Johnny,
Thanks so much for your kind words. These days I am not nearly as bad off as I once was. Every time I go to the VA, I see guys worse off than me and my heart breaks for them. A lot of guys bodies make it home, but their minds never do. Me, I got a little of both home, so I count my blessings. It's always good to know somebody cares, thanks.
And the rest of you maniacs, we can get better. I have gotten way better than I used to be. Yes, I have had a bit of a relapse, but this time I recognize that my hallucinations are hallucinations - not reality. I can dismiss them much more easily, and they no longer scare me. It's more a pain in the ass kind of thing than an Oh My God kind of thing.
It is a process. We just keep fighting, and one day we will wake up just fine. I know I will. I had a really good couple of years there before this relapse (thanks, as Johnny so rightly pointed out, to Big Oil), and I will have more too. Therapy, a good therapist, medications that work, and I believe in meditation as a powerful tool also. We must prevail, after all, it's only in our minds!