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...a suicide attempt and a blackout due to alcohol.

Pat Timms, US Army 1970 - 1973, talks about why he didn't ask for help with his PTSD right away.

Transcript

The wake up call for me was actually

a suicide attempt in a blackout due to alcohol.

Of course, I didn't remember anything about it,

and my wife at the time really had to tell me about it,

where I was sitting on the porch and had a shotgun in my mouth.

And I thought she was crazy or picking on me, you know.

So I found the shotgun and shucked it back,

and a couple of 12-gauge shells hit the floor.

You know, I sort of buckled my knees

because I knew how close I had come.

At that point, I said, "Man, you have got to find some help."

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