Crossville Vets Holding A Town Hall Saturday To Help Those With PTSD

The Crossville chapter of the Associates Of Vietnam Veterans Of America will host a town hall meeting Saturday to help those suffering from PTSD.

The event will feature guest speakers and go over signs and symptoms of PTSD. Local President Tom Oberts said the town hall meeting is to let others quietly suffering from PTSD know that they are not alone.

“You see your brothers and sisters getting hurt, if not killed,” Oberts said. “It’s hard to live with, even though you go back at the enemy and take them out. That’s hard to live with too. It’s just not normal human behavior as far as I’m concerned, and I think that’s the hardest part for any of us.”

Organizers will discuss option for getting help, where support groups are located, and how to communicate with friends and family about the disorder. The meeting takes place from 10am-Noon at the Cumberland Fellowship Church.

Oberts said the event is not just for Vietnam veterans but for all those who served. He said the younger vets went through the same exact thing his generation went through.

“When you come back and try and reintegrate back into society, things are different,” Oberts said. “You’re different, and its so hard to explain to your family and friends and your workplace what went on and you just don’t talk about it because the feeling in your head is they can’t possibly understand what we did.”

Oberts said part of PTSD is trying to integrate yourself back into normal life. He said he hopes this town hall will help someone find the help they need to communicate, open up, and get help.

“The hardest thing for a human being to do is to ask another human being for help,” Oberts said. “Just that little piece of humility is a hard thing for most human beings to do.”

PTSD is a disorder that occurs when someone witnesses or experiences a traumatic event, series of events or circumstances. Common symptoms include disturbing thoughts and feelings, flashbacks, nightmares, and a detachment from other people.

“You don’t have to deal with it all by yourself, and there are others out there willing to help,” Oberts said. “We’ve got doctors, psychiatrists, people aware of what goes on in our head as much as they can, and at least it will put you in a place where you’ll try to get better.”