COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Nearly every single war has a beginning and an end, but what happens to many soldiers that participated in those battles can last forever.
They're the wounds you can't see -- the hidden wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder.
But there is help out there for those suffering from PTSD. For example, there's a homeless shelter for war veterans in Columbia where sharing their stories is a way of healing those wounds one day at a time.
Steven Diaz is there to help and be helped. The Iraq war veteran has PTSC triggered by an IED explosion. Diaz manages his disorder and wants to help others through a non profit and the shelter.
"It's a community effort," said Diaz, "it's a family effort."
Diaz knows life isn't easy -- far from it -- for any soldier home from war. Soldiers must move from the extremes of deployment and back to the comforts of home.
"I had a mental breakdown," said one veteran by the name of Charles. "I was at a point of where I wanted to commit suicide."
Charles was the only veteran in the group who agreed to share his story, and that's not surprising. Most of the vets we spoke to developed PTSd in combat.
For Charles, the hardcore process of getting "combat ready" was enough for him.
"It's a lot of pain out there," Charles said. "I'm living it. I hear the nightmares. I don't got it quite as bas as some, but a lot of my brothers, at night you can hear them."
It's a familiar story for USC psychiatrist Dr. Kenny Phelps.
Dr. Phelps says PTSD is anxiety out of control that can destroy families and last years. Often times, soldiers turn to drugs and alcohol to dull that anxiety.
Finding an answer to the tough questions of PTSD is a problem for many veterans. Many avoid seeking help, fearing a diagnosis that may lead to benefits being cut, a security clearance downgrade, or the stigma.
"In some ways, American culture is kinda 'pick yourself up by the bootstrap' mentality," said one veteran.
But in group therapy sessions at the center, that "bootstrap" mentality is replaced with a buddy mentality. It's that connection, that ability to relate to stories of war in a foreign land, that plays a big part in fighting the war in their heads.
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