Hi, I’m Brian Wiklendt with Garfinkel Schwartz I’m coming to you today from our Maitland,
Florida office.
We also have offices in Titusville, Florida.
Today I would like to talk with you about PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I’m no doctor but, I represent a lot of people that suffer from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder: PTSD and I see that basically on a daily basis.
I deal with family members that are having hard times getting through the tough times
with PTSD spouses and/or family members.
I’m sure most of you have heard that there is a rash of PTSD throughout the military
and the numbers are staggering in terms of the percentage of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan
that have developed PTSD.
What you may not know is that those same statistics apply to overseas contractors in danger zones.
And you don’t really hear about any articles regarding the forgotten people that I represent.
Mainly those people are translators, they may be linguists, they are the people that
are the wounded warriors that actually work alongside with the military as security.
Anyone that actually has to go outside the wire or be in a position of danger or bombing
or shot has potential to developing PTSD symptoms.
Especially the people who are taken overseas for government contracts who don’t have
the training that the military has and that can’t carry guns like the military does.
I’ve heard many, many, many stories very, very, very bad stories about families being
broken up as a result of PTSD and all I want to tell you is that some people don’t even
know that they have PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
There are a lot of clients of mine that had no clue that they had PTSD but, when they
told me the symptoms and I got them to go see an appropriate psychologists or psychiatrist
they are diagnosed frequently with severe PTSD.
Their symptoms will range, every case is individual, every person is individual in terms of what
they’ve seen and how it affects their brain.
My advice is to simply, if you’re suffering from symptoms of anxiety or guilt or anger,
flashbacks, being nervous in a car because you think you might be getting bombed, not
like to be confined in tight spaces maybe not wanting to be near large crowds.
The biggest things that affect people’s lives with PTSD is the chronic depression
that comes with it.
The guilt, the anxiety, and the inability to actually concentrate to go back out into
the workforce to do a job.
A lot of people don’t understand that there is treatment out that can be really beneficial
to people with PTSD.
And I know where to find those people throughout the country.
So please don’t hesitate if you’re having these symptoms or your family members are
telling you that you’re different.
That you came back and your personality is totally different than it was before.
You’re probably suffering from some sort of PTSD symptom.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very serious and it’s now getting the attention that
it deserves.
Except for maybe in this community.
The contractor community for some reason the words not really out there that you’re being
affected by it just like the military or maybe even worse.
So, we are here to help.
We are here to get you the proper medical treatment that you might need.
To see what types of depression you’re experiencing and try to get you the treatment that you
deserve and to try to get your employer or insurance company to pay for that treatment.
Which is what they are responsible to do.
And what they try to always avoid.
Thank you very much, this is Brian Wiklendt with Garfinkel Schwartz.
I hope I helped someone today and would like to help as many people as I can in the future.
Thank you.