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Army Logistics University
A post-traumatic stress disorder outreach seminar here Sept. 17-18 featured Bob Delaney, a former New Jersey state trooper, who has written a book on the topic and is now a national speaker.
Delaney said the issue of PTSD reaches far beyond the military and emphasized the need for a “safe environment” for those suffering to share with others.
“Post-traumatic stress is not just about Iraq and Afghanistan or any other war; in actuality, the most common event leading to post-traumatic stress is an automobile accident,” Delaney said.
Delaney’s notoriety as a trooper came with his experiences as an undercover agent infiltrating the Mafia. His part in the investigations led to the arrest and conviction of almost 30 organized crime members but ultimately left him suffering from post-traumatic stress.
“Post-traumatic stress is a human condition, not a mental illness,” Delaney said. “We are all susceptible to post-traumatic stress; it’s just that the military, law enforcement and our first responders are at a higher risk.”
Delaney said his healing was achieved in the form of “peer-to-peer” therapy with the help of former FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone (alias Donnie Brasco, who’s own undercover work with the Mafia has been chronicled in both a book and a movie) and by taking a job as a basketball referee. He eventually went on to a 25-year career in the NBA, fielding plays by basketball legends such as Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Kobe Bryant.
Delaney said that in order to alleviate post-traumatic stress, people need a safe environment with others who shared similar experiences in order to have that conversation about their post-traumatic stress.
In other words, Delaney said, the safe environment“lets the air out of the balloon.”
Delaney has authored two books – “Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob” and “Surviving the Shadows: a Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress.”
The actual story can be found in the Fort Lee newspaper, the Traveller, at: http://www.fortleetraveller.com/.
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