My Story and Journey
Updated: Jul 29, 2020
During my late 20s and early 30s, I served multiple tours of duty in Iraq, both as a military member and then as a Department of Defense and State armed contractor. I was proud to serve my nation during the war, and I was honored to have served with so many brave men and women who put their lives on hold in the defense of our nation.
When I returned home from Iraq for the final time, a chapter in my life closed. What didn’t close or end... was the war within the mind. When I went from working seven days a week, twelve plus hours a day to suddenly working a nine to five job. Something changed. My mind suddenly had a lot of time to think about my experiences during the war. While I had many positive memories of my time in Iraq, I was also haunted by many of the things I saw, did, and participated in. The longer I was home from Iraq, the more pronounced my PTSD symptoms became.
Like many veterans, my thoughts became destructive. I retreated into my mind. I began to self-isolate from friends, family, and people in general. It wasn’t until I decided that I wanted to end this war of the mind permanently that I finally sought help from the VA. I am not saying I have cured myself or that I do not still struggle with PTSD. I still do. But I’ve found some therapies and treatments that I believe have helped.
I wanted to take some time to write a few articles outlining some of the therapies and treatments I have tried. Like many veterans and their families, I have sought all manner of treatments and therapies that might help. I also realized there is not a lot of good information readily available for us to find.
To solve that information gap, I have written a series of articles that I believe many of you may find helpful. There is no panacea of therapies or programs that will ultimately work. I encourage you to read through my own experiences with these therapies and then determine if you are interested in them. At the end of the day, I hope you will at least choose one or more until you figure out what will ultimately work on your end.
#Veterans #IraqVeteran #MyStory #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PTSD #PTSDTherapy #AlternativePTSDtreatment