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Friday 25 January 2013

Dutch veterans in trouble are finally compensated












Hundreds of Dutch militairy veterans who served outside The Netherlands -for example for UN peacekeeping operations- & who are physically and/or mentally  [ptsd]  wounded received in october 2012 a significant financial compensation for their disablement & loss of income due to this.




 

 After 8 years of fun&games between the veterans' lawyers & the Dutch DOD the latter decided not to go to court but to pay each veteran an amount of taxfree cash according to the percentage of woundedness.
In example: a wounded veteran who has 50% of any war-related disablement/injury receives €65.000 & another few hundred € disablementpension  monthly.
Now we can put that war also behind us, finally.

Also positive to mention is  that the DOD's care by the veteransinstitute & de basis are constantly improving their help for veterans in trouble of any kind.
In my case that resulted -years ago- in intervening in the situation with help to find a good psychologist & psychotherapist, communications with my [former] employer, solving my 'funny' living situation and help with financial problems. I don't really like to admit it now but in that period I couldn't even function for 50% in all facets of life at that time. These things have changed my quality of life radically to the positive.


Something less positive is that right before this DOD's decision they changed the parameters of the examinationtests for troubled veterans with as result that most veterans dropped on their disablementpercentage mostly significant. A doctor told me this personally they had to do this
As if someone knew upfront that this could save the DOD a lot of money. Millions of euro's that is.

For those veterans who experience the following symptoms I can offer for free some easy 2 page  do-it-yourself tips how to handle -or even better- to get totally rid of ptsd:

- Communication & or obediance trouble at work or @ home, even getting fired/divorced.
- Financial trouble.
- Less & less need for social contacts.
- Headaches & sleepingproblems.
- Very tired & low on energy.
- Alcohol & or drugsuse/abuse.
- When hearing certain sounds like a jet fighter or firecrackers going off or smelling something 'funny' an instant reliving of past grim nasty events.
- Short fuse or even agressiveness.
- When someone points out to you that you might have ptsd, responding in denial at first.


There might be more but these were mine, all of them. And these 'adventures'  kept me in a loop almost impossible to escape from as it seemed at that time.
Remember to seek always professional help for physical or mental problems.
The selfhelp tips are written by Drake Bailey who served a tour in Vietnam with the rank of Corporal. 
A very special thanks to him!

(In The Netherlands this is named EMDR-therapy to my experience)



No one saves us but ourselves
No one can and no one may
We ourselves must walk the path
Buddha

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