the oldest pandemic this nation has ever seen

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 22, 2021

Last year I went to the New Hampshire veterans cemetery for the first time on Memorial Day. As I walked around, I thought about all the veterans in my family who passed away, as well as the two veterans I was walking with. My husband and his best friend are both Vietnam veterans.

When I came upon this memorial, I had to catch a couple of tears falling. The empty place where the service member is saluting, got to me.

It was around that time when I was debating about giving up working with veterans. No matter how hard I tried, or how much I knew, it seemed as if I was fighting everyone I knew in the veteran community. Most of them were latched onto the slogan of "22 a day" and wouldn't let go of the notion that suicide awareness was a good thing to do. How could they believe that letting suicidal veterans hear about others giving up would offer them anything but more despair?

It was too late to change their minds and I had been doing this work for too long to be able to deal with the deadly results of ignorance. My heart was being ripped out every time I read another report of another suicide.

No one wanted to hear what needed to be done, anymore than they wanted to hear about the decades of failures to address the oldest pandemic this nation has ever seen...suicides carried out by those who valued the lives of others so much so, they were willing to die to save them.

I got into all of this in 1982 and focused on Vietnam veterans with PTSD, but the truth is, they had only become the latest generation to join the others going back to when this nation began. What I didn't know back then was there would be more wars.

It felt as if I was fighting this one all alone as soon as people started to read news reports in 2012. Soon after that, the awareness groups started popping up and eroding the ability for veterans to find people like me.

And now, maybe you'll understand why I gave up on what I had dedicated my life to almost 4 decades ago.

read more here

While all the "awareness" people were talking about, a number when they didn't even understand the report it came from, I was talking about changing the conversation. This is from an interview I did in 2012.

That was what they needed to hear, but I guess I stopped being good enough to get them to hear me. 

I fought them until last year and then I opened this up to anyone with PTSD. If you are in the military, a veteran, or a member of any of the responder positions, this work is for you too. No matter what caused PTSD in you, you are still only human like the rest of us.

Today the featured video is Neil Diamond, He Ain't Heavy because helping people with PTSD heal should not be a burden for any of us.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

Neil Diamond

The road is long with many awaiting turns

That lead us to who knows where,

Who knows where

But I'm strong,

Strong enough to carry him

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So long we go

His welfare is my concern

No burden is he to bare, we'll get there

For I know

He would not encumber me

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If Im laden at all,

I I am laden with sadness that

Everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness

I am alone for one and other

It's so long long road

From which there is no return

While we're on the way to live why not share

And the load doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He's my brother

He ain't heavy

He's my brother

He's my brother

He ain't heavy

He's my brother

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: B. Russell / B. Scott

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother lyrics © Music Sales Corporation, Music Sales Corp. 

Love helped Orlando heal after Pulse stopped

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
June 12, 2021

Five years ago, a man so filled with hate, decided to murder 49 people and wound 53 more. He did not know them. He did not know who they were, what they did or anything other than the fact he hated them so much, he decided to slaughter them.

The survivors acted out of love for the people they were with and for total strangers. They helped one and other escape to a place where they could hide, if they could not get out of the building. Some of those killed, died saving someone else.

People who were not there, decided to respond out of love to do what they could to help. They rushed with their cars and trucks to take the wounded to hospitals. Police Officers and SWAT teams showed up, putting their own lives in danger to stop the man from killing more.

When it was over, when the sun came up, officers were walking around where the dead still laid on the floor with their cell phone ringing. The officers would be forever haunted by the sounds of someone trying to reach someone they loved to see if they were still alive...or not.

People in the area, joined together to donate blood. Thousands of people did whatever they could to help, not knowing if they were risking their own lives, because no one knew if there would be more people so filled with hate, they were ready to kill too. Strangers showed up to give people in line food and something to drink as they stood in the heat patiently waiting their turn to do whatever they could.

Money came in from all over the world to help the families bury the people they loved and to help the survivors with their medical expenses, lost wages and every other price they paid because they were targetted by hatred.

Crisis Intervention teams showed up for the families of those who died, for the survivors and for the responders. Mental Health professionals lined up to provide free trauma care.

Love won that day, as it usually does. When one person, or a few, decide to act out of hate, millions respond with love.

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes

He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

That is a list of people who are blessed. None of it is easy but all of it is based on love.

Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

When people pretend they are doing something in the Name of God, or in the Name of Jesus, this is how you know if they are telling the truth or not.

Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This can be especially hard, but consider what Jesus was facing, knowing He would be put to death for the sake of those He Loved, and yet He preached all about Love. It is more powerful than anything else there is.

Today the featured video has no lyrics. It only has names of the people murdered 5 years ago at the Pulse Nightclub. One man decided to murder them, but thousands responded with love!

Five First Responders to the Pulse Massacre. One Diagnosis: PTSD.

by Abe Aboraya, WMFE June 11, 2018

Pulse was one of the nation’s largest mass shootings, where 49 people died and at least 53 others were wounded. The invisible injuries to first responders represent another toll of the catastrophe.

For these five first responders — and many others — June 12 was the first day of their new lives, one in which they would confront post-traumatic stress disorder. Even though most had responded to gruesome scenes of murder, suicide and car accidents, that didn’t prepare them for the psychological injury of PTSD. Going forward, they would relive that day in flashbacks and nightmares, see danger behind every closed door, and become irritable and impatient with spouses and coworkers.

“There are just some events that are so horrific that no human being should be able to just process that and put it away,” said Deborah Beidel, a University of Central Florida professor who runs a clinic called UCF Restores that treats first responders with PTSD. read more here

And that is what happens when people who risk their lives to respond to what hatred does. But love helps them heal too!
I interviewd Dr. Beidel a few years ago.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from PTSD

Your career is to help others...but not yourself?

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 7, 2021

We haven't had a video for responders for a while and considering this is Mental Health Month, it is a good time to do it. Put everything you think about PTSD for a few minutes. Your job is to help people. Why wouldn't you want to ask for help for yourself? It makes no sense at all.

Today the featured video is Little River Band, Help Is On Its Way. Those five words give hope that whatever horrible thing you are going through, will stop being horrible.

Think about the people you rush to help. They survived something that could have killed them and many times, they need help to stay alive. Hearing help is on the way, lets them know it is about to get better. They can end up with PTSD from the event you had to respond to. It only takes that one time too many, and sometimes it is just one time that did it, but their lives change. For me, I survived over 10 of them. Most of the time, responders had to come and help me. If you can understand what the event could do to us, then why can't you understand what all the ones you were involved with could do to you?

Your career is to help others...but not yourself? Why? Are you ashamed of being human and surviving all those events? I have to tell you that after all these years of working with people with PTSD, I am not ashamed of any of them. I am not ashamed of what they turned around and did with their lives after they received help. I am not ashamed of my husband. I am not even ashamed of myself, after finally discovering that what I went through was PTSD too, just a different form of it. Why would you be ashamed of needing help when helping is your job?

Don't you think the people you work with would risk their lives to save you, the same way you'd risk your life for their sake? Then how could you doubt they would listen to you when you need to talk? On the flip side, if you don't have PTSD but someone you work with may, why aren't you finding out all you can about PTSD so you can help them? Any idea how they will feel when they know that help is on the way for them and the horrible times will get better? 

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD 

Help Is on Its Way

Little River Band

Why are you in so such hurry?

Is it really worth the worry?

Look around, then slow down

What's it like inside the bubble?

Does your head ever give you trouble?

It's no sin, trade it in

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Are you always in confusion?

Surrounded by illusion?

Sort it out, you'll make out

Seem to make a good beginning

Someone else ends up winning

Don't seem fair, don't you care?

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Don't you forget who'll take care of you

It don't matter what you do

Form a duet, let him sing melody

You'll provide the harmony

Why are you in so such hurry?

Is it really worth the worry?

Look around, then slow down

What's it like inside the bubble?

Does your head ever give you trouble?

It's no sin, trade it in

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Help is on its way

Help is on its way

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Glenn Barrie Shorrock

Help Is on Its Way lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc 

For those I love

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day! Since it is a day to celebrate love, this is a special one for those who serve and suffer for it. There is no greater love than to be willing to sacrifice for those you love. Suffering is not part of the deal and it doesn't have to be, if you consider the reason you are hurting.

The desire to serve was engrained in your soul. It comes from a place of courage and deep devotion. It is what drove you to endure the hardships that came with the job you were among the few willing to do. So why are you paying a price for it? Because the power that enabled you to do what you did, holds the same power to harm you. It is a strong emotional core that caused the desire and to feel the pain even more, but it also holds the power to help you heal PTSD.

If you were willing to die for those you love...be willing to heal for the same reason and LIVE FOR LOVE!

Never regret what you did out of love, no matter how others treated it or you. That is not your problem. It is theirs! Most of the time, they lack the ability to love as much as you do, care as much as you do, and they also lack the ability to feel all the good emotions as deeply as you do.

Use that same strength inside of you to heal for those you love and then, live a happier life because of what you did for love!

Remember...it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

I Will Live For Love

Donna Summer

There's got to be a way that I can dream

Simply close my eyes and see

The worlds I've never known

What places that my soul has been 

Sometimes I need to run away and hide

And soar above the clouds and ride

I sail along so high

Till nothing's in my sky

Except the stars that fill my eyes 

And I will live for love

Where ever it may lead

It's written from the start

I know it's face by heart

I will live for love 

I'm searching for the one who holds the key

To all this crazy life I lead

Through galaxies in time

A solitary star that joins 

Sometimes I need to close my eyes and breathe

Inhale what life's been given me

A passion to ignite

A flaming heart a' flight

I close my eyes

I breathe

I'm free 

And I will live for love

Where ever it may lead

It's written from the start

I know it's face by heart

I will live for love 

The poet must have known

A lover of his own

"Cause that is when he wrote

Everything I felt for love 

And I will fight for love in life and life in love

And I will hold to things above

I'm strong enough to slay the dragon dead and there 

I will live for love 

I'm taller than the sky

This dream will never die

So only know that I

I will live for love 

The poet must have known

A lover of his own

That is when he wrote everything I felt for love

I will ever fight

I will live for life

I will live for love

Genius Lyrics

PTSD Patrol after the storm

PTSD Patrol

Kathie Costos

August 5, 2020

Every news station has reports on Isaias. They report on damaged homes, flooded areas, damage they can see with their eyes, but not the damage they do not see, or think about.

 

Here's what we know about Tropical Storm Isaias CNN

NCNG soldiers with the 105th Engineer Battalion support local first responders near Windsor, NC in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias. A tornado destroyed a mobile home park near Windsor. 

 

I lived in Florida and went through 10 hurricanes, tropical storms and remember the fear felt until the storm passed by. I remember damage done across the state and the stress member of the National Guard were under, along with all the other responders who put their lives on the line to get us back to whatever "normal" was...or as close to it as possible.

Today's extra video is for them so that we think about how the storms coming through our lives end long before they can say the same.

National Guardsmen and Reservists have the same wounds as active duty troops but they come back home without the same support. They grieve just as much but for many, they are also risking their lives as police officers and firefighters.

Vietnam veterans have been healing from what their service did to them and they know what it is to grieve. Combat PTSD is different from other types. We only know about this wound of war because they fought for everything available today for all veterans. If you have PTSD understand this one message. You are not stuck the way you are and your life can get better. PTSD caused the change in you. Change again!

You need someone to fuel that hope you do have left

Start fueling last glimmer of hope to heal

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 11, 2020

When you have the last glimmer of hope left, it does you no good to hear a slogan because someone supposedly cares about you. You do not need to be reminded about other veterans who lost their battle because someone extinguished all hope.

You need someone to fuel that hope you do have left so that you know tomorrow can be so much better than today. You need someone to stand by your side and show you the way to be happier.

Point Man has been doing since 1984.

We all know what the job of someone walking point is. This is from Foreign Policy

The point man is way out in front of the others. It is his responsibility to detect any signs of an enemy ambush… When a point man sees something that really worries him, he will merely drop down flat on the ground, and everyone behind him will do the same.

The strain on a point man is constant and he is usually exhausted by the end of the patrol. Always volunteers. There are some men, like Van Horn, who are great at it and feel obligated he offer their services often… It may sound phony, but — to me — being a good point man requires talent. It is a beautiful thing to watch a good one at work.

That is exactly what leaders in Point Man do, watch out for others and find the best way to keep them safe from the ambushes of PTSD.

Point Man started because a Vietnam veteran came home, took a job as a police officer and again, put his life on the line. He also pushed his pride aside. He had seen too many other veterans suffering and he knew they needed help. He met them in coffee shops at first. Then he expanded the efforts to reach more by setting up small groups called Out Posts. After realizing families also needed help, he started Home Fronts.

All the help Point Man offers is free of charge, continues to be operated in small groups so that no one feels lost and we stand by your side. Point Man leaders do not walk away!

After all these years, we found what works and it works because you are our priority. We are a Christian non-denominational group, and as such, our job is not to get you into a church. Our job is to help you rediscover the connection you have to God and honor your service. Because you were tugged to risk your life for the sake of others, you pay a higher price.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

You were willing to do that. Can you lay down your pride and ask for help now that you need it because of your job?

If you are looking to fuel that glimmer of hope you have left, find a Point Man group in your area. This is the link to Out Posts and Home Fronts. If there is not one in your area, you can contact headquarters online. There is also a prayer section for whatever you are going through, and you can also call 1-800-877-8387

You should not be willing to die because you will not ask for help

Nothing wrong with needing help now

"Lean On Me"

Bill Withers Lyrics

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow.

But if we are wise,

we know that there's always tomorrow.

All of you who serve, putting your lives on the line for the sake of someone else, are all still just human. You have the same emotions as everyone else. 

What makes you different, is you willingly subject yourself to things others run away from. While you have more courage than most people, you also have more compassion than others, or you would not have taken on the job you did.

You spent everyday trying to make a difference. Sometimes you felt as if you failed when things went wrong. The thing you missed is that you did make a difference because if you were not there, it could have been a lot worse.

Lean on me when you're not strong

I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on

For it won't be long

'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.

Even you had limits to what you could do and sometimes, when you feel as if your strength is wearing out, that does not mean you are weak. It just means that you need to find support to regain your strength. 

The others you served with, honestly, probably go through the same struggles. Maybe they are looking to you for support, but are afraid to ask, because you have not shown you ever needed help.

All of you missed the fact that everyone you were with, were there, to save others, and that included you, as you would have for them.

You depended on the others to watch over you, as you did for them. So why is it so hard to depend on them to listen to you, as you would listen to them?

Please swallow your pride

If I have things you need to borrow

For no one can fill those of your needs

That you won't let show.

It is time to #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife because now it is in your hands to set an example that taking care of others, was something you were willing do die for. You should not be willing to die because you will not ask for help.

You just call on me, brother, (or sister) when you need a hand

We all need somebody to lean on.

I just might have a problem that you'll understand,

We all need somebody to lean on.

Who else will understand you better than them?

If there is a load

You have to bear

That you can't carry

I'm right up the road

I'll share your load

If you just call me.

Call me if you need a friend

Police and PTSD

Vetunite.org "Mike Damon" aka (GodFather) veteran and PTSD

KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe Sparks News, Weather, Video

What is the worst way to get PTSD?

The deepest dashboard

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
June 23, 2019

Why do responders suffer a deeper level of PTSD? Is it because they are exposed over and over again to traumatic events? Or is it because they have the "one time too many" hit them?

After decades of research, it became clear that for responders, it is more about the strength of their emotional core that makes causes the hardest hit.

It is the reason I became a Chaplain back in 2008. I trained to respond to responders knowing that the very thing inside of them causing them to take on those jobs, also caused them the greatest harm.

Oh, no, not all bad news, because that same emotional core holds the power to heal.

This video was done for National Guards and Reservist...the IFOC gave me an award for it because they were using it to help police officers and firefighters. It is called PTSD I Grieve for that reason.

It is nice to be proven right but it also grieves me to my own core. How is it that I was right all these years...but no one would listen?

A study on veterans and PTSD from Norway was released today and the evidence should be clear to anyone trying to change the road our veterans and reponders have been on for far too long.

“A lot of soldiers told stories of how witnessing someone else’s suffering, especially of children who became victims of the war, were tough to work through.” Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand

For Veterans, Witnessing Suffering Can Mean Worse PTSD

PsychCentral
By Traci Pedersen
Associate News Editor
23 Jun 2019

A study of Norwegian veterans who served in Afghanistan finds that being exposed to the death and suffering of others tends to result in worse symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than being put in life-threatening situations.

The study, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, is part of a comprehensive survey of how veterans are faring after the war in Afghanistan. Just over 7,000 Norwegian soldiers participated in the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011, and 4,053 of them participated in this research.

Trauma is roughly divided into danger-based and non-danger-based stressors. Both types of stressors lead to an increase in PTSD, an anxiety disorder which can involve being hyper-alert, jumpy, sleeping poorly and reliving events after they’ve happened.
read more here


To change the outcome, we have to change the conversation. #BreakTheSilence and tell them TakeBackYourLife

Change your power source

Plugging into present

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 31, 2019

Tomorrow is April Fools Day, but so far, the joke may have been one you pulled on yourself.

If you have been telling yourself that you are currently worth less than you used to be, then, it has been a cruel joke.

Maybe you told yourself that you have fallen down on the job...or because of your job. Maybe you told yourself about a thousand times that you should just give up and end the misery. Well, you're partly right on that one but not in the way you think.

You should give up on all the negative thinking so that you can end the misery and start to live a happier life. 

How about you unplug from the negativity of yesterday and begin to "plug into the present" possibilities available to you today?

Plug Into The Present is a site about electric cars. They need to have charge stations on the road, especially on long trips, or they run out of power.

You need charge stations too. So far you have been using the wrong power source. Think about it this way. If it was your job to save lives, why would you give up on yours now?

You can take the back seat of your own life and give up...

or you can use your power to take back control of this moment on.

Think about that. Think about how up until now, you have not been thinking enough of the right things. You operated on the negative charge stations instead of the positive change stations.

The lives you saved would not be here to be fighting to take control of their own lives as survivors without you. Have you ever wondered what happened to them? Would you be shocked if they had PTSD? Well, over 7 million Americans have diagnosed PTSD and a lot more are wondering what the hell is going on with their lives.

Now, notice that it only takes one time for PTSD to take over. That's right. Just one event can cause a survivor to be bitten by it. How many times did you expose yourself to traumatic events because you put your own life on the line to save someone else?

Now does it make sense that it has nothing to do with being weak? If not then understand that it actually has more to do with the strongest part of you. It is the same part that compelled you to take action with courageously placing yourself in harms way.

Your courage and training did not mean you stopped being human.

Only Human

Billy Joel

Lyrics

You're having a hard time and lately you don't feel so good

You're getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood

It's alright

It's alright

Sometimes that's what it takes

You're only human

You're allowed to make your share of mistakes

You better believe there will be times in your life

When you'll be feeling like a stumbling fool

So take it from me you'll learn more from your accidents

Than anything that you could ever learn at school

Don't forget your second wind

Sooner or' later you'll get your second wind

It's not always easy to be living in this world of pain

You're gonna be crashing into stone walls again and again

It's alright

It's alright

Though you feel your heart break

You're only human

You're gonna have to deal with heartache

Just like a boxer in a title fight

You got to walk in that ring all alone

You're not the only one who's made mistakes

But they're the only thing that you can truly call your own

Don't forget your second wind

Wait in that corner until that breeze blows in

You've been keeping to yourself these days

'Cause you're thinking everything's gone wrong

Sometimes you just want to lay down and die

That emotion can be so strong

But hold on

Till that old second wind comes along

You probably don't want to hear advice from someone else

But I wouldn't be telling you if I hadn't been there myself

It's alright

It's alright

Sometimes that's all it takes

We're only human

We're supposed to make mistakes

But I survived all those long lonely days

When it seemed I did not have a friend

'Cause all I needed was a little faith

So I could catch my breath and face the world again

Don't forget your second wind

Sooner or later you'll feel that momentum kick in

Don't forget your second wind

Sooner or later you'll feel that momentum kick in

Songwriters: Billy Joel You're Only Human (Second Wind) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

So how about you #BreakTheSilence and "plug into the present" so that you can #TakeBackYourLife heal and then, help others find their way too?

Wounded Forgotten Warrior Project

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
and PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 9, 2019

(With two events this weekend I am cross posting this one on both sites.)

I wanted to show what it is like driving into work at 5:00 am with very little traffic on the road. Much like when I got into working on PTSD back in 1982, the road was paved by others out there long before I even heard the term.

Vietnam veterans are responsible for everything we know about what trauma does. It is not that others never experienced it, but they were the ones who did something about it.

During the filming of the video, the commercial for Wounded Warrior Project came on and I lost my mind. It came on right after I ran down the things that have been forgotten, including the fabulous work done on the Forgotten Warrior Project. It told their stories to stop them from suffering in silence.

They are the wounded forgotten warriors! Their project was to heal their generations and all others who came before them and for those they knew would come after them.

In the video you will hear about IFOC, Nam Knights and Point Man International Ministries. 

I trained with the IFOC. I am a Lady of the Knight with the Nam Knights. I am Florida state coordinator of Point Man. So yes, I believe in them and what we do!

Please look them up if you want to know about about fabulous efforts to do real peer support.

First responders with PTSD navigate a complicated path to get help

Here is an article that sums up what we all need to be doing on getting those who respond to what the rest of us need help with.


‘It didn’t make any difference’: First responders with PTSD navigate a complicated path to get help

“If we do this right in the beginning, it really eliminates a lot of that down the road. People tend to get a whole lot better if it’s done well, and it’s done correctly and effectively; that’s the key.” Dr. Nancy Wesselink

Matthew Jones, a former Forsyth County firefighter, tried to handle his emotions on his own after a traumatic experience on the job, but when he turned to alcohol to cope his life began to unravel. Jones was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. - photo by Brian Paglia

read the article here 

Getting help on the road with a push of a button

Flash for a healing chance
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 7, 2018

When your vehicle is having trouble, there is a simple button you push to let others know you need help. It turns on your hazard lights.

Everyone behind you sees those lights. They will either pass you by with caution, or they may try to help you.

This is from WheelZine
When to Use Hazard Lights
Though most people use hazard lights for mundane and unimportant things like speaking on the cell-phone while in traffic (which is illegal, mind you) or lighting a cigarette or adjusting the music system, the actual purpose behind the installation of these lights is to communicate a possible danger to the oncoming or passing traffic. Given below are some of the occasions when you can and should use hazard lights.

• When you are experiencing a sudden car problem in the middle of traffic, switch on the lights and slowly pull over. Keep the lights flashing till the problem is solved.
• In case of dense fog, you can switch on the hazard lights to warn traffic on both the sides of the road.
• When traffic on a usually traffic-free road is slow or stalled for some reason, you can turn on the hazard lights to indicate to the traffic behind you that traffic ahead of you is stalled.
• Another situation in which you can turn on hazard lights is when you are moving up a steep slope, which has caused your vehicle to slow down considerably. The blinkers will tell the vehicles behind you to proceed with caution.

In the 70's we had Mood Rings that were supposed to let other people know how we were feeling.

Chart of Mood Ring Colors and Meanings This chart shows the colors and meaning of the usual 1970s style of mood ring.

This chart shows the colors of the typical 1970s mood ring and the meanings associated with the mood ring colors:
Amber: Nervous, unhappy, cool
Green: Average, calm
Blue: Emotions are charged, active, relaxed
Violet: Passionate, excited, very happy
Black: Tense, nervous (or broken crystal)
Gray: Strained, anxious
The color of the warmest temperature is violet or purple. The color of the coolest temperature is black or gray.

Wouldn't it be great if all you had to do was push a button or show a ring to let people know you needed help? It would make life easier. The thing is, in reality, no one will come to help you if they do not know you need it!

You do have to do something to let them know you need help to get up that steep slope to #TakeBackYourLife. 

The first step is finally accepting the fact that you are not a victim. You are a survivor. You survived the event that set PTSD off in the first place. 

Second step is understanding that while about 7 million Americans have PTSD, and most of the time, from one event in their lives, you faced multiple times on your job, plus what could have happened just living as a simple citizen.

Thirdly, possibly the most important thing to accept is, that while you would have sacrificed your life to save others, the others you were with decided to dedicate their lives to saving as well. How much you want to bet they would do the same for you? After all, you'd do it for them. Wouldn't you?

The only risk you are taking is trusting them enough to let them know you need help. If you trust them with your life, then trust them all the way!