For an Air Force vet, an FDA layoff brings back symptoms of PTSD
For an Air Force veteran, an FDA layoff brings back symptoms of PTSD: "They say they care about us, then they cut us."
In the months before she lost her job at the Food and Drug Administration, Karen Hollitt’s mom and boyfriend kept telling her not to worry. She’d be fine, they said; she was a veteran.
She knew better. She’d read the blueprint for Donald Trump’s second presidency. She knew there were plans to slash federal workers like her. Her PTSD symptoms crept back. She’d graduated from therapy in 2020, hadn’t needed medication since 2022. Her flashbacks had stopped bothering her; she could talk matter-of-factly about those horrific memories without spiraling. She could be present in her everyday life. With her livelihood at risk, though, that began to slip.
