Disclaimer: article mentions suicide.
It’s Veterans Day weekend and San Luis Obispo County is sharing information about mental health resources for veterans.
Local veterans say it's important to have specific resources tailored for them.
"It's really a silent thing. It's not something that's easy to put your finger on and identify," said veteran Dave Glidden.
He spent 26 years in the military and says he didn't realize he had PTSD until after he got out.
"I did things that I never thought I was capable of doing. I saw things no human being should see and all of that had to be, I mean, secret. At 20-years-old and 19-years-old when you sign up for that, you don't realize what a burden that will be," Glidden said.
He says he was a part of special forces and most of what he did had to stay confidential.
Glidden went on to say that after getting out of the army, he went through a rough patch.
"I isolated and that's when the PTSD hit me," Glidden said. "PTSD was horrible. I didn't think there was anything wrong with me, but I had tried to commit suicide in Las Vegas when I lived there and had failed. I was angry that I had failed."
He says having specialized veteran mental health services was a huge help because there are some things civilians couldn't understand.
Seven percent of all veterans experience PTSD at some point, according to the VA.
Some of the San Luis Obispo County services available are a 24-hour crisis helpline you can access by calling 988 and pushing 1.
There are also therapists for veterans, including group therapy, and therapy for family members of veterans.
Since working through his own trauma, Glidden is now helping others with theirs.
"I was an advocate for a while and I had veterans who would call me at 3 in the morning, 'Hey Dave, I can't sleep'," Glidden said. "I said, 'Well, that's good I answered the phone because I'm not sleeping either, so tell me about it'."
He now works with the American Legion working to collect and distribute medical devices not only for veterans, but for civilians, too.
If you are a veteran in need of mental health resources, click here.
If you are in need of mental health resources, click here.
