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I was scared.

Jennifer S. Norris, US Air Force 1996 - 2010, talks about why she didn't ask for help with her PTSD right away.

Transcript

While I was seeking treatment, I was being told

from the military side of the house that if you're

on these medications for a year, or two years,

or whatever it might be,

that that's when they're going to start giving you a hard time

about, you know, "Are you going to get better, or are you

going to have to be on medications the rest of your life?"

And I didn't want them to be thinking

I had to be on medications the rest of my life.

I just felt like I needed medications

to help me get through that really difficult period.

And so basically, I felt like, because people threatened me,

as well, in the military, that if I'm on medication,

that it's going to affect my security clearance

and that, you know, it wasn't cool to be taking happy pills.

And so, I was scared, and I stopped taking the medication,

and I came off it for, I guess to just try

and get the heat off me, that to make it seem like I was OK

so that just nobody could give me a hard time about it anymore.

So, that's how things started with me.

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