News From the Cause
Real Warriors Campaign – A Family Members Words (DOD LIVE)
September 06, 2011
By Sheri Hall
After my husband came home from his second tour in Iraq I noticed he had a deep, dark, hollow look in his eyes. I asked him if he needed to talk to someone. I let him know that I was supportive but he wasn’t receptive at the time. I think he felt he needed to be the “macho” soldier.
I was never fearful for Jeff’s life while he was in combat, since I knew that he trained himself well. But that all changed when Jeff returned and began having suicidal thoughts. I told him that while I didn’t know the effects of combat, I knew that something was wrong. It was hard because he kind of pushed me and our two daughters away. Finally, after going to his commander, I sat down with him and said, “If you kill yourself, how do I explain it to your daughters, your mother and father, and my family?” It was like a light bulb went on, with the help of his commander we found a psychologist who got Jeff into an intensive 3-week treatment program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., at the Deployment Health Clinical Center.
As a military spouse you are often the first one to notice when something is different when your service member returns from combat. Look for signs; changes in sleep patterns, aggression, mood swings, lack of engagement with family, loss of interest and most importantly keep that line of communication as open as possible. I wish I had stood firmer with Jeff and said, “No, you’re going to get help” when he resisted. Don’t just let things be. Click here to view more
