Group CPT: A Watershed Moment

It was an amazing and fulfilling experience this past Wednesday at group.  We had known ahead of time that one of the guys in group was going to share his experiences in full. And boy did he.  For the sake of privacy, let's just say it was pretty emotional and very heartfelt on his part.

What really touched me in a way that I didn't expect:  How honored I felt that he trusted me and the other guys in group with his story.  It takes a lot of courage for someone to come forward like that and lay it all out, raw and unfiltered in a group setting.  So I wanted to congratulate him on taking the leap.  For the other guys who still haven't shared their trauma, I think this was an encouraging moment.  A watershed moment.

The other thing that our doc talked about was the fact that so many current conflict veterans seem to have a cavalier attitude about death - an ambivalence about their own survival.  It's something that has been seen in veterans of other conflicts, just not in numbers of this magnitude.  Doc thinks it may partially contribute to the high suicide rate and wonders how energy drinks (available by the case when I was over there) could affect the way that emotional and psychological trauma is received by the brain.  Interesting thoughts, but I disagree.  I think that it is a generational thing.  It's not that a lot of veterans are cavalier about it.  I think it's because they are desperate to appear as normal as possible.  The faking disregard for suicide ideation comes across as disingenuos, cavalier.  I would love to hear others thoughts on this.