On the Rim of Discovery, Documentary Movie

PHOENIX - Oct. 5, 2017 - PRLog -- Deep in pristine Ponderosa forest, on the Mogollon Rim of Payson, Arizona, we meet 8 US Military Veterans. These are Veterans who've been diagnosed with PTSD.  Their common ground is their service, together they fight the stigma of mental illness, as they try to heal and reintegrate into civilian society.
    We will be documenting the camaraderie, and challenges, as we conduct personal interviews. Once the Veterans arrive at the campsite they will introduce themselves (first name, rank, and service), then give them their tents, and told to pitch it, and then help another. All cooking, meals, and camp duties will be shared by all; reminding themselves, they can work together at a moment's notice.  These small steps help build trust among strangers.
    The main characters are U. S. military Veterans who have been sent to strange countries far from home. They've been shot at and watched their friends get wounded and/or killed. They will share their true feelings at the time of the incident, how that image can be branded in your memory. Now, how they feel when they knew something is wrong in their mind, and what they're going through to get help.
  The exposition of the film is, "How Veterans live with the torment of PTSD, and the ways that help them recover." The sequences of action will be camping and hiking at Webber Creek in Payson, AZ. Factual information about PTSD will come from the DOD, the VA as well as other credible entities dealing with PTSD. The events that will be taking place while on the trip will be geared towards Veterans being able to show their emotions, being able to recognize their own "triggers" and to know that it is okay to ask for help.
    The main characters are U. S. Military Veterans. Many of these Veterans were sent to a strange country, and shot at. Many have seen their friends wounded and/or killed. Participants will share what they actually felt at the time of the incident. They will share that uneasy feeling they felt when they knew something was wrong, and they knew they needed help.
    Ultimately, I want the audience to feel compassion, anger and be able to understand the misconceptions of PTSD. During our Documentary you will see the invisible grip that PTSD has on our Veterans. As their raw emotions start to show, and the walls come down, there is power in vulnerability.  Though this rich and trans-formative experience you will be able to see the Veterans become closer as friends; and begin to see them change their perspective about asking for help with their PTSD.
   To me PTSD is one of the most ineffectively treated conditions/injuries of war, along with TBI.  A few of the reasons for saying this is that; 1. Most doctors have no clue about being in the military. 2. Service men and women are people and do not want to be perceived as weak, sick or anything else like that, so they do not seek the help they need. 3. There is still a stigma for having mental health issues.
   When diagnosed and given a treatment plan one participant, they were given drugs for not being able to sleep, drugs if he was too sleepy, for being happy, for being sad, anxiety depression and many others. Most all do have issues with sleep, hyper awareness and easily agitated, they have become aware when an episode is coming and know how to curtail it. Most of the participants just want someone to listen to what they are feeling, what they are going through and such, instead of their counselor butting into their train of thought and saying here are the medications you need. They also need and want their partners to be able to recognize and know how to handle what is going on with them.
   I would like to see if this project could be some sort of Therapeutic Photography in a sense.  Most people take and keep photos without thinking much about the reasons why they do this. Yet, these permanent recordings of moments in time (so that they can be kept forever) can serve as natural bridges for accessing, exploring, and communicating about feelings and memories that were unconsciously embedded in them at the moment the shutter was pressed - along with any deeply-buried or long-forgotten issues these bring to light. During Therapy sessions, clients' photos can serve as tangible symbolic self-constructs and metaphoric transitional objects that silently offer inner insight in ways that word alone cannot as fully represent or deconstruct.
   Under the guidance of a therapist trained in Photo Therapy techniques, participants explore what their own photos and family albums are about emotionally, in addition to what they show visually. Such information is latent in all photos, but when it can be used to focus and precipitate therapeutic dialogue, a more direct and less censored connection with the unconscious will usually result.
      Christopher Oshana, a Veteran, father, and husband. He been blessed with the good fortune to be able to share some stories of PTSD. Oshana was granted work space in 2013 at the monOrchid, which is a collaborative work place and photo/video studio, to pursue a project "For the Good", the project that he started and continue to work on is called PTSD, The Invisible Scar. The project consists of Veteran with PTSD, whether they are male or female, white, black, Hispanic, regardless of their religious background.

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