Skip to content

You feel weak, you know. I wasn't out there pulling a trigger.

Jeremiah Civil, US Marine Corps 2001 - 2005, talks about why he didn't ask for help with his PTSD right away.

Transcript

You feel weak, you know.

I wasn't out there pulling a trigger or getting shot

at every day like some of these guys and some of them are fine

and they're not having the issues and I am,

and so you know, what's weak about me?

What's wrong with me?

It took a bit to realize and get over that.

It probably took me going to group and talking to other guys

that had a whole bunch of combat experience and hearing them say,

I don't know how you made it through what you did, you know.

And part of that too is a bit of survivor's guilt

when you see good men, what you see as hard, good, not weak men,

these guys wouldn't be having these problems, die.

And they have family and kids and they had their life together

and going well, and you come back and you're like, I made it.

And I'm, for whatever reason, having all these issues

and I feel like I'm a dirt bag and I'm weak.

All those get muddled into the same thing

and it makes it harder to let that stuff go.

Published At