no one else’s. 15yrs. 15yrs of ego, male bravado and a fear of showing weakness. 15yrs of avoiding my feelings, of knowingly ignoring family and friends advice…and Karma brought all of it back at once. Everyones experience is justified. There’s no comparing who felt what the most. Suffering is suffering. 6 months on, and I am 1000% better than I was when my life instantly exploded. I still suffer anxiety but thankfully not enough to keep me back. There have been occasions where anger seemed to possess me and again, if not for family and friends things would be different from what they are now. I apologise for ranting but please, if you are suffering, if family and friends are vocally concerned, even if you think yourself something isn’t right but you don’t want to say anything PLEASE SEEK HELP - YOU DESERVE IT. I am but a faceless commenter; apart from my immediate family and a few very close friends I don’t talk about this. I’m not brave enough like my brothers in these videos. But if you’re reading this and you know…you think…even if you just wonder if you may have something going on up in your head please go and talk to someone. I am living proof of what not to do. My marriage is being held together by the love of my wife, my teenage daughter has witnessed her dad cowering in the corner of her bedroom crying but also seen him turn into a violent monsters. And close friends, who saved me from ending it…I thank them by putting them through all this. Your family and friends deserve so much better. YOU deserve so much better, and it will be better if you seek help, chat with your closest ones, even call a charity. That Green Beret had the courage to tell his story to the world, it gave me the courage to write this to anyone that needs to read it. You’re not alone, ever. We all got your back.

The music definitely isn’t helping but I can feel this mans pain through the laughs he’s using to keep from crying.

Keep these videos coming. Their voice and stories need to be heard.

Respect Brother. Takes a brave man to not only go to war, but to come home and be able to talk about it, and also admit that they need help