Veteran Unemployment and PTSD Symptom Severity

Aside from the stability that a job provides, some studies suggest that employment may also help Veterans cope with PTSD.  From my perspective, it is a bit of a “chicken-and-the-egg” situation as many potential employers may be unwilling to risk hiring a Veteran with symptoms of PTSD.  In fact, many of these Veterans may have resorted to drugs and/or alcohol to help them deal with PTSD.  This may make it next to impossible to receive employment offers given mandatory drug testing.   Nevertheless, for those employers willing to take the risk, a steady job can help mitigate the devastating impact of PTSD.

The researchers who did the study are not claiming causality in any way, there is simply a correlation between veteran unemployment and PTSD symptom severity. That said, it is reasonable to think that meaningful employment for veterans, particularly those with combat PTSD, may help returning veterans psychologically. While we don’t know that for a fact, what we do know is that veterans are a valuable addition to the civilian workforce and their work to defeat poaching in Africa is just one example of that value.  Unemployed Veterans Suffer More Severe PTSD Symptoms | Understanding Combat PTSD – HealthyPlace

Deeper Than Scars of War: Healing PTSD with Old Ways

Found below is a fascinating article which describes how one Veteran got back to his “Choctaw family roots,” to help deal with the symptoms of PTSD and simultaneously help preserve the great traditions of this Indian tribe.  Let me introduce, James Tom:

The scars of war run deep for Oak Park Heights, Minnesota resident James Tom, the type of scars that can’t be seen at first glance. Where the battlefield could have taken his limbs or his life, it instead gave Tom the debilitating affects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression that eventually took his self-identity. When the United States Army and the Veteran’s Administration gave Tom the status of full disability benefits, living with the illness could have “driven me stir-crazy,” Tom said. Instead, Tom found the only thing that runs deeper than any of his scars is his culture and heritage.

Tom traces his family roots to both the Mississippi and Oklahoma Bands of Choctaw, and there are about 20,000 Choctaw living in the United States today. Tom began an effort to not only preserve the skills and traditions of indigenous cultures, but to teach others what he has researched and learned.

Tom started slowly with research into his family, into the Choctaw and the indigenous people of the region. Tom said his parents had not taught him many skills or traditions of the cultures, so he began to learn by trying what he read about and saw by going to powwows and other gatherings. Making a drum for a powwow began by learning how to tan hides from deer. After deer hides, Tom turned to tanning buffalo hides using the traditional methods of brain tanning by using animal brains rich in emulsified oils to soften the skin for leather making.

It was through word of mouth in the community that Tom became known for his skill of the traditional method of brain tanning, causing many to seek him out to learn the skill. The week-long tanning process is difficult and requires a lot of commitment to do it correctly. The skins must be fleshed—scraped of all fats and membranes—then stretched and soaked in water. The fatty brain material is rubbed into the skin, soaked in water again and then smoked in a special fire.

Nawayee Center School is a charter school that teaches students who are predominately from Native American families. While the school teaches classes like math and reading, its mission is to connect students with their cultural identities through hands-on learning and programs like brain tanning and other indigenous arts.  “We were able to get a grant to bring James in and teach the students,” Ladd (School Director) said. “He first came to the school with squirrel hides. Now the kids are working on the big buffalo hide.”

For Tom, teaching others about this part of his heritage has helped him find peace.“I absolutely think it has helped me. I have been able to find my own identity again,” Tom said. “Everyone has a heritage and a big part of who you comes from it.”  This piece has been republished with permission from the Stillwater Gazette, where it originally was published on May 4. via: Deeper Than Scars of War: Healing PTSD with Old Ways

As this story illustrates, there are many ways in which Veterans can create meaningful employment opportunities for themselves and help others at the same time.