jabatam
New member
I am an OIF veteran that spent over 12 years as an airborne infantryman. Shortly after being discharged from the US Army, I was diagnosed by doctors at the VA with PTSD.
One of the side effects is what some would call being "scatter-brained." My mind goes a million miles per hour and I have a hard time concentrating on more than one thing at a time. It's bad enough that I have a routine that I follow, to include a list of things to make sure I have when I walk out of my bedroom posted right next to the door. If I break my routine, I seriously increase the risk of forgetting something that could be important.
At the end of February this year, I was at the eye doctor's office for my daughter. While she was being examined, I used the bathroom. I removed my pistol that was in my inside-the-belt holster and placed it on the handicap rail. When I was done, I washed my hands and went about my business.
An hour later, after I was already at home, I was unloading everything out of my pants and it was then that I realized my pistol was not there. It only took a moment to realize where I had left it and I began to seriously panic. I called the office and they informed me that the police had secured it. At that point I began breathing a whole lot easier; at least it did not wind up in the hands of a kid.
It took a couple of months to get it back, in which I'm sure the P.D. raped the hell out of it...but I did get it back. This led me to come up with an S.O.P. (or a routine, if you will) for situations such as using public restrooms that will ensure this mistake never happens again.
My question is this: am I alone here or do any of you have similar experiences or problems with carrying due to PTSD or other anxiety disorders?
Please let me know and thank you for reading.
One of the side effects is what some would call being "scatter-brained." My mind goes a million miles per hour and I have a hard time concentrating on more than one thing at a time. It's bad enough that I have a routine that I follow, to include a list of things to make sure I have when I walk out of my bedroom posted right next to the door. If I break my routine, I seriously increase the risk of forgetting something that could be important.
At the end of February this year, I was at the eye doctor's office for my daughter. While she was being examined, I used the bathroom. I removed my pistol that was in my inside-the-belt holster and placed it on the handicap rail. When I was done, I washed my hands and went about my business.
An hour later, after I was already at home, I was unloading everything out of my pants and it was then that I realized my pistol was not there. It only took a moment to realize where I had left it and I began to seriously panic. I called the office and they informed me that the police had secured it. At that point I began breathing a whole lot easier; at least it did not wind up in the hands of a kid.
It took a couple of months to get it back, in which I'm sure the P.D. raped the hell out of it...but I did get it back. This led me to come up with an S.O.P. (or a routine, if you will) for situations such as using public restrooms that will ensure this mistake never happens again.
My question is this: am I alone here or do any of you have similar experiences or problems with carrying due to PTSD or other anxiety disorders?
Please let me know and thank you for reading.