Veteran and high school principal discusses PTSD in final DAW event

BY ALICIA FEYERHERM

As the last event for Disability Awareness Week, the Fort Hays Honor Society hosted a military and PTSD presentation via zoom on Thursday. 

Jason Veach served in the Marine Corps infantry for 20 years and spoke to the group.

One big hurdle that those with PTSD face is recognizing that they have PTSD in the first place.  Veach himself was in denial for years.

“I didn’t believe it,” Veach said. “I didn’t want to buy into it. I was a marine, a firefighter, I was stronger than that.” 

Within the marines, Veach felt like there was a culture where seeking mental health support was frowned upon.

“You fixed your feelings with pushups and Irish whiskey,” Veach said.  “If you started reaching out beyond that, it would affect you and your future.”

In recent years, Veach has seen an improvement in mental health resources, but it is still a struggle. It is impossible to repress PTSD.

“The scary thing about PTSD is that it’s going to come out,” Veach said. “It will come back to you.”

For that reason, early intervention and management are key. 

“Sometimes we wait until it’s almost no longer manageable,” Veach said. 

Veach has dealt with five personal losses of marines to suicide.

“If you see the signs, reach out – reach out early and reach out often,” Veach said. “Be proactive. Be spicy about it.”

Multiple resources are available, so if a certain support group or therapist doesn’t work out, it’s important not to give up. Find what works for that particular individual. 

These situations are very delicate and Veach says sometimes we want to ignore the signs. We don’t want to acknowledge that someone we love has an issue.

“Be willing to have hard conversations, but also be willing and expect pushback,” Veach said. 

For those personally dealing with PTSD, Veach recommends analyzing your environment. After leaving the marines, Veach became a firefighter before examining if that was the best fit for him. 

“I enjoyed service and enjoyed helping people, but it came to light that it wasn’t the best field for me to be in,” Veach said. “There’s a lot of death and very extreme experiences.”

This realization prompted a change in career paths for Veach and he became a seventh-grade science teacher in Tulsa, Okla. 

He is now a high school principal, serving an economically disadvantaged area. Ninety-seven percent of students are on free or reduced lunch. Interacting with students, Veach saw PTSD through a new lens. 

“Veterans, no matter how much we try to own this, we do not have a monopoly on PTSD,” Veach said. “I’ve been to war. I’ve been to war a lot and I cannot fathom what those young people are experiencing.”

Everyone’s trauma is unique. We cannot and should not rate or categorize other people’s pain.

“If you look at what our LGBTQ and trans community face on a daily basis, the children of the pandemic, the social issues that came about in 2020 and 2021 –  all of these things can incite trauma,” Veach said. 

It may be hard to recognize events that may be traumatic for others.

“What may be trauma for them, may be a normal Tuesday morning for me,” Veach said. 

As far as media representation of PTSD, Veach says Batman’s origin story represents  PTSD well.

“You think about it, Bruce Wayne is the literary incarnation of PTSD,” Veach said.  “He doesn’t always handle it well and doesn’t always get it right, but he’s found a way to manage it.”

It took one bad day to turn Bruce Wayne into Batman. One bad day can change your life forever. 

“When you deal with your friends and family who you know have had one bad day- make sure you give that day the consideration it deserves, give it the thoughts and availability it deserves,” Veach says. 

Veach reminded everyone that at the end of the day, we’re all humans.

“Beyond race, creed, gender, sex, anything we go through on a daily basis, humans help humans,” Veach said.

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