If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
In Rwanda, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is nothing short of a national epidemic. The many millions of men, women and young adults who survive...
Faced with the highest army suicide rates in at least 30 years, U.S. military officials are examining ways to help treat psychologically wounded soldiers.
For many veterans returning from war, the battle is far from over. We are but one of many organizations devoted to helping vets. As we are reminded on a much too frequent basis, the problems are huge.
The question I face about our work is, "Doesn't the VA handle this?" The Department of Veterans Affairs works tirelessly to address the mental health needs of vets, but the reality is that it can't provide care to all those who have served.
Wounded Warrior had asked some of us to come to Landstuhl to meet with the medical staff there. Some 3,000 strong, military and civilian, they work ceaselessly in what has become one of the busiest trauma centers in the world.
Having seen the profound impact these dogs make on the lives of men and women who have sacrificed so much for their country, I can tell you that it's all worth it -- and then some. And, by the way, the dogs love it too.
It is our intent to showcase veterans who are looking for work, many who suffer from PTS/TBI, and the employers who have stepped up to hire them through the 10,000 Jobs for Veterans and Military Spouses Challenge.
Surely we can all agree that our veterans gave us their best, and in return, they deserve the best from each of us. But what can each of us do, as family, friends and concerned citizens to help ease the burden of our returning servicemen and women?
Roll your eyes, but this three-year-old Facebooking Boston Terrier has 141 friends on the social networking site.
As we look to the future, much is still unknown. What we do know is that this war is far from over, and its startling effects will last well beyond the 2014 deadline.
For the last two years, Mr. Khao has contacted every legislator he can, asking for official recognition and veteran's benefits for these thousands of U.S. citizens who were soldiers for the CIA's secret war in Laos. So far nothing has come to pass.
Worldwide, the question of how we care for each other, how a society sustains itself, is being examined. But nowhere is this abandonment being more acutely felt than among returning veterans and their families.
I suppose I have given up my aspiration for greatness. But I have not relinquished my passion for stories, the stories of a life. This has sustained me over decades in the practice of psychotherapy.
What are the implications for society if a serious mental illness can be avoided by deliberately excluding some people from certain sorts of situations? Should our screening mechanisms become so heavy-handed, if the technology allows it?
I started to realize that my work ethic, while good for work, was leading to an unbalanced life. It made me ask: How do you realize the difference between a passion and having a complex?
We've found an important tool that promotes recovery from PTSD in war veterans. It's the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), otherwise known as Tapping, which combines Western psychotherapy with the Eastern "acupressure points" used in acupuncture.
