Powerful Healing Journeys Through the Arts and The Military Experience

The mission of the Journal of Military Experience is to mentor veterans through the writing and arts process for publication in the JME. The feedback from talented writers, authors, and artists were instrumental in my decision to explore the Arts as a medium for healing. The high level of understanding of war trauma from the Eastern Kentucky University professors and support staff was phenomenal and no wonder the EKU Vets program was recognized as a National Program of the Year in 2011. I felt at home.

The first night we had an impromptu poetry and prose reading and barriers came down for story tellers near, connecting with other warrior veterans in this way inspired hope again. The bonds formed that night were carried over into classes enabling me to concentrate on interact genuinely rather than reacting from heightened senses. I was able to relax in the classes and interact with the participants and instructors, powerful people in different parts of healing journeys and felt an immediate affinity. 

As some of you may know, I have an anti-personal mind obstacle; being around people in public causes a range of constant triggering. Several times seeking refuge I forced myself to keep going back to share and bond and gravitated to others similarly affected by war. I met a pizza cook who didn't know how brilliant and vividly he could describe his experiences by word and a Vietnam veteran who had amassed decades of publishable poems. I met many different levels of writers, from published authors to veteran published and unpublished poets sparking an inspiration to write more poetry. It gives word to the disjointed in me, to examine and expound with context and content. 

I'm still overwhelmed with life and struggling with the basics, but after attending The Military Experience and Arts Symposium I have been able to divert my anxieties into creative projects. I started another rewrite of my combat narratives, flirting with the idea of submitting it to the Journal of Military Experience. I am also attempting to write an audition script for a graphic novel. I have no idea how to do that, but I am getting some good coaching from a graphic novelist and plugging along. It's a different aspect of writing to think in images, which causes more information from my memory to become triggered and a need to write that instead of the script and so forth. So, go and do something creative. Your life just may depend on it.

Homes for Wounded Heros

Military Warriors Support Foundation awards mortgage-free homes to warriors injured during combat. The homes are for families who have severe and/or unique circumstances due to their injuries received while serving our country. In addition to the home, the families will receive 3 years of family and financial mentoring.

Homes 4 Wounded Heroes

Who Can Apply:

1. Must be a combat wounded veteran (PTSD included) or unmarried Gold Star Spouse of OEF/OIF.

2. Must be honorably retired or separated from the military. (Those with compelling situations, whom are less than 90 days from retirement or separation may be considered)

3. Must not currently have a mortgage.

How To Apply:

1. Review Available Homes at the link above that are currently open to applications. Click on the picture of the home to see more photos and details about the home.

2. If you are interested in applying for the home, click “Apply Now” to download the application and for directions on how to submit your application. Applications MUST be submitted in either Microsoft Word or PDF formats. (Word format preferred) If you have filled out an application for a previous home, be sure to download the most current application to verify that you have the most updated version.

3. Home recipient is typically selected within 3-4 weeks of closing date.

If there are not currently have homes available in your area, please fill out one of our Open Applications! This allows you the option to tell us specifically where you'd like a home.

Please check back regularly as new homes will be posted as they become available. Each home will be open to applications for 10 days*, starting from the initial posting date. Once the final closing date has been reached, the MWSF Review Board will review all applications. Once the Review Board makes their final decision, the wounded warrior will be contacted and an announcement will be posted on the website. Thank you for applying and for your service to our country!

Healing the Unseen Wound in San Diego, California

Another great program in California, makes me want to move there.

USA Cares Program for Post 9/11 Veterans

I’d like to take the time to introduce USA Cares as a fantastic resource available to many of you.

USA Cares exists to help bear the burdens of service by providing post-9/11 military families with financial and advocacy support in their time of need. Assistance is provided to all branches of service, all components, and all ranks while protecting the privacy and dignity of those military families and veterans who request our help. Since 2003, USA Cares has responded to over 36,000 requests for assistance with more than $9,000,000 in direct support grants.

Warrior Treatment Today

The USA Cares Program, Warrior Treatment Today helps bridge the gap between personal financial demands and the need to receive treatment. Specifically, our program seeks to remove the financial barrier that exists for many service members who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI), but cannot afford to leave their employment for treatment.

Warrior Treatment today pays essential household bills while the service member/veteran is attending residential treatment such as:

• Rent 
• Mortgage 
• Utilities 
• Car payment 

“A Hand Up- Not a Handout” Services are free to service men and women and their families without obligation to repay, providing “A Hand Up not A Hand Out” and sharing the sacrifice with those who serve America. No fees are ever charged and no repayment is ever requested. Financial assistance is not given directly to service members or their families; instead, payments are made to mortgage lenders, utility companies, and other vendors. Each family accepted for assistance is assigned an advocate from our family resource center who assures that assistance is timely and effective. These advocates often mobilize additional support for families from other military assistance groups, and the service member’s community of local organizations, stores and church groups.

How To Apply

Applying is simple with the online application found on the website usacares.org Just fill out the online form and a real live person will follow up with a return phone call and to determine how we can help.

Getting The Word Out

We try to martial our resources so that most of our funds go to the troops we serve. Typically more than 80% of all contributions received from donations and grants go directly to support service members and their families. As such, our outreach program is on a shoestring budget. Don’t underestimate the power of Word of Mouth. So, tell everyone you can think of. Reblog, tweet and like us on Facebook.

Together, we will get the word out:

USA Cares, cares. 
Guest Blogger - Theresa DeMario
usacares.org

Vets Prevail: for Vets by Vets

Our veterans face a severe 30% shortfall of therapists and mental health practitioners in both the government and private sectors. It's estimated that 70% of soldiers and veterans needing help do not seek it. Our Veteran's Administration budget is strained and cannot handle the patients they have let alone address the on coming tsunami of help seeking veterans.

The Vets Prevail program is much different than the rest of the veteran's sites that only offer information in base form, such as this one. The interactive skills teaching aspect and the asking and answering questions section are paramount in helping to address the veterans and soldiers mental health problem. This program can get a soldier or veteran the skills needed to navigate life successfully. It can get the warrior fast tracked and ready for therapy and treatment by teaching them skills needed to process traumatic memories.

It's centered on proven coping and behavioral skills building concepts, values and emotive identification. All needed as a strong foundation for therapy and recovery from the Unseen Wounds of War. The interactive program is thoughtful, creative and a much needed tool for the veteran suffering in silence. Veterans can learn the skills they need to safely navigate their Combat PTSD in and outside the home.

Caregivers Need to Learn the Signs of Burnout and Secondary PTSD

You are not alone; welcome home to our veteran’s means something more profound then setting foot back on our homeland. For the combat veteran returning from war does not mean it’s a done deal; coming home. I tell a veteran welcome home to honor their continued sacrifice; the visions of war will never leave us and sometimes they swim in a deluge that reigns.

Add to your PTSD Toolbox

The panic attacks you are receiving are an attunement to the survival instinctual part of us; you have been programmed to react rather than rationalize in the moment. The deluge is the snapping in and out of reality; flashbacks, hallucinations, delusional thinking, the extreme dissociative features of Combat PTSD. The symptomology for chronic combat PTSD or Complex PTSD (CPTSD) has many similarities to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Switching of personalities to suit the situation, thus the veteran will exhibit extreme characteristics not otherwise in line with "person we knew before war" (Dissociation of the Personality in Complex Trauma-Related Disorders and EMDR: Theoretical Considerations, p. 81-82). In combat we must compartmentalize our spirit or soul, our happiness, compassion, empathy and our humanity. We must demonize our enemy so that we may kill them. Later, coming to terms with taking lives, we trip over our Combat Values Structure; which does not fit in the civilian world. So, we make our home the war zone. Because, believe it or not. We know how to survive in here, outside those doors is a foreign world trying to invade. That's the world you live in now; I see you. You do not have to be ruled by it anymore. You can learn to take care of your veteran AFTER you take care of yourself first!

Go to a retreat for family members, such as When War Comes Home Retreat. There is a way out from under the oppressive emotions that chain us to our past; we survived not because we are weak. God put you on this path. What are you going to do with it?

Go to FamilyofaVet.com to learn more about the symptoms and signs of Secondary PTSD. Family of a Vet and Combat PTSD Blogger are partnering to bring together local resources that may not be available in your area; we aim to become that resource. If you would like to help click the link below and join us.

http://www.familyofavet.com/grassroots_team.html

The Graffiti of War Project

Used with permission from http://www.graffitiofwar.com/ 

Offering a unique perspective, experience the wars through the eyes of those living and dying through these conflicts.  Each image represents a moment in time, when an emotion was captured in ink, paint, or pencil, an unconventional historical record of this generation's war. Our Mission is that through sharing these images, we will begin a dialog between soldier and civilian, to bridge this ever-widening divide between our warfighters and civilians.  To bring understanding and true empathy of what our military men and women experience during their deployments.

We are collecting these images through submissions to our website, on Facebook and those sent into us via email.  This summer, Jaeson "Doc" Parsons is heading to Kuwait and Iraq to document the images on different posts and outposts located across Iraq.  Our content and blog, detailing the journey, will be a feature on Maxim.com and in their upcoming "Military" tab.

We will continue to accept images through Facebook and this website until we feel we have accurately and thoroughly collected enough to complete the book, The Graffiti of war.  Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The Graffiti of War Fouondation as well as organizations supporting our service members and veterans suffering from the silent wounds of war, PTSD.

We have NO political affiliation, NO ulterior agenda other than to ensure our brothers and sisters-in-arms receive the help and support they deserve because of their selfless service to answer the call to arms.  They are that 1% and it is our duty as Americans to ensure their health and posterity.

How will our generation of citizens be judged?

From The Graffiti of War Project http://www.graffitiofwar.com/

Combat Veteran Eligibility: Enhanced Eligibility For VA Health Care Benefits

I know, I know. I'm a little late on breaking the news (2008, hello), I just found it and posted it. If anyone has any experience in filing for these benefits let me know in the comments.

Taken from the VA website:

On January 28, 2008, “Public Law 110-181” titled the “National Defense Authorization Act of 2008” was signed into law. Section 1707 amended Title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 1710(e)(3), extending the period of eligibility for health care for Veterans who served in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998, (commonly referred to as combat veterans or OEF/OIF Veterans or to the recently established Operation New Dawn Veterans).

Under the “Combat Veteran” authority, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides cost-free health care services and nursing home care for conditions possibly related to military service and enrollment in Priority Group 6, unless eligible for enrollment in a higher priority group to:

• Combat Veterans who were discharged or released from active service on or after January 28, 2003, are now eligible to enroll in the VA health care system for 5 years from the date of discharge or release. NOTE: The 5-year enrollment period applicable to these veterans begins on the discharge or separation date of the service member from active duty military service, or in the case of multiple call-ups, the most recent discharge date. Combat Veterans, while not required to disclose their income information, may do so to determine their eligibility for a higher priority status, beneficiary travel benefits, and exemption of co-pays for care unrelated to their military service.

The VA's New Mobile App: PTSD Coach

Taken from the VA's website, modified from original;
The PTSD Coach app, a free iTunes download, can help you learn about and manage symptoms that commonly occur after trauma. Features include:

• Reliable information on PTSD and treatments that work
• Tools for screening and tracking your symptoms
• Convenient, easy-to-use skills to help you handle stress symptoms
• Direct links to support and help
• Always with you when you need it

Together with professional medical treatment, PTSD Coach provides you dependable resources you can trust. If you have, or think you might have PTSD, this app is for you. Family and friends can also learn from this app. PTSD Coach was created by the VA's National Center for PTSD and the DoD's National Center for Telehealth and Technology.

NOTE: PTSD is a serious mental health condition that often requires professional evaluation and treatment. PTSD Coach is not intended to replace needed professional care. The questionnaire used in PTSD Coach, the PTSD Checklist (PCL), is a reliable and valid self-report measure used across VA, DoD, and in the community, but it is not intended to replace professional evaluation.

Providing you with facts and self-help skills based on research.

New VA Caregiver Program for Post-9/11 Veterans

PRESS RELEASE May 3, 2011:
VA to Take Applications for New Family Caregiver Program

VA Implementing Enhancements to Existing Services

for Veterans and Their Caregivers
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published the interim final rule for implementing the Family Caregiver Program of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act 2010. This new rule will provide additional support to eligible post-9/11 Veterans who elect to receive their care in a home setting from a primary Family Caregiver.

“We at VA know that every day is a challenge for our most seriously injured Veterans and their Family Caregivers,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “I know many Veterans and their Family Caregivers have been waiting anxiously for this day and I urge them to get their applications in as soon as possible so they can receive the additional support they have earned.”

Kognito Interactive: My Perspective

I have been away for while now and wanted to let you know that I am back and ready to write again. Recently I have been invited by;

Kognito Interactive (who)..is currently partnering with VISN 3 of the VA to develop an online training for the families of veterans to help family members identify signs and symptoms of PTSD, depression, and suicide ideation and how to effectively conduct the difficult conversation of motivating their loved one to seek help. As part of our process, we are reaching out to individuals, groups and organizations that serve veterans and their families to both make them aware of the training and explore opportunities to partner. Also, we will be seeking feedback from veterans around the country as the training progresses to further development stages, to make sure that if (and hopefully when) it is adopted beyond VISN 3, it delivers on its goal to all those who be taking the training.

This is a service that i think will add to the resources available to many military and veterans families whose loved ones have re-ingratiation issues. Family's unspoken expectations can engage a combat veteran, triggering emotional states and possibly defensive mechanisms. We can test new skill sets in real time with this simulator. I will be testing this system and with this tool I have an opportunity to contribute to a wider audience.

At this moment I have access for 24 hours and will be reporting here...well they said I had 24 hour access, now after 2 hours I do not have access. I have contacted support, we will see how long till they contact me...REMEMBER I am a Combat PTSD Vet who although I have had some recent therapy...they did say that I have much work still to do. So, my patience is being tested for and by the simulation whose supposed to help.

Ha, Jeanne responded from Kognito Support to which I said "Thank you Jeanne, I appreciate your quick response. I will use Firefox to demo the website again." Shesh, I should of thought of that!" Or so my wicked mind tells me...not superman, just borrow his cape every now and again. I'm off to Firefox!

Thanks, with much love,

Scott A. Lee
Combat PTSD Blogger

First Person: Combat PTSD

My name is Rob Honzell, Sr. and I am a Marine Combat Veteran who served in the Vietnam War. I served two tours with 1st Recon eventually assigned to the Phoenix Program. I am the author of First Person: Combat PTSD. The offering was self-published, not by necessity, but by choice. The two publishers that bid on the book wished to turn my life’s journey into a novel. I did not reveal very intimate details of my live to have it turned into something that the average combat vet and his/her family could not relate to. The most gratifying emails and comments concerning the book are, "I read your book and realize that this is my husband", "I now know why my dad acts the way he does", and "My wife is a different person since she came back from Iraq, now I know why." This is why I chronicled my life and laid it out for public scrutiny and examination, and why I gave up so much in doing so. In a later contribution if I will explain the previous statement in greater detail.

I still have family members and ex-wives not talking to me over the book. It is what it is; a detailed account of my combat experiences in a special operations unit. An account of the trauma that precipitated the onset of the anxiety disorder labeled as Combat PTSD.

Fight the Combat PTSD Monster

Drawing by Scott Lee 1991

Comment from a reader on July 21, 2010 from the article, hey hey you guessed it! Combat Veterans Bring the Monster of War Home: The Story of SGT Travis Triggs (not doing the link again...I know I could have done it by now...but...never mind.

Anonymous said...

I fight my monster every day....sometimes it gets the upper hand and I add to the problems I already have. I fight every day to keep sane, to be "normal", to keep my job and keep my family intact. I fought well in Iraq...and won. I am still fighting, but feel I am destined to loose this fight. God, how I want this monster to go away.

My Response,

Anony, Go the VA, yes they can suck big time sometimes. But, if you read in these sections under Resources for Soldiers, Veterans, Families and Loved Ones you will be able to get the hep you need:

• Veteran Benefits, VA Policy and Directives
• Veteran Reintegration and Barriers to Care
• Suggested Guide to PTSD Management

You might be able to find some help along the way in reading here, if nothing else you will understand yourself better (Beware - Understanding why we do what we do will not change any of this...).

I have been where you are...you can make it home if you keep working at coming home everyday. We say 'Welcome Home' to our brothers and sisters in arms because the battle never leaves us, as we return home from combat everyday of our lives.

Your monster is not just your monster...it is the monster of all Warriors, we should carry it together. You are not meant to carry this burden alone, come home to your brothers and sisters. Seek us out in your community, we are there waiting for you.

The guilt and shame we carry we can share in and begin to heal.

Local Veterans Resource in Louisville KY: Interlink Counseling Services Inc

Photo by Scott Lee

Interlink Counseling Services at 8311 Preston Highway, Louisville, Kentucky 40219, phone 502-964-7147, E-mail support@interlinkservices.org. Interlink is a long-term residential treatment center for homeless veterans to meet their needs in achieving and maintaining a productive and meaningful life beyond substance abuse and homelessness. Issues such as chemical dependency, mental health problems, housing needs, and job placement, as needed can be addressed through a case manager in addition to assistance with filing for disability benefits through Social Security and the Veterans Administration.

Resource Seal of Approval: Family of a Vet

From the desk of Combat PTSDnews...

I am happy to announce that I will be updating our Resource Seal of Approval to include Family of a Vet to recognize the hard work they do and would like to extend an offer to join the Coalition of Combat PTSD Bloggers.

Over the years I have sent many women to Family of a Vet to seek out the knowledge to help shape the safe return of our modern warriors. Help in their latest project Congressional Survey to share your Combat PTSD story.

Family of a Vet welcomes those who seek real help in dealing with Combat PTSD,

Welcome, dear friends! Thanks for visiting Family Of a Vet (FOV). This site is dedicated to you... whether you're a Veteran or someone who loves a Veteran.

It was created trying to figure out how to handle the "after shocks" of combat including PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). We're here to help you find your way, find the information you need, and find a way not only to cope with life after combat... but to survive and thrive!

Our most important current project is our Congressional Survey. If you're visiting this site, please, please, please take time to fill it out. It's one way we're trying our best to get all Veterans and their families the help and support the need and deserve. It will only work, though, if we have LOTS of responses!!!!

Resource Seal of Approval: The A to Z Guide to VA Disability Benefits

The A to Z Guide to VA Disability Benefits
JimStrickland912,

How My Internet Collection Works Best For You: My only goal is to ensure you have the knowledge available to make the most of the benefits you've earned with your honorable military service. There are a series of sites that work together to keep you informed.

This site, The A to Z Guide to VA Benefits is a benefits data clearinghouse and is arranged so that you may find the benefits facts you need quickly and easily.

PASP(1) Resource Seal of Approval: The Minnesota Model

The Minnesota Model

Brock Hunter has worked hard to capitalize on gathering forces to build upon the momentum he begot belonging to the stable, steady and stern crusade of helping veterans. His calling in life is to help define at which length will we as a Nation will go to help those that went further.

So long story short...veteran killed 27 1/2 peoplein combat (shared credit w/someone else)...and he cannot turn the killing off...so at home he only kills one or two...(no this is not a tale of hero returns home...this is the tale of after he returns to find no help...)

...So, in swoopsBrock Hunter (the Caped Crusader of Combat PTSD), which is he more like? Superman or Batman? While you decide that let me, let you in on some of his creative genius.

Click here to read his Foundational Papers that have sparked a movement...

Resource Seal of Approval: The Augusta Model

I believe that there is a model of treatment for Combat Stress is here now in the community. Well, thats what I would like to say but that is not the reality of the situation as it stands on the grounds stateside. If we can duplicate this model in every community then we can begin to help our heroes remain so when they come home.

The Augusta Model: Focusing on Unique Assets, Increasing Information Flow and Coordination and Reintegrating Warriors after Combat

• The system at that time needed a lot of attention and has had exceptional upgrades
• Wholly unprepared for the Wave of Combat Stress Responses from veterans returning home with no connection to the community can become dangerous.
• The Augusta Model has the portability--franchise type expansion--
• By allocating block funds at the community level
• For the treatment of combat stress we,
• Tap into resources already in existence
• A model of hope and that's what I believe this to be.
• A piece of the blueprint for addressing this problem

The facts are in the website, track them and you find a trove research...dig in whats keepin ya?

Scott A Lee

Resource Seal of Approval: Real Warriors

Real Warriors Need Real Advice, now.

If your veteran is "out in the field" and lost within Combat PTSD then they will need no nonsense advice and access to resources for them and their families.

• I just had a conversation through an online help service to assist our soldiers and veterans within their community. Roman General (RG) is a pseudonym for a "Roman General with PTSD" kind of slant when I use sometimes when moving blindedly in writing...
• I gave'em hell and put it all out there, doesn't matter if you are Active Duty, National Guard, in the Reserves or a Veteran of any war!
• They have someone to help you and your family!
• This website is top notch, it gets my PASP(1) Resource Seal of Approval! ~~Scott A. Lee
• This is http://www.realwarriors.net/, someone will be right with you. Hello, this is someone;

The conversation between I and 'Someone' within the resource Real Warriors,

Someone:
Good Evening Roman, how may I help you?

Roman General:
Well as can be generally, except lately

Someone:
Why is that?

Roman General:
Was just looking around here and saw your chat feature. could you tell me more about your program?

Click here if you want to read the whole conversation...

Resource Seal of Approval: Wounded Warrior Care Project

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project needs funding to spread throughout the country to aid the soldier and veteran who needs the most urgent care.

• Shes home now, she has not been trained to battle a force that can overshadow the imagination
• In your neighborhood a combat mentally disabled veteran needs your help, she has been lost in an alien world where the most mundane things can get her killed
• We as a nation have been in denial long enough, if we do not act now we will begin to a see major increase in posttraumatic responses from combat veterans within more communities
• Wounded Warrior Care Project is This website is top notch, it gets my PASP(1) Resource Seal of Approval! ~~Scott A. Lee

Today, one in four veterans will find themselves in need for urgent care and a facility that has the appropriate training and sensitivity to care for our men and women, a one stop shop for veterans and soldiers. These figures taken with the above place todays estimate on levels of combat PTSD today in soldiers and veterans of our nations modern wars at 23%.

Again I say,

Statistics have amassed enough for all to see that combat posttraumatic response levels are necessitating something be done now to safeguard what could become to define a generation.

With a Wounded Warrior Care Project in EVERY community we can begin to heal from the wounds of war, both in person and a nation.