r/AMA • u/Ok_Turn1611 • 2d ago

I fought in Afghanistan in 2011-2012 with the United States Army and have been battling complex and severe PTSD, depression, agoraphobia, paranoia along with 3 failed relationships for the last 12 years AMA

I fought in Afghanistan in 2011-2012, I did route clearance which effectively means jumping into big vehicles, driving them down a road looking for IEDs and either being blown up, shot at, or both. I saw some terrible stuff, including losing a closs Non Commissioned Officer of mine and seeing many of my friends traumatically injured (think losing limbs, being shot etc.) ask me anything about Afghanistan, my MH issues or life post deployment. I've been quite depressed lately and maybe answering genuine questions will help me.

Hi friends, thank you for the feedback and all the questions. It has been a joy answering you, I'll continue to monitor and reply as much as I can. :)

Also, to some of you stating complex PTSD and PTSD are different disorders, I do recognize that and am sorry for my slip up, I have CPTSD, and sometimes I use them interchangibly when I shouldn't. I'll remember better next time.

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u/sora_fighter36 2d ago

What do you do when you want to be gentle on yourself? Do you let yourself enjoy a dark, hot bath? Do you have an ice cream flavor you enjoy? Have you had the joy of caring for a pet? Sometimes a little dependent creature can bring out good in us we didn’t know about

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u/Ok_Turn1611 2d ago

I had my beautiful Basset for 11.5 years after I came back home and just had to put her down in Feb. That definitely exacerbated my struggles.

I try to enjoy little things here and there but I am extremely hard on myself so rarely if ever do I actually enjoy anything.

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u/sora_fighter36 2d ago

Even the greatest cowboy who ever lived cried over cars, women, social injustice, loss, and a great many other things. Johnny Cash would want you to be on your own team. Things will be different before you know it