Before dawn yesterday, I went out to Apopka to walk along the path of the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall. I wanted to see the darkness turn to the light of day. Much like when you drive surrounded by darkness, you can light your way by turning on your headlights, you can do that with your life as well. The darkness can feel overwhelming at times and it can be hard to see what is around you. Just like when you were in combat, you had your brothers and sisters with you and they are still around you now. Every experience you had with them remains in your soul. Lean on the memories when you saw kindness, compassion, shared laughter and secrets. Now what is around you are people who love you and want you to be happy. You have people waiting to help you believe you are not sitting in darkness by yourself and they want to show you how to get back into the light of day.
When dawn breaks darkness, it does not just happen to begin a day. It happens to begin a chance to start with a different way to go. Just like turning on the lights of your vehicle to see better, you have a chance to see your life better. #CombatPTSD and #TakeBackYourLife
This is Veterans Day, so here is a little history lesson on who all of us should thank for what is available today for us after surviving traumatic events.
PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos November 8, 2018 With the news today about a shooting involving a veteran, people started to talk about it, and veterans, started to withdraw. While it is rare for a veteran to be involved in something like this, the fact it was a veteran this time, has managed to be in almost every headline. I felt there was a sense of urgency to put this up today instead of waiting for Sunday.
Yesterday I went out to UCF and interviewed Deborah C. Beidel of UCF Restores. They are doing fantastic work on helping veterans and first responders heal. Heal? Yes! PTSD is not something to be afraid of and it is not worth gaining power over your life. If you understand what it is, why you have it, then you take away power from it. When you fight back, you take away more power from it and gain it for yourself. Listen do what Dr. Beidel has to say and then, start to #CombatPTSD so you can #TakeBackYourLife. "And one day, she discovered that she was fierce, ad strong, and full of fire. And that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears."
Dr. Beidel is Trustee Chair and Pegasus Professor of Psychology and Medical Education and the Executive Director of UCF RESTORES. Dr. Beidel received her Ph.D. in 1986 from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her internship and post-doctoral clinical research fellowship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh.
She was a member of the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Maryland, and Penn State College of Medicine.
She was the 1990 recipient of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy’s New Researcher Award, the 1995 recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Medical School Psychologists, and the 2007 recipient of the APA Division 12 Samuel M. Turner Clinical Research Award.
Dr. Beidel holds the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Diplomate in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a past-president of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology.
She is a past Chair of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Accreditation. She serves on the editorial board of a number of scientific journals. Her academic, research and clinical interests focus on child and adult trauma and anxiety disorders, including their etiology, psychopathology, and behavioral treatment. Her research is characterized by a developmental focus and includes high risk and longitudinal designs, psychophysiological assessment, treatment outcome and treatment development. She has been the recipient of grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Mental Health addressing the development and efficacy of behavioral interventions for adults and children with PTSD as well as other anxiety disorders.
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
PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos November 4, 2018 You know when there is something going on with your vehicle. It just doesn't seem to be running right. As you drive down streets, you hope it does not breakdown in traffic or on some isolated road. Oh, sure you have a cellphone to call for help, but while you are waiting, you never know what is going to happen, or how long you'll be stuck there. While waiting for a tow truck you start to think about what the mechanics will find wrong with it. Most of the time, it is an easy fix. Sometimes it takes a lot more work than you thought it would. When the vehicle you live in is not running right, it works the same way. When you are not running right, you may breakdown and feel stuck. If you call for help, and get to a mechanic for what you need, then, sometimes it is an easy fix, but other times, it takes a lot more work. Yesterday we went out to the Orlando Vets Center for their open house. Actually it should have been called hope'n house, because that is what they are dedicated to doing.
Vets Centers started in 1979.
Who We Are
We are the people in VA who welcome home war veterans with honor by providing quality readjustment counseling in a caring manner. Vet Centers understand and appreciate Veterans’ war experiences while assisting them and their family members toward a successful post-war adjustment in or near their community.
The Vet Center Program was established by Congress in 1979 out of the recognition that a significant number of Vietnam era vets were still experiencing readjustment problems.
Vet Centers are community based and part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In April 1991, in response to the Persian Gulf War, Congress extended the eligibility to veterans who served during other periods of armed hostilities after the Vietnam era.
Those other periods are identified as Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Kosovo/Bosnia. In October 1996, Congress extended the eligibility to include WWII and Korean Combat Veterans. The goal of the Vet Center program is to provide a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to eligible veterans in order to help them make a satisfying post-war readjustment to civilian life.
On April 1, 2003 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs extended eligibility for Vet Center services to veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and on June 25, 2003 Vet Center eligibility was extended to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and subsequent operations within the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
The family members of all veterans listed above are eligible for Vet Center services as well. On August 5, 2003 VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi authorized Vet Centers to furnish bereavement counseling services to surviving parents, spouses, children and siblings of service members who die of any cause while on active duty, to include federally activated Reserve and National Guard personnel.
We understand, and most of all, we care.
Vet Centers have group sessions, therapists, all the usual things you have come to know. They also have yoga, Tai Chi, art, music, and a lot more. Just like with the vehicle you drive, you are not the same as others on the road.
For some, one thing works great, but may not be what you need. What you need may not be what your buddy needs. That is what the mechanics at the Vet Centers are there for. They will find what will work best for you to have a better ride the rest of your life!
You can support what is vital to helping them heal...like the work being done at the Vets Center, or you could keep supporting the demon and share the topic that could kill them.
We choose vehicles based on what we like and what we need to do. If you need to clear snow, then you would want to have a snow plow. While a plow will clear snow, it would not be good to put one on a race track. That is, unless you plan on clearing other cars by shoving them out of the way.
On the other hand, a race car is meant for speed, and could clear snow very fast with a plow attached to it. The trouble is, it would not be able to do it very long.
When I was young, I wanted to be a writer. I always thought that I would be writing horror novels, instead of surviving horrors. Now I write about horrors in a much different way. I could look at my life and think that it went off track, because while I wrote three books, I have not finished one of the several horror books I started. I am not sure what to even find the manuscripts now. I did not choose this work. My life did. Most of us think we are supposed to do something and it sucks when we cannot do them, for one reason or another. You may think that because your job caused you to be invaded by PTSD, you cannot save anyone anymore. That is because you are not looking at how many you can still save by letting them know there is hope for their lives too.
Think about the group of veterans in TEAM RUBICON. They are no longer in the military, but used their training and desire to help by responding to disasters. They put their lives on the line all the time because they put others first, just like they did in the military. Find what you do best and then find a different way to do it. Being of service to others comes in many different ways. You can still be true to the core of who you are, even though how you do it changed. #TakeBackYourLife
