HOUSTON – They fight the enemy and witness death and destruction before returning home. But sadly, the mental effects of war don't go away for many veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
Now there is new hope for veterans in Houston battling the disease.
"I miss the Marine Corps. I really do, every day," said former Marine Vince Bryant.
Bryant, of Houston, spent eight years serving our country. He was honorably discharged in 2009 as a sergeant in the Marine Corps. That was after two deployments to Iraq in the country's volatile and deadly Al Anbar province.
"I've seen a lot of death," Bryant said.
Shortly after returning home, Bryant wasn't himself. Angry outbursts around his daughters, girlfriend and in public became routine.
He eventually sought help at the Debakey VA Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed him with PTSD.
"If it's not treated, PTSD can go on for decades," said Dr. Karin Thompson, the PTSD program director at Debakey.
She said 10 years ago PTSD was thought of as a disorder people couldn't recover from. But treatments in recent years have shifted from support based to therapy based and yielded better results.
"What we know now is that people can actually get better from PTSD if we give them the treatments that we know works," Thompson said.
One of the treatments involves prolonged exposure therapy, where veterans are put in environments meant to trigger the stress points that lead to their PTSD.
"It was an issue for me to smell certain things, to go to certain restaurants, so prolonged exposure puts you in that situation," Bryant said. "You might think, you know, why put you in a situation you don't want to deal with? Well, guess what? That's more of a reason to put you in it because you never overcame it the first time."
As a result of a combination of treatments, Bryant now works at Debakey as a peer support specialist. He helps other veterans recover from PTSD.
Mental health professionals -- along with Bryant and his family -- are embracing the new treatments as a way to save our veterans.
"Now that he's more calm, and now that they also understand some of the things that he was going through -- and me too understanding that -- it makes a difference," said Vanessa Posey, Brant's girlfriend.
"I believe in 'there's no me without we.' We are a cohesive unit," Bryant said. "And now veterans are being helped daily from peer support."
"Mental health professionals said one of the biggest obstacles to treating veterans for PTSD is that there are still too many who avoid seeking treatment for a variety of reasons. That's a contributing factor to the suicide rate of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, which is currently 23 per day.