The demons are hiding around corners
lurking in the shadows
watching you.
I know you feel the weight
of their gaze
hear the clink of their weapons
every day.
On the sunny days,
you outrun them
find smiles to return to those
around you
in their circles of care.
Other days,
smiles are barred growls,
the glow of sinister eyes pacing
around you,
squeezing life and hope
as their circle crushes in,
suffocating you.
Your demons on their unwitting backs
Your demons in their unwitting smiles
Your demons on their unwitting feet
Your demons in their expectations
Your incessant demons
invisible to others,
writhing,
circling,
just
there.
Shawn L. Bird 
post trauma, get help October 7, 2011
Tags: post traumatic stress disorder, postaday2011, ptsd, soldier boy, Stu Aspinall
A high school class mate of mine, Stu Aspinall, was touched by the story of a soldier returning from Afghanistan. The vet suffered from Post Traumatic Stress, and without the support he needed to deal with the depression and anxiety, he took his own life. Stu wrote a song called Soldier Boy to raise awareness and funds for PTSD. Every 99c download on iTunes and CD Baby will help support the cause. Stu has teamed up with the Veterans Transition Program at the University of British Columbia which is doing amazing work to help soldiers deal with PTSD.
PTSD is not the sole purvey of soldiers. Fire fighters, police officers, social workers, and victims of crime, among others, frequently must deal with trauma over what they are called upon to experience in their professional lives. I have seen this battle unfold up close, and I support Stu’s effort. It is all too common that men are told to ‘tough it out’ or ‘suck it up.’ Trauma produces very real damage to the psyche, and the resulting mental illness must be acknowledged and cared for. It is not a personal weakness, it is as real a wound as a shrapnel filled belly. It needs to be treated appropriately.
Check out Stu’s video on YouTube, and if you like what you hear, give the video an official thumbs’ up, and go spend 99c.
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