Transcript
I think I first realized there might be something wrong,
as far as calling it PTSD, I wasn't sure, but I knew
something was up about halfway through my second deployment
when I was much more on edge and more aware,
started becoming just more edgy and irritable.
And I went to go see a doctor, and the doctor just told me
to relax and kind of passed it off as something normal.
And when I got back to the States, I heard a fireworks display
go off near my barracks room, and it felt like
I was having a heart attack.
The next morning, I went to sick hall at the branch
medical clinic, and they did an EKG to see if there was
anything wrong with my heart, there wasn't.
They suspected that there might be something else going on,
so they referred me to the mental health clinic
at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune.
And shortly after that, they diagnosed me
with having posttraumatic stress disorder,
panic disorder, and an anxiety disorder.