I read an article today about our local YMCA.
A formerly homeless veteran spends time at the Y helping people in the acquatics program. He used to work in demolition for the military, underwater demolition. He has considerable experience with water and wanted to give back. He's 82 and formerly homeless.
He said the Y gave him a reason to live again, a sense that he has meaning and value. He suffers from PTSD, COPD and other ailments.
When I hear stories like that, I wish we were further along in our evolution as humans to bring the tools just being discovered around PTSD to the masses. I wish we had both the therapies to help with the trauma and the courage to do what it takes to prevent trauma, things like better abuse education for kids, less exposure to traumatizing media content, communication training, no war, ending poverty.
This all reminds me of the quote by Oscar Romero, "I give people food and they call me a saint. When I ask why there is no food, they call me a communist."
We have the ability to greatly reduce traumatic events and circumstances, but it would take the research to connect the cost (in billions) to our society that trauma causes before we'd get serious.
For now, I work on rewiring my own brain in hopes to help a few others along the way.