Veteran Mental Health
In my experience…and this is as much personal experience as it is observation…veterans tend to underestimate their own abilities and capacities. Whether it’s because the military is a collective culture where there is a set parameter of “acceptable” behavior, or because of the evaluative nature of the military, we are and can be extremely self-critical.Read more about Arrogance, Ability, and the Veteran Mindset[…]
If you’re a veteran, think of one of the hardest things you ever endured while in the military. For many, it’s probably traumatic and comes with some painful memories, but think about that time where you were just on the edge of keeping it together. Handling your business. That moment where you and your buddiesRead more about Applying Military Traits to Post-Military Life[…]
May of 1992. I was a month away from graduating High School, and had no idea what I was going to do. I had applied to a single college; got a partial scholarship, too. The only problem was, it was an out-of-state private Catholic school…the cost remaining per semester was still greater than the localRead more about Military Service and the Value of Selflessness and Sacrifice[…]
Hope. Those who have it, can’t conceive of a life without it; those who don’t have it can’t dream of a life with it ever again. Hope is critical to our psychological wellbeing. If we have no expectations of good things in the future, and more damaging, stop wanting good things in our lives, thenRead more about On Hope and Veteran Mental Health[…]
“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” ― Brené Brown Like all other branches of the military, the Army has a number of core values. For us, it creates the mnemonic LDRSHIP: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. A commonRead more about On Courage, Vulnerability, and Radical Honesty[…]
Afghanistan, 2010. Our unit had been in Regional Command East for a year, and were preparing to leave; as a platoon sergeant, my platoon leader and I had the responsibility for making sure the new folks coming in were ready to take over the mission. Known to us as a “RIP,” short for “Relief inRead more about Accepting Reality and Changing If to Is[…]
“Success doesn’t mean happy every day.” – Omar Andrews I don’t wanna, and I ain’t gonna. How often do we avoid unpleasant experiences so we don’t feel uncomfortable…but end up not resolving the issue, and turn pain into suffering? Avoidance is a natural reaction to unpleasant situations; we’ve been doing it since we were kidsRead more about Avoiding Avoidance Leads to Success in Post-Military Life[…]
I was in a meeting the other day. A community colleague, who supports veterans in applying for their disability, was talking about veterans who came into his office with bad paper. He said these veterans are often told by their chain of command that their negative discharge will be automatically updated within six months. TheRead more about Arrogance and Humility, Entitlement and Invalidation – Post-Military Mindsets Holding You Back[…]
With much of the work that I do with veterans, it’s like we’re still carrying the same loads that we did when we were in the military. The heavy rucksack, the duffle bag drag, the weight on our shoulders…and our mind, our souls. The burden of these weights can be so great that we comeRead more about Weighed Down by Past and Future[…]
There are many obstacles for a veteran seeking mental health counseling. One is that veterans believe that they have to admit that they are weak or broken before they get up the courage to go talk to a therapist. That they are somehow deficient, less than what they were, or lacking in some critical way.Read more about The Once and Future Warrior[…]