Living with PTSD as an American Soldier

Experiencing Taco Mac with PTSD

10/10/12

Courtney Hering

  

My husband and I love going out to eat at Taco Mac. Mainly, we love going for the bar food and variety of beers that they have to try and enjoy but, a lot of the times, it is hard for us to go out to such busy and popular restaurants. My husband was a Staff Sergeant in the 82^nd Airbourne, 2^nd 325. He served for seven years and was discharged due to mental health problems. He suffers from a very severe case of PTSD. For those who do not know what PTSD stands for, it means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A lot of the symptoms include anxiety, depression, a sense of vertigo, in some cases, and being very sensitive to the environment. For my husband, there are many things, called triggers, that set off his PTSD and many of them can be found in public places. When we first had gotten there on a Saturday night, it was extremely crowded. Large crowds and people who are very loud make my husband nervous. He tends to be on the alert whenever he is around so many people because it reminds him of being in the streets of Iraq. Always having to be on the alert and make sure no one is trying to kill him. So, when we finally got a table, the table we were given was one of the table tops. We usually prefer booths; they make him feel more secure but, it was all they had available at the time. When we sat down, a football game seemed to be raging on and, being a football fan myself, I wanted to enjoy watching the game but, I had to make sure to calm my husband down and make him feel more secure because of where we were seated. He had to make sure that he could see the door.

If he ever sits with the door to his back, it makes him nervous because he can’t see the exit. Every time we are in any public establishment, my husband likes to know where all the entrances or exits are so that he has a quick escape plan if something were to go wrong. We were really only able to stay for a drink and appetizer because it became too much for him. The signs that have the bright neon colors tend to bother his eyes and make him anxious because they are so bright. He has sensitive eye sight and, even though it doesn’t have much to do with his PTSD, it still adds to his uncomfortable feelings. Overall, we were still able to have a fun time but, if we were to have asked for special seating, they did not have the booths that seat two people, which is always convenient because it isn’t taking up more room than we would have needed to begin with. A lot of the times, when we ask for a booth for two, we would have to wait almost 20 minutes more than if we were to have just taken the table top, like we did.

There was a lot of crowding and I know a lot of the times, restaurants don’t have a lot to work with, space wise but, they had so many tables cramped into one area that it was almost ridiculous to think that people would sit altogether like that. Everyone was super loud too because of the football game that was going on so, that made it uncomfortable for both of us to be in the middle of it all. Even though we love going to Taco Mac, it is still a challenge to go at nighttime mainly because of the crowds that end up gathering there and the limited space that is available. Thankfully my husband has a pretty good hold on his PTSD because, if an unstable veteran with PTSD were to have been put in that kind of situation, someone could get hurt. I feel like Taco Mac or any busy establishment for that matter, should be more aware of the kind of people who like to come to their businesses. Veterans love to go to bars and have a fun time just like everyone else but, I feel like there should be some kind of area they don’t let get crowded and the seating in the restaurant should be set out further as opposed to cramming as many tables as they can into one area.