Important Piece: Soothing a Soldier's Spirit

From the Des Moines Register:

"Do you want to know why you are acting the way you are now?" Kittleson asked him. "You are only six months removed from the most stressful year that any 21-year-old will ever have and probably have for the rest of your life. For 365 unrelenting days, your body and mind and soul have been coiled like a spring with fear, anxiety and uncertainty while trying your best to do your job and not let your buddies down.

"No one can go through what you have and return to life as you knew it before. No one. And now your body and soul say that it can't keep that kind of stress and trauma inside any longer. It must come out. The only question is 'Will it come out in a way that destroys me or heals me?' The only way to not be destroyed by your combat experience is to talk with someone who understands. Someone who has 'been there, done that."

Please read the whole article; and consider thanking the Register's columnist, Carlson, for this important piece.

Tags:

• combat
• stories
• talk
• therapy
• anxiety