Veterans Day is supposed to be a day of honoring our military veterans for all their dedication to and sacrifices for our nation, and while Veterans Day is always an important day, it seems that now – with PTSD on the rise and tragedies like the recent Fort Hood massacre – honoring America’s veterans is more critical than ever before.

And, actor Tobey Maguire believes we should go beyond just honoring our active troops and veterans and take steps to more thoroughly educate ourselves about what our troops are dealing with and learn how we can help them.

On December 4, 2009, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman will hit the big screen in the new Jim Sheridan-directed war drama, Brothers, a film that affected Maguire – who plays Marine Captain and Afghanistan captive survivor Sam Cahill – in such a way that the actor is urging Americans to become more aware of what our troops are going through and take more responsibility for the results.

“In the area of our veterans coming home with traumas or PTSD or whatever, it’s one of those issues that isn’t pretty to look at,” Maguire says. “We ask these people to fight for us and risk their lives, and certainly potentially alter their outlook of the world or how they react to things. I think it would be nice for us as a society to have some more awareness of what they go through, and to take on some more responsibility for the results of our asking them to go over there.” (Los Angeles Times)

Will his very watered-down glimpse into the lives of our nation’s service men and women prompt Maguire to go beyond just urging Americans to become more active and actually become a celebrity spokesperson for the cause?

Eh, probably not – but it’s wonderful that his role in the movie had such an effect on him.

If you’re looking for ways you can become more aware of the issues our troops are dealing with long after they return home, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, get started by checking out resources such as:

• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD
• The National Institute of Mental Health’s publications about PTSD
• The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gateway
• Military.com’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview
• The PTSD Forum

Also, thanks to Mental Health America, its partnership with Prescription Audio, and its Operation Healthy Reunion program, you can also send an e-card to veterans, troops, and their families letting them know about how they can access a free PTSD audiobook and numerous mental health fact sheets and resources.

Tobey Maguire heads up courtesy of Michele Rosenthal, mental health advocate, public speaker, blogger, writer, workshop/seminar leader and Licensed Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and founder of the PTSD advocacy organization Heal My PTSD, LLC. To learn more about Michelle’s work and Heal My PTSD, check her out on Twitter and Facebook.

Image Source: Wikipedia

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