Questions for ex Military....

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.45colt
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Questions for ex Military....

Post by .45colt »

I have a neighbor who was in the Marines and saw action in Iraq . Appears to have severe PTSD . writes military code on the front of the house , is paranoid about everything , there is always someone trying to get him . got fired from his job last year and lives alone . the house is a run down wreck that needs to be demolished.
He usually walks around in full military dress with a Kevlar vest on . He is often up for days at a time watching everything. if He hears some one shooting He goes completely nuts. He was gone all winter as there is no heat in the house and it was heaven for us..... now He is back. I have talked to some of His extended Family and He won't take their offers for Help. He is 6'4 without an ounce of fat. the Sheriff has been called several times and three cars usually show up. I am living next to John Rambo. if I listed all of the crazy stuff He has done it looks like a bad movie.
Is there Help from the government ? I hate to get involved but My Wife is scared to death as We never know what is going to happen. We have tried to be kind and supportive and it doesn't make any difference.
No sense trying to move as nobody would want to live next door. Any ideas ? thanks for listening.
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wvfarrier
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by wvfarrier »

If you can convince his family to do it they can have a 72 hour mental hold put on him without his consent. Law Enforcement can do it as well if they feel he is a danger to himself or others. Thats about all you can do. Im prior military and ran into this with a neighbor who was a Vietnam vet and was completly detsched from reality. We tried every legal means to get him away from us but no one would/could help. It wasnt until he wrecked his motorcycle that he got some real help. The accident ripped his arm off, he picked it up and walked to the hospital. While there the staff noticed him showing signs of schizophrenia and got him squared away. He was a pretty good guy when he took his meds but was evil without them. You can try contacting the local VA hospital and asking them for help, see if you can get into contact with someone in their psych unit.
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Pisgah
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Pisgah »

I wish I had an answer for you, but this country has neither the legal ways nor the medical means to adequately address the mental health needs of its citizens, veteran or no. I have a cousin who has suffered from extreme mental illness for decades, beginning with his Navy service in Vietnam, and although the family has done everything we could to try to help the situation, we have found it very difficult to get him in to treatment voluntarily and downright impossible to force him in to it. We've been through VA, Department of Mental Health, Dept. of Social Services, court, police -- you name it. There is no way to get him in anywhere, except jail, and unfortunately those who don't end up dead often end up there -- no place for improvement of mental health, even if you're mentally fit when you go in. I am totally invested in protection of individual rights, but I sure wish there were some way to help folks like these, even if they don't want it.
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Pisgah »

>If you can convince his family to do it they can have a 72 hour mental hold put on him without his consent. Law Enforcement can do it as well if they feel he is a >danger to himself or others. Thats about all you can do.



And maybe that won't even work. Police have taken my cousin in twice for 72-hour observation -- they turned him over to a psychiatrist in the hospital, who kept him a few hours and sent him home.
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Sixgun
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Sixgun »

I wouldn't do nothing...let him make his own path......if you get involved in any way and start making phone calls he is going to be looking at YOU and your WIFE to take his wrath on......I'd just wave, say hello and MYOB.........

A mentally deranged individual does not think with reason......innocent people are murdered everyday......back in my day people who showed mental illness were put in institutions but that's too expensive for the government today so they give these people pills and mainstream them .....after all, the ones who make these laws don't have to pay the repercussions of nuts walking around them so don't let the government's downfalls make you fall.

Keep your eyes and ears open and carry a gun.....it's sad and unlucky for you to draw the wrong cards on having a neighbor like him but these types eventually crack so don't let him crack at YOUR expense....you and your wife will be just a statistic as far as our elected officials are concerned..........

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GunnyMack
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by GunnyMack »

I wonder if guys that he served with, same unit, could get through to him? I have the utmost respect for our vets, hope the best for him. Its sad how poorly vets have been treated.
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Blaine
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Blaine »

Sixgun wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 12:02 pm I wouldn't do nothing...let him make his own path......if you get involved in any way and start making phone calls he is going to be looking at YOU and your WIFE to take his wrath on......I'd just wave, say hello and MYOB.........

A mentally deranged individual does not think with reason......innocent people are murdered everyday......back in my day people who showed mental illness were put in institutions but that's too expensive for the government today so they give these people pills and mainstream them .....after all, the ones who make these laws don't have to pay the repercussions of nuts walking around them so don't let the government's downfalls make you fall.

Keep your eyes and ears open and carry a gun.....it's sad and unlucky for you to draw the wrong cards on having a neighbor like him but these types eventually crack so don't let him crack at YOUR expense....you and your wife will be just a statistic as far as our elected officials are concerned..........

006
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AJMD429
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by AJMD429 »

I have had some schizophrenic patients like that over the years.

The ones who have a devoted family member who can make sure they take medicine usually do well, and are pretty much normal to interact with. Without that, the only safe place is an institutional setting where they are forced to take their medication. Sadly, unlike one flew over the cuckoo‘s nest, the medications we have today can pretty much make them normal, so the institutional setting seems weird, but it is really necessary. As others have said, politics and funding have made that difficult. The government certainly spends a lot of money on stupid stuff that I’d rather see spent on these people.

And yes, on a personal level, the best thing is to have the highest level of vigilance, and work very hard to have a ‘distant but friendly’ relationship if possible. Get to know whatever about them that you can, but let them know as little as possible about you; even inventing a different ‘you’ to share with them if need be. You need to be one of the ‘good guys’ in their world. Sometimes that even means acting as if you believe some of their delusions. To the extent you can do that, it gives you two advantages. One is that you have a better idea of their mindset, how close they are to acting out violently, and in what manner. Of course that can change even faster than a normal person, and tge more intelligent and mentally adept the patient is, the more they can keep ahead of you. The second advantage to having at least some level of communication with them is that if you sense hostilities building that could potentially involve you, sometimes you can skillfully redirect them or calm them. Invent a vulnerability that would be their path of approach if they did want to harm you (“...I’m deathly afraid of ___; I’d be paralyzed with fear if I ever saw a ___...”, or “...ever since ___, I’ve been afraid to have a gun even in the house...”), so that gives you a potential edge in that they would potentially be approaching you along a path assuming they had an advantage they did not.

And yes, the BEST help could come from a past-life friend, especially the right veteran, but the odds of getting that to happen are slim.

I hear ads for lots of private groups I have help veterans, even with things like getting all-terrain wheelchair so that they can hunt if they are handicapped. Think about those sorts of groups as a potential resource, not because this is up their alley, but because they would know people and resources that the rest of us would be unaware of. Groups like that aren’t going to have the bureaucratic stuff in the way like the official government bureaucracies do.
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.45colt
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by .45colt »

Thanks for the input guys....His Mom and Sister are supposed to be coming from out of state to view the property this summer , and try to decide what to do. I have known Him since He was a newborn . I told Him last year after He was arrested for domestic violence that We don't want bad things for Him. but He has got to make some hard choices. He is very smart and cunning but I think on drugs most of the time. I have loaded shot guns all over the house. I hope I never need them.....
And Yes Six We have been minding our business for about seven years since He moved back. one Sunday night in the winter it was about zero outside and I heard a chainsaw in the woods at 11.30 pm. He was cutting trees down like pixie sticks to keep enemy's from storming the house.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

God bless him. I'm not sure that you can really do anything without risking some serious problems.

I know you mean well and you want to feel safer, but I think that I would let him be and just keep an eye out. You don't want to get into a position where he blames his troubles on you.
mickbr
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by mickbr »

I was in the military then contracted in the 3rd world another decade. Stories like this are far too common and dont sound like PTSD to me. I think its the drugs they put soldiers on now when they come back. In the day, you got breifed about the effects of 'deployment fatigue' upon return. Tiredness, crankiness, feeling distanced, detatched. The advice was get back into your routine and most of it comes back on line. Now for the same symptoms soldiers are told they have mental illness and get to the doc rightaway for a laundry list of heavy drugs. Some of the drugs, like the Anti-psychotics are real heavy hammers- permanent personality scramblers. In my FB friend list I had ex-mil contractors, non mil contractors, and pure military guys. All see about the same levels of service, in fact contractors can spend years more in warzones. Yet the pure military guys are the only one having all the suicides and weirdness when they get back. The only difference between the groups I can see is the military guys are given all these prescriptions. If this is the case, big pharma has a lot to answer for.
octagon
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by octagon »

A old pal of mine is an officer with the local American Legion, they do a lot of work with Veteran's who have various problems, he travels all over helping Vets. Through him, I deliver firewood to the older fellows. Maybe the Legion might know of some available resources. Sounds like a difficult scenario. Good luck.
hfcable
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by hfcable »

sounds like more than just PTSD, probably is bi polar as well. sure needs help, and it is a pity that there is no easy way to help him
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Marvin S
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by Marvin S »

What Six said. There’s nothing you can do but steer clear.
stretch
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Re: Questions for ex Military....

Post by stretch »

The ones who have a devoted family member who can make sure they take medicine usually do well, and are pretty much normal to interact with.
I feel for ya. There's nothing one can really do about a problem neighbor, and they can make life miserable.
As others have said, keeping your head down and ignoring him as much as is possible is the correct approach.

We had a neighbor whose son came down with Schizophrenia. The kid was actually aware that this was
happening, but it was a rough year or two before things got sorted out. His Mom and Dad were militant
about making sure that he took his meds, and he's pretty much normal now. He'll be on meds for the rest
of his life, and we're all concerned about what will happen when his parents pass on. When he forgot to take
his pills, it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. "Jeff, did you forget your medicine today?"

I wish you the best of luck.

-Stretch
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