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I got into a fight with another NCO.

Edward Rentas, US Army 1999 - 2010, talks about when he knew he needed to get help for PTSD.

Transcript

We were working in a motor pool in Afghanistan.

And I kind of knew something wasn't right with me

but I thought it was just stress.

And I got into a fight with another NCO.

It was the third time, I believe, I got into a fight.

So they told me I have, I was command referral

to go see the sick station, the aid station.

When I went over there, they asked me a bunch of questions.

I had no idea I was getting angry about it

and then they sent me to the Air Force to see a Colonel.

He was a psychiatrist.

And he asked me about, for about an hour, he talked to me

and asked me questions, and they told me to go back to my unit.

And when I went to the unit, my first time,

my Commander was waiting on me,

mad because why, I had to go home now.

I said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

And that's when he told me that they had diagnosed me with that

and I didn't want to leave.

And my Commander helped me stay, and they gave me Zoloft.

They put me on medication and that's how I knew what I had.

But it was hard to get treatment there

because we were always moving so I didn't go see anybody.

Now, I knew what I had and I felt better with the medication.

I wasn't that angry anymore and I thought things better,

instead of just acting on impulse.

Then when we came back, that's when I started treatment.

I went to see VA and they started me

on treatment and it was good.

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