A collection of angst prompts that delve into the struggles of soldiers facing PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and the lingering scars of war. Themes of mental health, trauma, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, hypervigilance, combat, loss, identity, and alienation. Feel free to add your own edits as wanted or needed.
" I keep his picture in my wallet, like it’s gonna bring him back. "
" We were all just kids playing soldier, and now we’re men with scars. "
" They trained me to fight wars, but no one trained me to live after. "
" I'm not a fuckin' hero...I'm just a guy who got out alive. "
" Doc can take his fuckin' PTSD diagnosis and shove it up his ass. It’s just me trying to remember how to survive in this goddamn world. "
" We joked about not making it, but it was just that...a joke. Until it wasn’t."
" You ever wake up and think, 'Fuck, why didn’t that last bullet hit me instead?' 'Cause I sure do. Every single night. "
" They called it collateral damage. Like it wasn’t somebody’s damn family! "
" Every time I close my eyes, I see his face. I can’t keep doing this. "
" I miss home, but y'know what? Can’t even remember what home feels like anymore. "
" The worst part isn’t what we did; it’s how normal this shit is starting to feel. "
" Don’t fuckin' tell me to ‘man up.’ You weren’t there! You didn't see what I did! "
" Sometimes I wonder if it would’ve been better if I hadn’t made it back. "
" They said we’re heroes, but I don’t feel like one. Heroes don’t do what we’ve done. "
" There's nothing wrong with me. I'm fine, I don't need help. "
" Even back in society, when I look in the mirror, I still see myself in uniform; covered in sweat, dirt, blood, gunpower. I don't think I ever truly came back home. "
" Goddamn it, I told you to keep your fuckin' head down! The hell were you thinkin'!? "
" You can’t fix me, so stop fuckin' trying to. "
" If I have to fold one more goddamn flag for a funeral, I’m gonna lose it."
" We didn’t join up to be heroes. We just didn’t know what the fuck else to do. "
" Fuck. I shouldn’t have told him it was clear. It wasn’t clear. "
" They keep saying it wasn’t our fault, but it sure as hell feels like it. "
" Sometimes I forget why we were even there in the first place. "
" I’m tired of waking up every day wishing I hadn’t. "
" We’re not soldiers anymore. Now we’re just survivors. "
" I don’t pray anymore. Not after everything we saw. God can't save me from that shit. "
" You can’t just ‘leave it behind.’ It follows you. Every damn step of the way. It just—it just never fuckin' stops. "
" I don’t even know what normal feels like anymore, man. "
" He didn’t even scream. Just… lights out, done. Like that. "
" No amount of patches and medals will bring back what I lost over there."
" What the fuck was it all for? "
" I see that goddamned convoy goin' up in flames every time I close my eyes. "
" The meds don’t do shit except make me feel like a zombie. "
" We laugh, we joke, but deep down we’re all just broken toys. "
" Every time I hear a car backfire, I’m diving for cover like a goddamned idiot. "
" They gave me a medal but not a reason to fucking live."
" Do you remember his face? His fuckin' face when he realized he wasn’t gonna make it? "
" I can't walk into a crowded room without sizin' up exits like I'm still in enemy territory. "
" We all came home in pieces. Some of us just hid it better than others. "
" Don’t fuckin' touch me. You don't know what hands can do when they’re scared. "
" The shit they don’t tell you about surviving is how heavy the guilt feels. "
" It’s just a patch of dirt to everyone else, but to me, it’s where I buried my best friend. "
" Stop asking me to talk about it. Talking doesn’t fix what’s broken. "
" One more person says, 'Thank you for your service,' I'm gonna lose it. "
" They say it gets easier, but all I’ve done is get better at pretending. "
" I don’t miss the war, but I miss the people I fought it with. "
" I feel like I’m on patrol even in the grocery store, scanning for threats. "
" You know what the hardest part is? Knowing they died for nothing. "
" They say ‘thank you for your service,’ and I just want to scream. "
" Sometimes, I wish I’d stayed in. At least I knew who I was then. "
" You don't get to tell me what I saw out there, alright? You weren’t the one dragging what was left of him back to base! "
" Another goddamn name on the memorial wall, yeah, that’s what this mission fuckin' accomplished! "
" Don't give me that 'chain of command' bullshit. You knew it was a suicide run, and you sent us anyway! "
" Get your hands off me! I said I’m fine, stop treating me like I’m fuckin' broken! "
" You wanna keep yelling, or are you finally gonna admit you fucked up back there? "
" We’re soldiers, not fuckin' machines. How the hell do you not understand that after all these years? "
" I can still hear their screams. Every goddamn night. Do you think I sleep like this because I want to? "
" Stop telling me to 'let it go!' You didn’t watch him bleed out while begging for his mother! "
" I lost another one today, and all you can say is ‘it happens’? Fuck you! "
" What do you want me to say? That I don’t miss them? That I don’t hate myself for living? "
" You keep saying ‘it’s over,’ but it’s not over when it’s in my fuckin' head 24/7! "
" It wasn’t heroism, alright? I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to live. I just wanted it to fuckin' end. "
" You think I signed up for this shit? No one signs up for nightmares that won’t go away! "
" I froze out there. I just… froze. And now he’s gone because I couldn’t move. "
" You call it a mission. I call it a slaughter. Tell me where the hell the difference is. "
" Don’t you dare say it’s ‘just part of the job.’ That was someone’s fuckin' life! "
" You really think any of this ‘therapy’ bullshit will bring them back? 'Cause it won't, asshole! "
" You don’t come back from war; you just bring it home with you. "
"If one more person tells me to ‘move on,’ I swear to God I’m gonna lose it. "
" Shut the fuck up, I can't handle your sunshine shit right now. "
" You ever think about how we’re all just disposable? "
" My hands won’t stop shaking. "
" I don’t need your pity, I need another goddamn drink. "
" It’s not PTSD. It's just me. I’m fucked up, plain and simple. "
" Fuckin' civvies don’t understand a goddamn thing we’ve been through. "
" They want me to talk about it, but how do you put hell into words? "
" I hate myself for making it back alive. "
" Don’t give me that 'brotherhood' bullshit! Where was that when you let them ambush us? "
" Put the gun down, man. Please. We’ve lost enough already. "
" You’re right; I’m angry. I’m angry because I’ve had to bury too many good men because of your decisions. "
" Don't act like you care now. "
" The blood never washes off, does it? It just spreads around until you’re drowning in it. "
" You call me weak, but at least I’m not afraid to feel something! "
" I told you not to bring that up, so why the hell are you making me relive it now? "
" Stop saying it's going to be okay! It's not, and it never fuckin' will be. "
" I don't need therapy, I need a fuckin' drink. "
" You see a fun fireworks display, I see flares 'n mortars tearing us apart. "
" I can't even look at my kids without wondering if they'd be better off without me. "
" I used to takin' long drives at night, but now I can't even get behind the wheel without feeling like we're about to hit an IED. "
" Every time I close my eyes, I see him...my best friend, blown to pieces. "
" Yeah, I take the pills and wash 'em down with vodka, what of it? "
" I didn't sign up for this life; I signed up for a job, and now I can't get out. "
" You want me to talk about it? Alright, fine. Let's talk about how I watched my buddies burn alive. "
" The VA? Yeah, they've got a line for everything. Too bad it never leads to real help. "
" Do you have any idea what it's like to be terrified of your own goddamn mind? "