Welcome to Wrong Planet. For what it is worth, I was a few years younger than you when my AS became official. Shortly after that the PTSD became official too. In my case however, it was not related to my military service. I had a very hard time trying to understand its origins though and the "professional" viewpoints didn't help any either until I ran accross the work of Jonathan Shay. His work was with veterans for the most part, however the concepts that he puts forth apply to those of us who developed PTSD from other causes as well. I strongly recommend that you check his work out. As a result of my reading his works and listening to his interviews, I can finally understand how and why I am as I am. Now I just need to try to manage the problems I have. Oh well, one step at a time I guess.
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"A man needs a little madness...or else...he never dares cut the rope and be free."
Nikos Kazantzakis, ZORBA THE GREEK
Some of us just have a little more madness than others!