PTSD Patrol starting story time for isolated veterans

update and confession on the other delay

update project delay due to camera issues.....

Story time coming to PTSD Patrol

PTSD Patrol
Cross Posted on Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 23, 2020

Four years ago, I wrote Residual War. It was the first fiction book I wrote as a way to tell some stories that were factual mixed with stuff my mind came up with.

Residual War: Something Worth Living For (Volume 1) Paperback – October 2, 2016

Heroes do not think. They react to someone in danger. The Army was Amanda Leverage's life and she was willing to die to save the two lives she ended up blaming for spreading misery and suffering. She never needed to think of why she was willing to die but needed help finding something worth living for. She found it within a group of outcast heroes with their own history of selfless acts being punished for what they did wrong but protected for what they did right. PTSD, survivors guilt, homeless veterans, dishonorable discharges, flashbacks, nightmares and yes, even suicides were part of their lives but so was redemption.

Since I was supposed to be starting an Out Post for female veterans, here in New Hampshire just before the COVID-19 virus hit, it has been very depressing for me. I was offered room at the local American Legion to meet, but it is too dangerous for everyone now.

Experts say that the worst thing a veteran with PTSD can do, is to isolate, but now it is more dangerous for you to be out, and even worse to be in crowds. I needed to think outside the box on this to give you some comfort and fill up some of your time. I'll be reading this book on video, with a bit of a twist to it. I am setting a timer of 3 minutes. Whenever it goes off, whatever word I am on, that will be the end of the video.

We will then play a game as to what that final word means to you. If the word is "and" reply back withy something like "me and" or "and then" or whatever you think about. Should get some interesting replies on that.

It will pick up on the next word in the next video. You can cheat since Amazon has it for free on Kindle and apparently, for whatever reason, you can also read it on their preview page for free.

I am also opening up my YouTube and Facebook pages so you can share your thoughts and to answer questions from 12:00 pm eastern to 1:00 when the first video goes up this week.You can always email me at woundedimes@aol.com too.

Check back tomorrow for the official announcement on PTSD Patrol when the first video will go up!

Please share this since word of mouth has been the only way this site was able to be viewed over 4 million times!

American Legion Post 7 Presents Arms

American Legion Post 7 Presents Arms to Police Officers

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 11, 2020

Tonight at the American Legion Post 7 in Rochester New Hampshire, they presented new rifles to the Police Honor Guard in return for their kindness and support to the Legion Honor Guard. Great to see groups helping each other!

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

This world needs more angels like you on this earth!

Veterans rise again tomorrow with hope

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 9, 2020

With the knowledge that suicide awareness has not worked, it is time to change the conversation to what does save lives...the truth!

Suicide awareness groups have raised billions over the years, while the evidence has proven the spread of hopelessness. It is time to spread something to hope for...a life that can be so much better than it is today.

"I saw the angel in the marble
and carved until I set him free."

Michelangelo

It is time for you to carve away the hardness trapping you and be set free from the misery. If you were willing to risk your life for the sake of someone else, this world needs more angels like you on this earth!

Stop trying to conceal the pain you feel. Stop trying to run from it and honor it, so you can release it. If you want to cry, then cry. If you want to scream, then scream. There is no shame in anyone needing to release it. If that pain was caused because you put others ahead of your own life, then there is even more need to honor the pain because it all joined forces against you.

"What is now proved was once only imagined."

William Blake

There was a time when veterans thought there was no hope for them. The scares carried home were beyond healing. Back in the 70's, one veteran after another imagined a time would come when the bonds to others would help break away the painful memories. 

Side by side, they broke their own silence when they saw one of their own suffering. They healed PTSD together.

That is still going on today. You will not find them, if you do not look for them. They cannot help you if they do not know where you are. 

As Michelangelo carved the marble to free the angel, he needed to do more than see it in his own mind. He had to plan how to make the block of marble look like he thought it could become. He had to do the work to create it. He did it!

If you decided to rise up this morning to hope, thank you for being an inspiration of what is possible, because that is exactly what you will become when you help others heal by standing by their side.

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

Michelangelo

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