Transcript
What I say to that question of,
"Why should I come in for treatment now?
I don't want people to think I'm crazy.
I don't want people to think I've completely lost it.
How do I get past that stigma?"
And really there are a couple of things.
One, is to keep in mind that
at the VA, all your treatment is confidential.
We work really hard to keep it confidential, but also,
and what's bigger than that, I think,
is that I think that it is
those military service members who do come forward
and do take that huge step to seek treatment
who are really the bravest of all.
I think it takes a lot more strength to come forward
and to ask for help and to seek treatment than it does to
sort of hide away and bury it with avoidance
and those types of coping mechanisms.
I would say that the people who do take that step
and come in for treatment are, first of all, extremely brave,
and then, they're also paving the way for the people
to come in afterwards
and to make this a safer place for seeking treatment.