Survivor's Guilt Makes a Comeback

I was at work this weekend and I ran into my therapist from CPT group.  I talked to him about having gotten the increase in disability rating.  It was strange.  In that moment as I was talking to him a lot of things came clear to me.

I felt guilty.  I felt like I didn't deserve the rating I received.  When things got really bad over in Iraq, I had a ritual every morning.  When I first woke up, I asked myself whether 'today was the day that I would die'.  I had to confront that fear (and likely reality) every day and accept it .  I had to accept it or I wouldn't have been able to make it through the day.  That's what makes all of this so hard.  Guys who never accepted that they could die, never accepted their fear are the ones who didn't make it back.  They were the ones who had the fire and desire to live.  I was the one who 'gave up', that deserved their fate.

Because of this, I have experienced many a sleepless night since I got the decision in the mail.  What is strange is that my doc told me that most veterans with PTSD that he has worked with have shared these same sentiments.  How about that.  I guess we'll have a lot to talk about in group this Wednesday.