Ways I find things that are helpful

Facebook

Seriously.  Some of the best things I have found have been through social media.  Mostly Facebook and Google.  

Over the years I have gone through 20+ years of counseling through the VA.  25+ medications.  Shock Therapy.  Now I am in medical retirement at 100%.  I have been in medical retirement since April 1, 2011.  I never thought I would find the kind of support I have through social media.

On Facebook I have found  many friends who have been through the same trials I have gone through.  All you need to do on Facebook is search Veteran.  There are hundreds of pages that are out there to help veterans with PTSD, TBI, Depression, Wounded Warrior, Stop Soldier Suicide.  Literally hundreds of pages to connect with other veterans.  If you are feeling suicidal please go to the bottom of the page and call the national hotline.  

For your next search on Facebook search Veterans Suicide.  There are dozens of pages that are out there to help.  Next search Soldier suicide.  Again, there are pages out there that are for our help and have outreach programs.  One of the best searches is Veterans Community.  You will find Marine, Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard community pages.  American Legion, VFW, DAV and many other agencies that can assist in finding you the help you need and/or want.

Through searches like these and talking with the members and friends of the many pages I have found, I have become great friends with other families.  I find it very helpful to associate with families that have lost a husband, wife, child or a grandparent to suicide.  Why you might ask?  In talking with these families, I find strength to stay alive.  I do not want to cause those kind of wounds for my family.  Even if it means some days I sleep in bed.  I am still alive. 

Another resource I have found helpful has been the VA.  When I go to the Mental Health building at my VA, they actually have a billboard full of activities and events to help veterans.  Fishing retreats, boating events, meditation classes, yoga classes, art training, along with many other events.  Things that help veterans get out of the house and be involved with others.  As you look around at your local VA, if you can not find a billboard with activities, ask the receptionist.  I have yet to go into a VA that does not have activities that can help us veterans in many ways. 

Service/Therapy dogs are a great benefit to veterans.  There are many studies that show dogs are much better than years of drugs. Search pages on Facebook for veterans dogs.  Many will help you teach your own dog, or teach a dog for you.  Again there are many pages that are out there to help you!  I hope you have seen this video before.  But it shows the power that a therapy, service, or companion dog can be.  You can find many trainers in your area through Google or Facebook.

Therapy Dogs and their value

I love art, both painting and drawing.  As Bob Ross often said, "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."  Art gets your mind active in a way that, for me, the depression slips away and I feel like I am creating my own world.  Which I am.  But even though I do make mistakes, the art still looks good. And my time was spent doing something I enjoy doing.  Through either Facebook or Google, I have found painting classes near me that are inexpensive and sometimes free for veterans.  This lighthouse was only my fourth painting.

As you have time, search for things that you like.  There are many activities.  Fishing, riding horses, pottery, hiking, wood working, painting, training dogs, walking dogs for other veterans, talking with veterans in Facebook community pages that have lost family members.  

I honestly pray that by sharing my thoughts and struggles with the many who read my blog posts, that there will be those who will gain a new perspective on their depression, PTSD, TBI, and the many other invisible illnesses that veterans suffer with.  

There will be peaceful times.

There will be hard times.

There will be times we set markers and do not give in to suicide.

I know.

I have felt the pain of not going through with it.

I have felt the joy and happiness of not going through with it.

I have lived both.

I currently live both.

I know the times I have felt peace, far outweigh the negative.

Seek the positive. 

Live for the positive.

It will come. 

You can feel it.

Set another marker today!

National Suicide hotline number is 1-800-273-8255

Stop Soldier Suicide @ www.stopsoldiersuicide.org

some Facebook page suggestions:

Stop Soldier Suicide

Spartyka Foundation

Veteran Vision Project

Veterans to Christ

Madison Rising

Veterans Moving Forward

Bootstrap Stress Management

Pin-Ups for Vets

Faces of Veterans Success

PTSD Hope

OIF Veterans and Families

Unconventional Military Art

Love Your Veterans

Andrew R. Jones, Marine Corp Combat Veteran

Mike Ritland

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)