Lee County VA helping out veterans with PTSD recovery

The fallout of going through life-threatening events like Hurricane Ian may be felt years down the road—our military veterans know this, as many grapple with PTSD. Southwest Florida mental health professionals are doing their best to help people with their mental recovery.

Local Vietnam veteran Mark Griffin put his pain into music, uploading an original song to the Veteran Affairs website. He says he penned it in memory of his brother Bill, who battled PTSD after his military service.

“Probably somewhere between 60 and 70% of our veterans that we see here suffer from PTSD,” said Oscar Villaverde, mental health chief at the Lee County VA.

The psychiatrist says PTSD manifests in several ways.

“One is the re-experiencing cluster, in which they oftentimes will recall having nightmares, or their spouse will say that they thrashed in bed at night,” Villaverde said. “The other cluster is what we call hyperarousal symptoms, in which they’ll have difficulty sleeping, irritability, feeling on edge, and the last one is avoidance.”

Avoidance is challenging because ignoring symptoms leads to bigger problems if another trauma occurs. Loved ones may be able to intervene if they recognize red flags.

“They don’t want to socialize with family or friends; they want to stay to themselves,” Villaverde said. “They don’t want to go out with the spouses to run errands. They’re constantly on alert or hyper-alert in the house, checking windows and doors and things of that sort.”

Lee County’s VA clinic offers mental health services as part of the screening at annual medical checkups. In the initial intake, Villaverde says family history, trauma history, social history, and symptoms are considered before mental health professionals provide a diagnosis and work together with the veteran to make a treatment plan.

“All of us are very committed to providing the best care we can for our veterans, who truly deserve it,” Villaverde said.

The VA offers additional resources in response to Hurricane Ian, including housing assistance and a crisis hotline. You can visit their dedicated website to learn more about these.