I was diagnosed in 06, in 07 I applied for the Fire Dept and fought with 1800+ other candidates for the 36 available positions. I studied my ass off, I worked like hell, passed two written exams with 98% +5% for VA pref, passed the CPAT physical exam with the fastest time out of the remaining 380 candidates, drug test no prob, background and lie detector were scary but passed through, made it to the chief and he gave me the thumbs up.

It's been 11 months since I started now, I moved 4k because I couldn't afford to fly down every month and I speak to the psychologist... o joy... There are now 32 people left in the running, everyone else has been cut. The interview is going fine than she ask if I was ever treated for a mental illness and I said "Yes, I was treated for PTSD after I returned from Iraq" she bitch immediately stopped and looked at me and said "Why were you treated for PTSD?" I told her "It was a rough year and I needed some help to get me through everything that happened but I'm better now" than the bitch has the audacity to say "So you couldn't handle it by yourself?" and I replied "If you have to watch your best friends blown to piece than pick up their body part, I think you might have a hard time coping as well."

Needless to say, I was dropped from the program. 1 more year of my life was wasted. It's been about 8 months since then and I've been on a steady spiral downwards. I honestly do believe that I would have been a good FF and that it would have helped me to get into that kind of Para Military routine again but because a psychologist can't understand why someone would ever need to be treated for PTSD, we'll never know.

Hi Jetto, I think you can fight her denial based on discrimination. They might put you through some psych tests but if you pass I don't see how they can deny you. Otherwise, threaten to sue them and find an attorney.

Good Luck!
Tammy

Agree one hundred percent..........standing up for our rights is tough, seems I"ve been doing it my whole life, tiring. But that kind of treatment is secondary wounding and you need to seek justice.

This seems like outrageous bigotry. If he made it thru a war, how could ptsd possibly make him unfit for firefighting?

You might have answered the questions dfferently. Next time, less aggression-it's a trick anyway. They are not looking really for whether you are stable but how you react to someone cutting to close to a vulnerable area of your life-it's a way of weeding out candidates even if they don't need to do so. Next time just say that the military wants to ensure everyone who has gone thru a firefight is fit to must back into duty, and so you went thru the motions until they did-no big deal at all, just routine bueracratic stuff.

Absolutely -- APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL.

The therapist was wrong to make a snap judgment against you. You deserved a detailed analysis at a minimum.

If you are indeed healthy -- if you've worked through the PTSD and feel you are able to function well (congratulations!!) -- then you have every right to expect fair consideration and not have it held against you.

'You couldn't handle it yourself' -- that is the biggest pile of bullshit I have heard in a while. Of course not... PTSD isn't like stubbing your toe. We need help to get well... but that doesn't mean we are somehow insufficient or incapable!! And some PTSDers do get well enough again to be able to function quite well!! *Shame* on her.

Bailey

TLight, I feel a little awkward pointing this out, but the statement above really oversteps Jetto's boundaries.

Jetto might not see it as "secondary wounding" even if you do. Jetto might simply be pissed off about it, but not necessarily wounded... diagnosing a perfect stranger with your perception of injury is a bit over-reaching.

Similarly, it is not our place to tell Jetto what his needs are. Maybe you would like for him to seek justice. Maybe you are even personalizing this situation and are feeling Jetto's pain, so that you feel the need to seek justice. However, only Jetto knows his own needs. We can be supportive and we can suggest what we think he should do ("I think you should seek justice,") but to tell him "you need to seek justice" is just over the line.

I realize I might sound picky, but boundaries are a common issue for folks on this board, which is why I am bringing it up. More often than not it is something that does need to be addressed.


Bailey

Sheesh, I did'nt relize ptsd is a mental disorder. I just thought something traumatic happened, there it is, something happens in the brain. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! Can't get the quotes to work, sorry.