CLE ELUM – For Vietnam War combat veteran John Prouty of Cle Elum, there are several situations that bring on his inward struggle with post-traumatic stress from his war experiences.

“The sound of helicopters, just that sound,” Prouty, 62, said. “You knew in Vietnam that jumping off from a helicopter and getting picked up was the most dangerous time. Charlie knew it was an opportunity to kill you when you stepped out of your cover.

“My body tightens up, I get on high alert and I  break out in a cold sweat. It really upsets me. You’d think I’d be over it after more than 40 years.”

Prouty started going to counseling three years ago for his particular set of symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. He believes he’s made more headway in dealing with them in the last 1 1/2 years in counseling with Paul Pridmore of Wenatchee who has office hours once a week in Ellensburg.

Prouty began to better understand, through counseling, why he responds the way he does to certain situations that bring out anxiety and anger.

No magic words

Prouty said counselor Pridmore, who also serves in the Washington Army National Guard, didn’t have “magic words of wisdom” that took his problems away “and fixed everything.”

Pridmore carefully listened to Prouty’s war experience, his perspective and beliefs about his military service and his PTSD reactions and helped him develop coping strategies and self-help techniques.

Prouty had to face close proximity to helicopters and their sounds last year when he drove a fuel truck for the state Department of Natural Resources. He brought fuel to locations where the DNR’s fire-fighting helicopters were working.

“I got myself ready for each situation and had to deal with it,” Prouty said. “Some things you can change with the help of counseling, other things you just have to find ways to work through them.”

Prouty said his 27-year-old son served in Iraq with the National Guard for a year starting in late 2003, attached to a regular U.S. Army unit. His son is now getting occasional counseling from Pridmore.

“I really wish I hadn’t ignored it for 40 years,” Prouty said about PTSD. “We didn’t have counseling available when we came back from Vietnam like they have now. We also didn’t get the respect Iraq veterans are getting now. There were times back then when I didn’t want to admit I’d been in the military because of people’s reaction.

“I thought I was serving my country the best I could when I was in Vietnam.”

One in four?

Pridmore, 38,  said if previous wars are any indication, more veterans of service in Iraq and Afghanistan will seek out counseling for PTSD as the years go on.

“I would agree right now we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg of those who could benefit from PTSD counseling,” said Pridmore who has been a counselor since 2000. “Obviously, those coming back after more than one deployment are more likely to have serious struggles.”

He said the latest estimates are that one Iraq/Afghansistan veteran in five could have some aspect of PTSD to deal with. He believes that the actual number is likely closer to one in four, perhaps as high as 30 percent.

Russell Anderson, veterans’ counselor with Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health in Ellensburg, said most of the problems he’s seen among combat vets he’s assisted have to do with difficulty with social functioning and interpersonal relationships.

He said that’s pretty much the same, no matter what war or conflict they were involved in.

Anderson, 60, served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam between December 1967 and December 1968. He has 21 years of veteran counseling experience with the federal Veterans Administration.

“The times, the units, the lingo, the terrain, the countries and local people are all different,” Anderson said, “but the combat experiences and the impact of those experiences on the veterans’ lives does not change much.”

Silence breaking

Anderson said listening to the details of each vets’ experience is a key part of counseling; he said it’s called “breaking the silence.”

“The vet discovers quickly when they come back that most people don’t understand what they’re talking about when they try to share their experience,” Anderson said. “Those struggling with PTSD usually have the same concerns — reintegrating into society and dealing with memories of combat.”

Both Anderson and Pridmore agreed their military experience helps them better understand veterans’ struggles and to build a sense of trust with their clients.

They also agreed more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will likely come forward for help the farther removed they are from their years of service.

“It’s usually later, after returning from deployment, when a veteran starts to think about his or her experience and tries to attach a meaning to it that they may have the onset of PTSD symptoms,” Pridmore said.

Possible warning signs of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Depression and isolation from family, friends, significant others; avoidance of social situations and interaction with the public.

• Flashes of unreasonable anger and rage; high levels of irritability and anxiety; over-reaction to stress situations.

• Difficulty with expressing intimacy in relationships.

• Sleep disturbances, including nightmares,  sustained restlessness, getting up often at night.

• Hyper vigilance of one’s physical surroundings and heightened concern with perceived and possible  threats to safety.

• Sometimes PTSD can exhibit itself in an increase in substance abuse in an effort to self-medicate; there can be much defensiveness when asked about drinking or substance abuse.

• The above situations can be experienced in a wide range of intensities and combinations.

— Source: Veterans counselor Russell Anderson.

Finding Help

Online:

• www.dva.wa.gov, click “war trauma counseling.”

• www.vetcenter.va.gov, click on “vet center services.”

• www.ncptsd.org

• www.iava.org

Books:

• "Down Range: To Iraq and Back" by Chuck Dean and Bridget Cantrell.

• "Nam Vets" by Chuck Dean.

• "Once a Warrior: Wired for Life" by Chuck Dean.

Call:

• Counselor Paul Pridmore (after July 26) (509) 322-0993; Counselor/therapist Russell Anderson 925-9861.