Two years ago I was diagnosed by the VA hospital with PTSD. The doctors there put me on medication and I said I needed professional counseling. They got me an appointment with Jeffrey D. Robbins at Professional Counseling Service in the Killeen office. I didn’t know what was wrong. I know I needed help and I didn’t know how to get it. It was very hard to talk about the things that happened years ago when I came home from Vietnam.

The Army said to forget what you have seen and put all your problems behind you. Put them in the back of your mind and don’t tell people what you have seen and what you have done. Just try to forget it, but it was very hard. It was hard for me to come home to a country that despised what we did, treat us with shame and disappointment, and criticize what we did. It was very hard to forget and put it in the back of my mind, but I did.

Now that I have retired it all came back and it is hard to try to stop thinking about it. I couldn’t sleep at night. All I wanted to do is stop living. I knew then that it would all go away, but how could I do that and hurt the ones I love. With Jeffrey’s help, he showed me that it was not my fault. That I should not be ashamed for what I did. He helped me realize that I can overcome my problems. To not put them in the back of my mind, but to talk to my family about what had happened and to those that would listen and understand what I was going through.

Now after two years, I feel good about myself and I don’t blame the people for being the way they were. It is easy for me now to talk about what happened in Vietnam and when I came home. I know I’ll never be able to forget, but I don’t have to worry that it was wrong. I know I’ll have to take medication the rest of my life.

I thank Jeffrey Robbins for the help that he gave me and for Professional Counseling Service for all they do. I urge anyone needing help to ask them for help.