Combat Stress - Misunderstood & Mistreated
Of the 2.4 million U.S. troops, who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, 30% return home with post-traumatic stress due to combat related stress and more than 320,000 suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many more are misdiagnosed or are not diagnosed at all. Troops who are exposed to PTSD in the form of high levels of stress and anxiety during combat are more likely to withdraw, engage in substance abuse, show signs of depression, or even commit suicide after returning home. Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day. Simply drugging our troops is not the solution.
~ Bart Billings
Combat Stress Complexity - Detailed By Dr. Bart Billings
In this interesting CBJ/031 interview, Dr. Billings tells explicit details about his profoundly informed and moving experience based upon years of dealing with the complexity of wounded warriors, returning vets. From direct front line experience as a clinical psychologist in charge of significant PTSD and TBI programs, both on active duty and following as a civilian to the present day, Dr. Billings is one of the singular most knowledgeable medical professionals in the country - and he's opinionated.

He's repeatedly witnessed the added traumatic effects of imprecise medical care for vets. 

His mission: Combat Stress includes a variety of issues, a complexity overlooked with many identifiable contributions, each with specific treatment protocols. In this interview and his book, Invisible Scars, he clearly outlines necessary treatment improvements for returning vets - indeed stress-arrest at any level. 

Buckle Up 

From his beginnings with a Jesuit College philosophy of serving others, he entered a career helping others as a Clinical Psychologist with 34 years of active military service. In 1975 he became aware of the poor services provided for veterans in mental health, and for the past 41 years, he dedicated his life's work to helping these deserving vets. Dr. Billings will provide his best-selling book, Invisible Scars, How To Treat Combat Stress And PTSD Without Medication, for a drawing below. Invisible Scars will add to any therapist's understanding of trauma treatment throughout one's lifetime.

Listen To His First Experience - 

Special Note: 23 years ago Dr. Billings founded the International Military & Civilian Combat Stress Conference, the largest most powerful conference designed to evolve more comprehensive diagnostic and treatment strategies for vets.
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Check Out Our Full CBJ Combat Stress Episode List
Here: http://corebrainjournal.com/vets
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Personal Note

This guy pulls no punches with the same ineffective diagnosis and inadequate treatment I've also witnessed with second opinions at our CorePsych offices here in Virginia Beach, VA. Throwing psych meds at limited behavior appearances is paleolithic medicine.

Interestingly, I was almost hooted out of the Naval Regional Medical Center here more than ten years ago when I brought these issues up in a presentation to the department of psychiatry at that time. The operant phrase for that meeting: imperious disrespect. I do think things are slowly changing, but Dr. Billings insights remain surprisingly controversial, even today.

On a more positive note: In a recent meeting with an active duty naval commander  [about his wife], in service on an aircraft carrier, he surprised me when he indicated the US Navy now provides yoga practice at se...