Valley Forge Village in Sauk Centre: Why Was I So Intense?

I got more, ah, intense than I usually do in the last post: "Valley Forge Village in Sauk Centre, Melting Ice and St. Pat's Day is Coming" (March 7, 2010).

Saying, of my household, that "we've been 'unsavory people'...."?

It's not just that my family hasn't lived the country club set's lifestyle. I realize that I was taking opposition to the VFV personally for another reason.

Once again, that's Valley Forge Veteran's Village Project. An explanation of their purpose may help explain the concerns that some of my neighbors felt:

"As the conflict continues in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, the prevalence of soldiers coming home with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will become a major concern for our society. PTSD is characterized by hyper-vigilance, anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, anger, emotional numbness, paranoia, depression, and insomnia...."
(Valley Forge Veteran's Village Project)

I'm not a veteran. My draft classification was 4-F. I still haven't made up my mind whether that was good news or bad news. I got that classification because I'm a cripple, by the way: and that's another topic.

Many soldiers come home from war without PTSD. Good for them. Some do. Not because they're weak, or bad: but because that's what happened to them. Not everybody is exactly alike. Some handle stress better than others - and some get stressed more than others.

Sure, it's a bit unsettling to realize that 'crazy' people will be living at the old Home School property. Maybe just as unsettling as realizing that you're reading something written by a 'crazy' person.

Still with me?

I was diagnosed with major depression a few years ago. I've been prescribed serotonin uptake inhibitors and another drug to keep anxiety under control. That did for my brain what artificial hip sockets did for my legs: gave me a reasonable facsimile of normal function.

How do I feel about taking drugs to keep my brain working right? The same as I do about having to wear glasses to drive: it's an imperfection that I deal with, part of being alive. If anything, I'm glad that all I have to do is swallow tablets at prescribed intervals to function normally.

The way I see it, I'd be crazy to stop taking them.

Related posts:

• "Prayer, Medicine and Trusting God"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (March 4, 2010)
• "Medical Ethics and Human Experimentation: Why I Take it Personally"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (February 3, 2009)