Bliss Officials Address Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
By ABC-7 Reporter Marissa Monroy
EL PASO — Some of America’s veterans who come home from bloody wars pay a price for their survival: their sense of normalcy.
That’swhy officials at Fort Bliss are stepping up efforts to address the rise of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Saturday,they hosted a roundtable discussion to answer questionsabout thesevere, long-lasting anxiety disorder that stems from the horrors of war.
Adjusting to life after combat is becoming an increasingly challenging problem for many soldiers. however, army officials say Fort Bliss is at the forefront of treatment for the disorder.
Joining the conversationover the disorderwas local author Patricia Driskoll, who documented the stories of soldiers struggling with the condition in her new book. The round-table discussion took place at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore near Sunland Park Mall.
Driskoll emphasized the importance of the El Paso and Bliss communities coming together to address the issue. “These are your guys and girls who are coming back into the community,” said Driskoll. “They’re your neighbors, they’re working right next to you.”
Those at the discussionsaid recognizing symptoms such as increased aggression and anxiety is important, but one of the toughest challenges for soldiers is simply facing their fears.
“We’re kinda macho and we don’t want to say we’vegot something wrong,” said Col. Michael Montoya. “We gotta get rid of that stigma. We gotta make people comfortable.”
