Penny Coleman: House Hearing: Stopping Suicides: Part 1

12/12/2007. Penny Coleman, author of "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War" http://www.flashbackhome.com testified before the House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee hearing: "Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs".

This is part 1 of 2 parts.

The full 3 hr. 54 min. presentation is available on http://www.cspan.org (instructions can be found on http://www.flashbackhome.com/hearing.html )

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ptsd
• post
• traumatic
• stress
• disorder
• posttraumatic
• suicide
• flashback
• veterans
• war
• Penny
• Coleman

[margot980]

Isn't she wonderful! She is so clear and direct about everything she had to learn the hard way.

When I googled the title of her book (Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Lessons of War), I got the google did you mean question:

Did you mean: Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Reasons of War

Penny has admirably cut through the blither used to dismiss and discard people. She has given us her zest, clarity and hope.

Bravo!

[HillsideAS]

Yes, she is wonderful. If you found her testimony before Congress interesting and valuable; hopefully you will have an opportunity to read her book.

Google does offer the "did you mean" link when you used the title as you did. But you used the correct title -- it is "...Lessons of War".

Fortunately the search does get you to her website!

[TomSmithMusic]

Thank you for sharing this exerpt of Penny Coleman's appearance before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. To those of you who view this video, I suggest you take the time to view Part 2 as well. Ms. Coleman has a powerful message.

-Tom

[HillsideAS]

Hi Tom, Thanks for your positive feedback on Penny's appearance. As I said with the video, the entire hearing is available online and includes testimony by other family members of PTSD suicide victims. They offer equally powerful testimony. Regards, Mike

[margot980]

Hillside, I was simply giving google the smirk for replacing "lessons" with "reasons"! I couldn't have thought of a more absurd suggestion had I tried for days. Where do those suggestions come from???

[YankeeNovember]

Thanks for the interview, Penny, I hope it helps our servicemen and women to know that, while PTSD may never be cured, there is a way to live with it.

Pat Hayes

[isartal]

My thanks to and admiration for Ms.Coleman. My thoughts went to all war victims, but also to all those war-mongerer who "declared", but "NOT fight" the war. Didn't someone recently say that GI's actions in Iraq are "noble"? There is nothing "noble" about war, and those who say that war brings out the "good, noble, and honourable" in human beings, are just "political morons". "A human being is a rope fastened between the Beast and the Superhuman - a rope over an Abyss" (Nietzsche).

[welcomehappiness]

I am an ex British Soldier, who thought he was hard until 5 weeks ago, when I broke, I have been diagnosed with Mixed anxiety, depressive, stress disorder as a consequence of Traumas. This I am told is because you need one unique event to call it PTSD. I have been told I have suffered with PTSD and coped From the Gulf War/Northern Ireland.

I think what Mrs Coleman is doing is amazing, Mrs Coleman is fighting for people like me who are still alive and she doesn't have to,Thank you Mrs Coleman.