Wargaming & PTSD--Important!

[John Kettler]

This important video, by a lifer in the Australian Army (retired RSM) combat veteran, describes what PTSD is, his own experiences with it, how the Australian Army handles PTSD, and offers his thoughts on why warming is safe for those diagnosed with PTSD. He says in the video that he found Modern Warfare wargaming in miniature distressing (specifically mentioned MGs), so shied away from it and instead got into Napoleonics. These days, he also does WW II skirmish gaming. He notes that not only do and have combat veterans played wargames, but that some not only played but wrote rule books. The ex-RSM isn't the only one who shies/shied away from Modern Warfare, especially of the WoT persuasion. One retired Army lifer I know who did multiple tours in Iran and Iraq wouldn't watch video of a Ramallah skirmish done in miniature or CMSF2 video. Fine with WW II. Am of the opinion that this has a lot to do with WW II being emotionally and chronologically distanced in ways that WoT simply isn't. Believe WoT hits too close to home, especially when things like IEDs and VBIEDs are depicted. Also, would argue that, as far as computer games go, FPSs would be far more triggering than CMx2, unless played in RT. One of my previous neurologists was of the professional opinion that strobes, smash cuts and other highly dynamic imagery not only weren't good for people who'd had a TBI but anyone.
 

To understand where I'm coming from, I've never served, let alone been in battle, but I have felt the wind of a bullet barely passing over my skull while out plinking, have looked at the wrong end of a loaded weapon pointed at me in a firing range incident (shooter had a jam and turned around, loaded gun in hand), have two TBIs, the second from a trip and fall last year and mercifully tiny; have survived four major wrecks (two of which required a year to recover from), one of which resulted in PTSD and left me so traumatized it took weeks of biofeedback treatment before I was car functional again, for I was deathly afraid of getting hit, flinched from car doors slamming and jumped from backfires. To this day simply getting into a car, truck or van makes me nervous. And in the same time frame of the car wrecks, I also had two nervous breakdowns from sustained hyper stress in my military aerospace jobs. I find FPS games (even short game review clips) overwhelming in terms of processing but also outright painful in my head, and when I was functional enough to play CMBS, my first outing with it when the turn played was so overwhelming and shocking that I despaired of ever being able to play it and felt I might've wasted a big chunk of change. What saved me was the ability to replay the turn and simply get comfortable with the lightning pace and lethality compared to WW II, for it was all I'd ever known in CMx1 or CMx2. Unfortunately, downstream cognitive effects from the first TBI have prevented me from playing CM of any sort for well over a year, and there have been protracted periods where even CoC was beyond me, too. These have nothing to do with PTSD, but they most definitely have massively affected my ability to engage in not only my favorite G-Rated activity, but to relieve a great deal of stress by playing and socializing. 

Regards,

John Kettler

 

[Erwin]

There are many folks with those sorts of extreme experiences on these forums (or so they claim).  When I think of my parents and their experiences in the East during WW2, am certain they had classic PTSD symptoms.  But, with the proliferation of medical diagnoses these days, if you haven't got PTSD you weren't trying hard enuff.   

[John Kettler]

Erwin,

There was a stunning discovery made a few years ago by a US Army doctor that many soldiers and veterans diagnosed with PTSD didn't have that, but a previously unknown condition called blast brain, which is undetectable by both CAT and MRI, because neither has the necessary resolution. Once he understood he was dealing with actual brain trauma, he shifted his medication approach and got huge improvements in treatment success as a result. As for PTSD, our pit bull has it as a result of being nearly killed by two other pit bulls (abused, whereas he was rescued from abuse) which tried to kill his new owner, my landlady, a tiny Filipina. Even a slightly raised angry voice or being suddenly startled is enough to cause him to flee the area, and he'll abruptly start shuddering at times, too. 

Regards,

John Kettler

 

[Bulletpoint]

5 hours ago, John Kettler said:

As for PTSD, our pit bull has it as a result of being nearly killed by two other pit bulls (abused, whereas he was rescued from abuse) which tried to kill his new owner, my landlady, a tiny Filipina. Even a slightly raised angry voice or being suddenly startled is enough to cause him to flee the area, and he'll abruptly start shuddering at times, too. 

Pit bulls were specifically bred to be hyper aggressive, since they were used for fighting bulls and people would bet on the outcome. Later, they were used to fight other dogs, and continue to be used for this even today.

According to the US association oof plastic surgeons, on average 77 people each day have to undergo reconstructive surgery as the result of a serious dog attack. A large portion of these attacks are by pit bulls.

[Ultradave]

13 hours ago, Erwin said:

  But, with the proliferation of medical diagnoses these days, if you haven't got PTSD you weren't trying hard enuff.   

Excuse me?

[purpheart23]

7 minutes ago, Ultradave said:

Excuse me?

For real, you mind clarifying there @Erwin or is that your professional medical opinion?

[BFCElvis]

I'm bailing.