military veterans resources for better health & healing

Veterans and theMilitary:

Free and Low CostResources for Healing

and Resolving Post Traumatic Stress

Jinger Jarretthttp://militaryveteransworldwide.clubhttp://militaryveteransworldwide.com

DISCLAIMER: I am not a physician. I am not a mental health professional. In no way have I ever given or ever will give medical advice to anyone. This entire report is based on my own personal experience, and I have tried just about every resource in this report, and I have read all the articles. I thoroughly researched this topic in addition to adding in my own personal experience, and the purpose is to show veterans that they have options in how they handle their PTS.

The Myths

There are many myths that surround Post Traumatic Stress, the first being that it is some type of mentaldisorder. It is not. Instead, it is a physical and psychological reaction to being exposed to a single traumatic event.

There is more than one type of Post Traumatic Stress. It is called Complex Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder and occurs when the individual has been exposed to a protracted series of traumatic events.

An example of this is child abuse.

You may read more about it here:

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)

The issue is further complicated when you factor in physical injuries like Traumatic Brain Injury. This

normally occurs when there is a sudden jolt or violent blow to the body. Approximately seven percent

of PTS cases in the military community also include TBI.

Another myth is that PTS is the result of combat. Combat is only one way a person may be exposed to

an experience that can cause this reaction. Rape, child molestation and sudden death of someone close

to the person are some of the other events where a person may suffer from PTS. There are many others.

The next myth is that somehow combat PTS is worse than the any other experience a person may have

that leads to reaction to the stress. Unfortunately, this is comparing apples to oranges because it

marginalizes those who incur PTS through experiences not related to combat. All these events are

traumatic, and the person who experiences them needs to be treated with compassion and

understanding instead of being told to just suck it up and get over it, or marginalized because the PTS

wasn't caused by combat.

Because so many, especially in the veterans' community, believe that the only way to get PTS is

through combat, women are often told they couldn't have PTS (this happened to me. Because of it, it

made it a lot harder for me to get well because I was being treated for the wrong problems.)

The truth is that women are far more likely to experience PTS than men, and the rate for women is

actually double what it is for men. (See the site below for the facts on PTS and what the actual statistics

are.) A recent study raises the possibility that not only is there a mental component in PTS but if the

stress is the result of child abuse, it can have a physical component as well that may change the way a

person's body functions.

PTSD: National Center for PTSD - How Common is PTSD?

Abused Children May Get Unique Form of PTSD

Regardless of how the trauma occurs, treating the trauma can often be similar as many of the emotions

behind all PTS is the same including guilt, anger, rage and pain. At the same time, it is also necessary

to have a clear picture of the individual's trauma history in order to more effectively treat the problems

because each individual is unique in his/her trauma history. All factors must be considered including

psychological and physical trauma.

More often than not, the way Veterans Affairs treat it is through teaching coping skills, medication

and/or cognitive therapy. The problem with these types of treatments is that they only treat the

symptoms if at all. These therapies never treat the root causes, and so the person who is traumatized

only gets momentary relief instead of any type of healing and/or resolution to the issues.

Resolving Your Suffering

My goal here is to help you find healing and resolution to your suffering. You will never be able to get

rid of the memories that caused your pain. You can, however, neutralize the hurt feelings behind the

trauma and heal. If you choose to try any of these methods, understand that it will take some time to

reach full relief.

The longer you have been in the pain, the more baggage there is to deal with. The sooner you begin to

deal with the hurt and pain behind the initial trauma, the sooner you can begin to get better. It is a

recovery process, and it takes time. That's why it is so crucial to not give up here. It can be very

frustrating. As you progress though, you will find yourself having more good days than bad days,

and you do get better with time provided you are using an effective treatment that works for you.

One additional factor to consider as a veteran is that the root causes of your condition may not be

combat or combat related stress at all. We now have a volunteer military. Based on my experience of

talking to many veterans over the years, many of us have come from dysfunctional homes. The roots of

your stress and what is triggering your episodes may be related to your family of origin. The good news

is that it is not necessary to remember these events in order to treat them. Instead, you may heal the

emotions and painful feelings behind them and find healing in the process.

A Note Here: To get the most effective treatment possible for your PTS, make sure you have a check

up to find out if you have any physical problems. You want to treat both the mind and body. It is an

integrated approach. When the person involved has both physical and emotional problems, it is

somewhat more difficult to treat the problems. In other words, the process is more involved. It takes

patience to find the right treatment. Getting better requires being willing to try new things and see what

works for you. The key here is to first understand what all the problems are. Then you can develop a

plan of action to solve each problem.

Before I give the list of resources you can use to help you get better, one thing I would recommend that

helped me and was recommended by one of my case workers is to keep a journal. The focus here needs

to be about how you feel about something. It's what I call an unresolved feelings journal. I found that as

I began to heal from the emotional issues, much of the physical pain I was feeling began to go away.

If you were taught, as I was, not to have feelings or to not feel those feelings, you will have many

unresolved emotions to deal with. I know it may sound like a cliche, but it's not what happens to us that

is the real problem. It is not the people, places and events in our lives. It's how we feel about it. Writing

about what happened to you won't be nearly as effective in helping you get better as knowing how you

feel about it. Consider keeping a journal and writing about these emotions as they come up. I know this

will be difficult for you, especially if you're a guy because men are taught that it's not OK to cry, and

it's not OK to have feelings, that it makes you weak. If this were true, then you wouldn't have been born

with emotions.

Getting better is up to you. Wellness is about feeling good most of the time. If you're feeling bad most

of the time, then you're stuck. This is the first major symptom of PTS, and it is a warning sign that you

need help. Left untreated, this can lead to depression and/or suicide.

Resources to Use

Before you get started, you need to have a goal in mind. Try only one resource at a time. Otherwise

you'll feel overwhelmed, and it can actually make things worse. Decide what you want to work on, and

then choose from among the resources below to get started. Many of these resources I have already

used, and they have been very helpful. Keep in mind that each individual is different, and in order to

get better you will need to develop a treatment plan that works for you.

Heal My PTSD - Explains the three approaches to treatment of PTS: traditional, alternative and self

empowered healing. Resources include 10 tips for dealing with someone who has it, as well as how to

reduce your symptoms and stop the flashbacks and dissassociations and how to manage your emotions.

Free.

Emotional Intelligence Toolkit - Shows you the five steps to reducing stress in your life and how to

bring balance. Offers a free newsletter as well as a directory of resources where you may seek further

help. Free.

Patriot Outreach - Contains extensive information on PTS as it applies to the military and veterans.

Includes the complete audio exercises for those who need help with recovery. Offers plenty of guidance

for families as well as military leaders who are having to deal with this issue among their troops.

Includes manuals on suicide prevention and the Army Manual for Combat Stress Control. The

exercises are simple and take about 20 minutes per day to complete. (It is a form of meditation.) Done

regularly, these exercises help clear out the underlying causes of the stress so you can heal. I've used it,

and it's very effective. Free.

Emotional Freedom Technique - This is a form of therapy that has been embraced by the VA on a

limited basis, so when you go for treatment, make sure you ask to find out if they use it. There have

been studies done on these treatment modalities that show it does have a positive effect in reducing

PTS in veterans and military personnel. Critics claim that it's not scientific nor effective. You can get a

free 60 page manual and then decide for yourself if this is right for you. The site also offers articles on

how this form of treatment is being integrated into the military and the VA.

The Healing Codes - Developed by medical doctor Dr. Alex Loyd, this type of treatment is what is

known as energy transfer healing. It is based on a basic law of quantum physics that says that

everything is made of energy. What the Healing Codes does is change the frequency of the energy in

the body and heals the trauma or traumas.

Dr. Ben Johnson, the only medical doctor featured in "The Secret", and a leading cancer specialist in

the United States (his offices are in Atlanta) used it to heal his ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Healing

your emotions and traumas will also help in healing physical disease since about two thirds of all

medical illnesses have a psychological cause. I highly recommend you read the book (it is available at

most public libraries) and find out the science behind it.

You may also get the book or Kindle on Amazon:

The Healing Code: 6 Minutes to Heal the Source of Your Health, Success, or Relationship Issue

For a comparison of EFT and the Healing Codes, as well as to understand how these healing modalities

work, I recommend the following article.

"How is The Healing Code Different from EFT and Like Modalities?"

You may also want to read the following article as it contains some excellent information on the issue

of PTS, particularly in veterans. It also offers an unusual approach to treating PTS.

A Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSD

Finally, one resource that I have found to be extremely helpful is hypnosis/self hypnosis. This can help

you with getting behind the root causes of your traumas and access the subconscious mind.

Steve Luzern - Offers plenty of free MP3 self hypnosis on just about any issue you may have,

including pain. These are absolutely free to download and use. I find them to be very relaxing, and it

has helped me to deal with some of the subconscious beliefs I had that were holding me back.

How you choose to treat your stressors really is up to you. It's your body, and it's your life. Albert

Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting

different results. If you don't feel good, if you're having difficulty functioning, then it's time to consider

trying something else. I speak from experience because I became stuck so I understand. I had plenty of

traumas to heal from, and as I write this, I'm still dealing with some of those traumas. The good news,

for me at least, is that I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Most days are good days for me, and

I'm writing again, something I stopped doing when I became severely depressed.

There is hope, and there is healing. It is not an easy process. If it were, many more veterans would be

getting well than are. Like I said: it's your life. You helped pay for the cost of freedom? Don't you think

it's time you enjoy what you paid for?

About the Author

Jinger Jarrett is a former U.S. Army soldier and member of the Michigan Army National Guard. She

served from 1982 to 1986 in Signal Corps and then as an administrative specialist and a print military

journalist in the Guard.

Her traumas came from childhood. She is the Adult Child of an Alcoholic and also suffered sexual

traumas unrelated to being the child of an alcoholic before joining the military. Later marrying a fellow

soldier who was also an alcoholic, she continued the pattern of abuse in her life.

After not being able to find a job in the early 1990s while living in Michigan, she attended Central

Michigan University and served in the Guard to pay for her education. She earned her B.A.A. with

majors in both Journalism and English Language as Literature. She worked her way off welfare,

divorced her first husband and remarried.

After a second divorce, she was diagnosed as bipolar. For three years she was on Social Security

disability while she took Lithium to treat her condition. She subsequently worked her way off disability

and began to function again, raising her children in the process.

She moved to Atlanta in 2004. In 2005, all three of her daughters became pregnant, and her oldest and

middle daughters' babies died. That was the beginning of a depressive spiral that left her drifting from

home to home until she woke up in October 2012. It was like waking up from a coma. She got involved

in veterans' causes and began the process of healing. Five failed business projects in the veterans'

community and homelessness were the result.

Seeking help in the local community, she got better and found the gaps in the current VA system that

are preventing veterans from reaching their full potential. Now in a home of her own and back to

freelancing, she is getting better. Most days are good, and she is healing as well as writing again.

She has three beautiful and happily married daughters, three not so new sons now and five grandkids

she got to keep. When she's not working, she spends time with her family and watching her grandkids

grow. Still deeply involved in veterans' issues, she's now working to help veterans worldwide.

You may find her on Facebook and all other major social networks including Google+, Twitter,

Pinterest and Linkedin. She's built a new social site and blog for veterans to help bring together all the

resources in the veterans' community to help veterans achieve economic prosperity and healing and

resolution with their issues. She also seeks to develop real solutions to the problems facing veterans

and finance those solutions through business memberships on her site.