One Mans Journey to Help Those With PTSD

Meyers will be in Carrollton at Two Rivers Restaurant at General Butler around 6:00 p.m.

File Photo

(Carrollton, Ky.) - Steve Meyers began a 6,000-mile walk across the United States of America to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder. He began this walk on February 15 and will walk through 20 States to meet with veterans, first responders, medical professionals, and people interested in post-traumatic stress.

Meyers entered into the United States Army in 1996 at the age of 20 where he then retired from the United States Army in 2016 as an SFC/E-7 after serving 22 years. He was deployed seven times to Imminent Danger Pay Areas (Bosnia 1996-1997, Turkey 2003, Qatar 2005, Iraq 2005, 2006-2007, Egypt 2011-12, Afghanistan 2013).

Meyers says events from the 2006-2007 Iraq deployment deeply troubled him. Saying “back then, it was common knowledge that if you sought mental health treatment, your security clearance would be in jeopardy.”

In 2008 the U.S. Army changed the security clearance policy, allowing Soldiers with mental health issues to receive care without losing their job. Meyers used the opportunity and sought help in 2008, where he says his trust was betrayed and he refused to seek help again. In December 2009 he had suicidal thoughts and he gave away many of his possessions.

In 2015, Meyers sought medical attention for PTSD he says that if his wife wouldn't have urged him then his PTSD, would "be a shadow of the past."

Most think that PTSD is only a mental disorder, but it also comes with a lot of physical effects that come along with PTSD. These such things are rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases.

Meyers will be stopping by Carrollton around 2:00 p.m. today and will be having dinner with Cathy Fornash at Two Rivers Restaurant at General Butler around 6:00 p.m. if you would like to stop by and meet him.

If you would like to learn more about Meyers’ story, you can visit his website.

If you would like to learn more about PTSD you can visit the National Center for PTSD.