Fighting A Secret War.
What Do You Think Of When You Hear Of a Service Dog For PTSD? If you’re like the overwhelming majority of the population, chances are you think of veterans.
You have good reason to do so.
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, 7 out of every 100 veterans will have PTSD.
Google "service dogs for PTSD," and overwhelmingly, you’ll find information and resources for organizations that help match veterans with service dogs. Even when you do a general Google search on PTSD, the articles that come up most often are related to veterans suffering. Again, with good reason. In general, resources for veterans are extremely lacking, and it’s wonderful to see at least the organizations out there doing what they can to help and educate.
However, I’m here to ask that whoever is reading this also begin to consider a broader population facing challenges related to PTSD, and honor the benefits we also experience from having service dogs by our side. Traumatic events can happen to any of us, at any time: school shootings, domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, natural disasters, poverty—the list goes on. My experience, as you know from reading this blog earlier, is that of sexual assault.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, “81% of women and 43% of men report experiencing sexual assault or abuse at some point in their lives. According to RAINN, “one in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault. 82% of all victims under 18 are female. Females ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.”
Those are heavy stats to read. This post isn’t about comparing which populations have it worse—veterans or sexual assault survivors—it's just about shedding some light on the situation and advocating for those of us who, generally speaking, are less likely to have a service dog, less likely to talk about having PTSD, and less likely to feel comfortable sharing anything about our stories.
A paper published in SAGE Journals titled, "Veterans of a Secret War: Survivors of Childhood Sexual Trauma Compared to Vietnam War Veterans with PTSD," however, does compare and sheds light on some key differences their studies documented. The author stated the following: "Data from a longitudinal study of women survivors of childhood sexual trauma documents the presence, over time, of the same symptoms that characterize post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam veterans—re-experiencing, avoidance of reminders or psychic numbing, and arousal. Survivors, as well as veterans, had endured conditions of helpless terror and threats to body and life. In both cases, traumatic violence was the antecedent of PTSD, and tenacious symptoms were the result. The sexual abuse survivors differed from veterans in several ways. The women were generally abused by family members, they were far younger at the time of their trauma, and they experienced it alone rather than in a group. Their abuse typically lasted longer, it was more likely to have been repressed, and therapy was much delayed. Despite an average of three decades separating trauma from treatment, significant progress toward healing was documented during the six-year period of this study.”
For me, all of the differences rang true—family member, young, alone. It lasted for years, and therapy was delayed.
It seems these days that the general public wants to see fewer service dogs. Because of the profound impact Millie has had on my life, I’d like to see more. Well-behaved and trained, of course, but more, yes. More, to me, signals a rise in mental health care, resources, knowledge sharing, and some form of healing for those of us who are ready to face our deeply buried demons.
So, the next time you see a service dog team, if their disability is not immediately evident or if they are not wearing something noting that they are a veteran, open your mind to the possibility that they may be an individual who fought a secret war, and in recent years, have just become brave enough to start to heal from it.
