You've probably heard a lot in the media about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and how it's unraveling the well-being of so many troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we tend to get swept up in the numbers, the problems, and solutions, while often missing the human side of the story.
Recently, the wonderful radio show "This American Life" featured a long story called "And So We Meet Again," about a soldier who returns from Iraq with a serious case of PTSD. He develops all the classic symptoms and even seeks out treatment. But then he takes it a step further. He signs up to join the Muslim Association club at his college, for no other reason than to make an attempt to understand the people he so violently distrusts.
The show does a great job at storytelling, but it also addresses the complication of this kind of "self-therapy" that the soldier engages in. The result is a truly well-rounded, realistic look at PTSD in America.
Listen to "And So We Meet Again" here.
