‘Nothing filtered’: Veteran shares PTSD journey on TikTok, builds online community of service members

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Amrok Critton has built an online community, posting videos on TikTok that resonate with hundreds of thousands of people, many of them veterans and their supporters.

“Slowly but surely, over time, you start seeing more veterans talking about what’s wrong,” Critton said.

At his lowest, Critton decided he was going to share his experience, hoping to reach other veterans like him. He said many people do not understand that coming home can be difficult for service members.

“A lot of us didn’t plan that far ahead,” Critton said. “We didn’t train for coming home.”

Critton joined the Army before finishing high school. His parent signed off, permitting him to enlist just days after 9/11.

“I just didn’t like that we were attacked,” Critton said. “Innocent civilians, innocent people out of nowhere, and it caused a fear in me that just made me angry.”

He was deployed for one tour, serving three missions as an infantryman in Iraq. He guarded Iraqi citizens at a burn pit. He later served in a security detail for an on-base hospital before finally running convoy missions.

“Each and every one of them had a hard impact on my health and mental state,” Critton said. “You have high adrenaline. Ready to go. Ready to go. When you get home and that disappears, you feel like you have no mission, no purpose, no life.”

Critton described an intense feeling of loneliness. One he now hopes to prevent others from feeling.

“It led me to self-harm,” Critton said. “On the hospital bed when I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not, I made the decision to become the man I needed when I was hurting, when I had no one to talk to.”

He began traveling, sharing his story and building a community. Today, his biggest platform is TikTok where he discusses PTSD and other struggles faced by veterans. Critton’s follower count is more than 200,000 people, and his videos have reached millions.

“On my page, you’ll see me cry, you’ll see me get angry, you’ll see me happy and there’s nothing filtered about what I post,” Critton said.

He encourages other veterans to reach out to others.

“The worst thing you can possibly do is go into a room and sit by yourself and let those thoughts fester,” Critton said. “Keep your mind open, and don’t allow yourself to get trapped in that room with those demons.”

Critton also thanks those who did not serve for reaching out and expressing their patriotic love for service members and the country.

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