Internet helps veterans suffering traumas find help, support

Internet helps veterans suffering traumas find help, support

Written by
Carter Andrews

More than 2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. According to RAND Corp. statistics, about 360,000 will suffer from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

One of the particularly heinous consequences of PTSD is it makes people lose trust in institutions set up to support them. They've seen so much and they've lost so much, they don't trust anyone but those who were in the trenches with them.

That's where the Internet comes in. We started notalone.com as a community to help warriors and families support each other as they deal with life after war. To serve the community, we layer in services such as online support groups and online education. These services create the trust we need to persuade warriors and their families to seek our in-person services.

For National Guardsmen and women, the Internet is their life support when they return back to their local communities, where few people can understand what they've been through and how to help.

Through our online portal, Not Alone is helping military families, warriors and veterans heal from devastating psychological and emotional traumas including PTSD, depression, anxiety and alcohol and drug addiction. Without immediate access to behavioral health services, these traumas can have disastrous effects on warriors, their families and communities.
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Internet helps veterans suffering traumas find help, support

Advice for returning veterans

Advice for returning veterans

BY ANNA HERKAMP

DANVILLE — Danville Area Community College’s Veterans’ Multipurpose Employment Center hosted a speaker at Bremer Center Thursday night who has personal knowledge of what life is like for today’s returning veterans.

Mike Jones, chief financial officer of Not Alone, an online support organization for those returning home from combat duty in the Middle East, knows what it’s like because he was there himself.

The West Point graduate returned home from two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2004. As a rifle company commander in Iraq, he was responsible for a city of 225,000 and was assigned 136 men to defend the area.

By the time he was finished with his last tour, he eagerly jumped into civilian life with a new career in investment banking.

Although he thought he was ready for a change, it became apparent to those around him that he hadn’t fully come home yet. He shut himself off from his parents, he drank too much and rarely allowed anyone near him.

Two years went by before he sought help. His wife told him if he didn’t, their relationship would be over.

Jones described himself as worse off than many veterans. He had a way of getting through his life much like a high-functioning alcoholic.
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http://www.commercial-news.com/local/local_story_232224955.html

Heal the Healer

Heal the Healer

As a medic on a medevac helicopter crew, Andrea saw non-stop action during OIF, and felt that she was using her medical training for it's best purpose. When she returned home, the full range of PTSD symptoms hit her like a bomb. She was so triggered that she had to give up her medical career and live with intense isolation and anger. Therapy and a friendship with a caring family has helped her to heal and to begin to trust.

You can listen to Andrea's story on our story site here. Heal the Healer

For the iTunes version, click here. If you'd like to hear a quick sample of any of our podcasts, click here for iTunes

The warrior returns, PTSD and Soldier's Soul

For anyone out there that still thinks I'm nuts talking about the soul and PTSD, you really need to read this and listen to Dr. Tick. He's not the first one to talk about it, but it will give you some clue what I've been talking about all these years.

This week's story
The warrior returns
Dr. Edward Tick, author of the groundbreaking book “War and the Soul” and founder of Soldier’s Heart, is a practicing psychotherapist specializing in veterans with PTSD. Ed received his Master’s in Psychology from Goddard College, Vermont and his Doctorate in Communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. Ed has been in private psychotherapy practice since 1975 and began focusing on veteran’s issues in 1979. His pioneering work with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or, in his words, ‘loss of the soul’, is the basis for his recent book War and the Soul . He continues his healing work with veterans and other trauma survivors with innovative yet time-honored methods. Ed has extensively studied both classical Greek and Native American traditions and successfully integrates their methods into modern clinical work.
More information about Soldier's Heart can be found at www.soldiersheart.net.

You can listen to Ed's story on our story site here.