Recovering from flashbacks and nightmares

Brent:

Just a few years ago, I woke up myself up and broke my hand because I was punching a wall because I was in flashback nightmare. The guy was trying to kill me, and I was fighting back. Just a few months ago, I was going on the highway and there was a terrible accident. The guy got killed. And a big diesel RV rear ended the guy and I was, the median and then he was there, so I was 100 feet away watching this and brought in Medevac in, helicopter and that night, I had flashbacks and nightmares. I wasn't sleeping. I was having the flashbacks. Explosive outbursts. Just the littlest thing I'd blow up.

Brent:

I was depressed, and I'd never had, I've always been even with all the issues I felt I was even keel. Then all of a sudden, I just hit rock bottom. And when I went to the VA doc I said, “I don't know how to be depressed” Which sounds kind of stupid. Who knows how to be depressed? I'd never had any experience with it. I'd probably been that way for a long time, but just didn't realize it.

Brent:

And he said, “Because of the chronic pain and everything else, I'd be surprised if you weren't.” “I'd be worried if you weren't.” So, the last 5 years or so, I had been seeing the docs at the VA and it's great.