Zepplin2011, I'm sorry that your brother experienced such horrific traumas, and I appreciate his service in the military.

I've been diagnosed with PSTD and there are a few things that are helpful.  The first, and foremost, is to recognize the symptoms and get involved in strong counseling therapy.  Counseling with a trauma specialist will help provide tools and techniques that can help your brother manage "triggers," which can be numerous and unpredictable. 

The next thing that is important in management and recovery is to "accept" PSTD for what it is.  It may require medications, Zepplin2011, if only to interrupt the cycle of despair for a while.  When people typically die from using anti-depressants and anxiety medications, it's because they are ONLY taking medications and NOT engaging in strong counseling therapy.  In my humble opionion, these medications should ONLY be prescribed in conjunction with cousneling therapy.    But, sometimes, they are necessary and I realize that CureZone, as a whole, is interested in a more holistic and natural approach.  Psychiatric medications must be strictly monitored, or the patient could very well become suicidal.  Additionally, many personality disorders are not responsive to medical treatment - they just aren't.  So, without counseling or involvement in some kind of support group (AA, NA), there will not be any recovery.

And, finally, your brother's addictions are his own responsibility.  There is nothing that you, your parents, his friends, or the Man In The Moon can do to "help" him manage his addictions.  Only HE can make the decision to address them, and anyone attempting to "help" an addict will learn some very hard and UGLY lessons about the people that they love.  So, separating the PSTD from his addictions is going to be a difficult thing to accept.  He's NOT an addict because of PSTD, but PSTD gives him a handy excuse to use/abuse substances. 

I would STRONGLY recommend that you, personally, involve yourself with a 12-Step program like Alanon, so that you can unload your sense of responsibility for your brother's well-being squarely onto HIS shoulders, where it belongs.  I'm not suggesting that you stop caring - caring is fine and can be a tremendous encouragement to someone in recovery.  But, we have to stop ENABLING - taking on the addict's responsibilities as our own, providing excuses for deliberate choices, keeping secrets, and "allowing" certain behaviors to avoid "rocking the boat."  There is nothing easy or simple about making these decisions and choices - it's hard, painful, and he might blame the people who love him the most for his own actions.  It happens.  But, the more loved ones learn about addictions and the dynamics of the addict's thinking, the more healthy the loved ones will be, regardless of whether or not the addicts gets clean and sober.

On a holistic level, cutting out sugar, caffeine, and as much sodium as possible, will help.  NO "energy" drinks or soda.  None of this is easy to accomplish, especially when it's someone with a predisposition for addictions. 

I wish you the very best and hope that your brother makes the choice to save himself.