Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
When I was a kid, I always dreamed
about joining the Army.
The Army allowed me to find direction.
Gave me a little bit more discipline.
It made me a better person.
There were times where I lost friends.
There were times of high stress, extreme situations,
obviously, where we were shot at or where our convoy hit a
roadside bomb over a dozen times.
When I came home, things had changed.
Things had changed in my relationship with my wife.
I was not the same person.
I felt like I didn't fit in anymore.
For six or seven years, I was in denial.
And I mean, my signs were pretty obvious.
Lots of nightmares.
Walked in my sleep, talked in my sleep almost two years.
Did a lot of couch hopping when I got back.
I couldn't stay in my house.
You're easily agitated or irritable.
But I tried to prove to myself that I
could still do anything.
At first when I got out, I self-medicated.
I couldn't hold down a job.
And then I was in a rehab center.
And one of the guys was a Vietnam Vet and suggested that
I go to VA.
Yeah, that made a huge difference, because they were
able to be empathetic and sympathetic.
That was the key.
And that helped out a little bit.
So I knew that I had someone to talk to.
The one thing again we talked about at the Vet Center in
counseling and we still talk about, is just understanding
how to make everything work.
To say, it's OK, I'm here, and I'm still living.
But what can I do to make it better?
And I said to myself, oh my God, I didn't even realize I
harbored those feelings inside for so many years.
So the programs that are available to Vets, incredible.
So I talked to some more doctors.
And it started to help a lot, surprisingly.
I always thought that it was all in your
head kind of thing.
Like, oh, you're not really depressed.
You just need to smile more or something like that.
But it's a real thing.
So I guess I finally accepted that.
Getting mental help helped me to embrace my life.
I started being happy again.
Now it's just I know how to deal with it better.
I know what my triggers are and what I should
be looking out for.
I can see what causes it and then how I react to it, and I
try to just change that immediately.
You need to talk to a friend.
You need to talk to another Army guy.
You need to talk to somebody and express what
you're going through.
Going to counseling, it makes me a stronger soldier and a
stronger man.
Because I can now deal with those issues and problems as
they arise quicker.
If you're not completely happy with who you are and where you
are, that you need some sort of help--
whether it's physical help, or mental help, financial help.
If you're not happy, there's somebody there to help you.
I just want everybody to go out there, and don't be
afraid, and seek help.
It worked for me.
It probably can work for you.