As a military veteran, I have seen the struggles of my peers. As a congressman, I’d like to do something about that. I am part of a Facebook group with the second platoon I served with. We talk every day. Sometimes it’s lighthearted. We share stories about our lives. We reminisce about our time together. Other times, the conversations are difficult. It’s tough to transition back into society. Too many of us suffer from post-traumatic stress. Too many of us are struggling. One of the Marines in my platoon went to the VA for help with his post-traumatic stress. He didn’t receive counseling. He was prescribed medicines instead. The amount of prescription drugs he was taking daily contributed to his heart attack—and death—at the age of 30. I have to think that if he had been in counseling, or frankly, on cannabis, he’d still be alive today. Post-traumatic stress redefined Post-traumatic stress affects everyone differently. One of my best friends from the Marines is adamant that I refer to the condition as post-traumatic stress, not post-traumatic stress disorder. He made the case that anybody who’s gone through what we’ve been through would be bothered by it. In fact, they’d have a disorder if they weren’t bothered by it. I tend to agree. I want to make the point that post-traumatic stress is a perfectly normal reaction to incredibly traumatic experiences. It’s built into who we are as humans. But humans are resilient. I want to make an even more important point that …
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