The sheer number of things that we hide from ourself is staggering. We may see others clearly, but when it comes to our own blind spots, they’re as big as a house. We see our face in the mirror, see the impact of our behaviors on our own lives, but Read more…
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars – Khalil Gibran I hear it often from the veterans I work with. “I don’t want to deal with it, because if I do, the pain will never stop.” Avoidance…of a topic, of a Read more…
Forewarned, Forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory – Miguel de Cervantes My family and I were having a great time. That awesome show, Mythbusters, was going into it’s final season (with the original group). The hosts, Adam and Jamie, were doing a live tour. All of us are Read more…
Is there such a thing as just enough of a “bad” thing? Or too much of a “good” thing? Does that make the bad thing good, and the good thing bad? I try not to label things as good or bad, because that’s a judgement call. Here, I try even Read more…
Summary: Joey grew up along the shores of New Jersey and always had a drive to work hard and was taught at a young age the true value of the “almighty buck.” By age 6, he was waking up at 6 am every weekend to help his father make extra Read more…
Summary: Dr. Avery is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. His research interests include mechanisms of change in complementary and integrative medicine interventions, yoga in particular, in treatment of posttraumatic stress and chronic Read more…
This may seem odd, but at least three times a week, strangers tell me their secrets. When I meet a new veteran or military spouse in my office for the first time, I know very little about them. They know very little about me. Okay, in this digital age, they Read more…
Call it survival, or becoming jaded or cynical. Many combat veterans experienced a point in their service when things that “should” bother them don’t. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it, of course. In “normal” life, we don’t go up against situations that are horrific, horrible, or Read more…
This is the 7th episode of the Veteran Mental Health Boot Camp, a series of podcasts that is looking at all aspects of Veteran Mental Health. Check out the first episode and all episodes as they’re released by going here Summary: Dr. Katy Barrs completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Read more…
I’ve often heard the psychological aftermath of a veteran’s military service described as a black dog. The black dog is an emotion, or series of emotions, that the veteran experiences, sometimes under control, sometimes uncontrollably. The black dog of PTSD can be terrifying. It’s always on alert, hackles raised, mouth Read more…