So I just recently had Knee surgery. Still on Con leave for that. I have been on profile since june 2012 because of my knee. I was sent to a competition and injured my knee in a combatives tourny. That was the first time I have ever been to sick call..due to the knee injury. I had my surgery on dec 6. But in all honesty thats not really my issure...not sure if you even get any kind of rating for surgery. What I need help with is the issues I have been having (Panic attacks 2 to 3 times a week, feeling constant anxiety, I typically stay up till 4am before I even go to sleep..which sucks when I have pt at 0630. I have been in the army about 3 years now...I deployed in may of 2011 to april 2012...I was fine during the whole deployment...but towards the end I started having these panic attacks. After coming back I just told myself its nothing and I can deal with it myself. But now its to the point where I just cant handle it anymore. I dont feel suicidal or anything to that extreme...But I just feel like I cant function in a military setting anymore. Its to the point where if I am asked by a friend to go somewhere I say no in fear of having a panic attack and feeling "trapped" if i ride with them. I have no idea where to start as far as doing something. How would this process work if I am found unfit...I am just worried about what I hear...that people just sit around for a year before they finally decide to diagnose someone. I dont know what to do...or what to expect. And worried because I do not have a record of this...but thats due to me keeping it in and never saying anything. I dont want them to look at my record and assume I am fine.
Need Help! MEB??
- Thread starter Chris1103
- Start date
Well if you had a constant cough and couldn't breath on occasions, you would go to the Dr right? This is no different, you need to do a self referral to Behavioral Health and be seen for your panic attacks. A professional needs to look at them, try and figer out the trigger and treat them. From there, everything else get's figured out.
If you are looking to get boarded for these, I don't see it happening right now. It hasn't been reported and they haven't had a chance to treat it. They have to be given the opportunity to hit a medical determination point. A board will flow off of that once that point is reached.
Get help and then go from there.
If you are looking to get boarded for these, I don't see it happening right now. It hasn't been reported and they haven't had a chance to treat it. They have to be given the opportunity to hit a medical determination point. A board will flow off of that once that point is reached.
Get help and then go from there.
I completely agree with ranger, you should ask yourself this question. Can you lead your fellow Soldiers if the time came for it without any second guessing on your decisions, say in a combat setting, without an attack being triggered?
I had to ask myself a similar question which put my mentality in the right perspective. If it came down to it, could I run 2 miles to save my soldiers lives in combat or be able to carry/drag on of them with out breaking a leg or both feet? Truthfully, I'd die trying, but knowing the possibility of my injuries delaying or worsen the situation... The answer is a difficult path, but in the end it was no. I fessed up and went to see the doc, it took over a year to finally have them say surgery or MEB. I elected MEB over surgery due to me having to have a 6 month recovery on each foot, and would have had to stay in until my recovery was complete, past my ETS and then be forced into the MEB anyways.
You must take care of you before you can take care of others.
I had to ask myself a similar question which put my mentality in the right perspective. If it came down to it, could I run 2 miles to save my soldiers lives in combat or be able to carry/drag on of them with out breaking a leg or both feet? Truthfully, I'd die trying, but knowing the possibility of my injuries delaying or worsen the situation... The answer is a difficult path, but in the end it was no. I fessed up and went to see the doc, it took over a year to finally have them say surgery or MEB. I elected MEB over surgery due to me having to have a 6 month recovery on each foot, and would have had to stay in until my recovery was complete, past my ETS and then be forced into the MEB anyways.
You must take care of you before you can take care of others.
Chris - I know where you are coming from man. As much as they try to say there isn't a stigma attached with seeking help from mental health there definitely is. That said - If you need help the PLEASE get the help you need, PLEASE don't put it off. I personally put it off for a couple years and I'm dealing with the fallout of that choice now. If word gets out about you seeking mental health care then people will fall into two groups. #1 People that are behind you & #2 People that are not behind you. Figure out which people in your life fall into group #1 and do your best to surround yourself with them.
Also - I'm pretty sure that you can self refer to mental health and not have to bring your chain of command into it at least for starters. While privilege isn't ALL encompassing it is about as close as it's ever going to get in the military. If your chain of command starts asking why you are going to the clinic all the time tell them you don't care to discuss it. You don't HAVE to tell them anything. Only your Commander can actually call up the clinic and ask what you were there for - and they have limitations on what info can be shared through that channel as well.
I'm obviously not in the Army but this link has some FAQ's about MH care in the Army.
http://www.behavioralhealth.army.mil/tools/faqscomb.html
Another option which is free and separate from the military is going through military Onesource. I sought out mental healthcare from them for a short time, if you call them at 1-800-342-9647 they will walk you through some of your options outside the military. I called them in tears at like 0130 and I was talking to a MH provider over the phone in less than 10 minutes + they scheduled me for off base care. Note that this is not a long term solution as they can't give you medication or anything like that - if they feel like it's something that needs medication then you'll have to be seen on base.
Good luck, hang in there and please feel free to vent here or private message me if you need someone to talk to.
Something else you are going to find out about the "stigma" is there are a lot more people than you think using BH for help. As a CW2, I was very apprehensive about going in. The Fort Drum BH clinic is very busy. My first time there for my intake, the lobby was packed. Guess what, there were a lot of people there that you would never expect. I saw 0-3s and E-9s waiting in the lobby to be seen.
My point is, BH is not the place where only F'd up people go. As a society, we have gotten smarter in the past 20 years and pushed it more mainstream. With this has come a lot more acceptance of it being a valid and helpful service. Nowdays the "stigma" is attached to small minded people who don't know any better. I generally don't need those people around me, or care what they say. In all reality, their small minds make them far more useless as soldiers and friends anyway.
As a leader, I always counseled my soldiers in need about how powerful BH can be. I always used my personal experiences about how I went and how much it helped me. I made the people I led aware that I believed in it and would support them if they were in a situation where they needed advice or help to get back on track. The biggest thing I spoke to them about was how liberating it was to go and talk to a annonomous person who was NON JUDGEMENTAL about challenges and issues. Even your best of friends can't proveide you with that type of confidence.
Bite the bullet and go get the help. Good luck and happy new year.
Joe
My point is, BH is not the place where only F'd up people go. As a society, we have gotten smarter in the past 20 years and pushed it more mainstream. With this has come a lot more acceptance of it being a valid and helpful service. Nowdays the "stigma" is attached to small minded people who don't know any better. I generally don't need those people around me, or care what they say. In all reality, their small minds make them far more useless as soldiers and friends anyway.
As a leader, I always counseled my soldiers in need about how powerful BH can be. I always used my personal experiences about how I went and how much it helped me. I made the people I led aware that I believed in it and would support them if they were in a situation where they needed advice or help to get back on track. The biggest thing I spoke to them about was how liberating it was to go and talk to a annonomous person who was NON JUDGEMENTAL about challenges and issues. Even your best of friends can't proveide you with that type of confidence.
Bite the bullet and go get the help. Good luck and happy new year.
Joe
I agree with ranger on that, my Commander and I went to appointments together at times, and my 1SG. We sat there looking at each other, making it even more odd. In the end, we all could associate better with each other making our jobs easier... Secretly we could get away with yelling at each other just to vent and make us feel better, behind doors of course...
I agree totally with all the previous comments. I too understand how difficult it is to finally get help and the fears of being perceived as weak or a defect. Yes, there was, and is, a social and professional stigma regarding BH but that just is the way it is. As a senior leader, I can tell you the official push is to NOT attach a stigma to it and it is getting better each and every day. I also had to deal with the fall out over not getting the treatment I needed in time (divorced) and finally one of my senior NCO's took me aside and confided in me that he was going to BH for PTSD and he saw signs of things going on with me and suggested that I go as well (plus having a semi panic attack in while flying an aircraft isn't a good thing). I still feel there is a black mark on you for going, but I do not regret it in the least (even with the potential of loss of military and civilian flight status), and I owe that NCO a deep debt of gratitude. I have had both good and bad BH specialists (just the facts-switch if need be) and there are many alternatives out there, some of which do not report to the chain of command (I got into a VA therapy group for that reason). You just have to find what is right for you.More than anything, it is really nice knowing that you are not suffering alone. That is worth its weight in gold.
Your Soldiers may make snide comments but if you do what is right, deep down they will understand and respect it. Plus, as indicated earlier, you kind of owe it to them....and to yourself....and to your family if you still have one!!!
What's the old saying..."The truth shall set you free"
Your Soldiers may make snide comments but if you do what is right, deep down they will understand and respect it. Plus, as indicated earlier, you kind of owe it to them....and to yourself....and to your family if you still have one!!!
What's the old saying..."The truth shall set you free"