Troops sleeping disorders….problem? YES!
Memories, so hard to stop them flooding my mind when I am trying to sleep at night. I try to quiet their persistent noise in my head with telling myself to relax. Fortunately, for myself, I have discovered the benefit of using “white noise” which in my case is a fan that I switch on at night to help me sleep on those “my brain won’t stop thinking nights.
Sadly, being able to sleep and stop the thoughts is not so easy for many of our troops. Here is an article that addresses that issue.
http://www.navytimes.com/article/20141030/BENEFITS06/310300047/Troops-sleep-problem-may-new-disorder
TBI/PTSD – To Love, Honor and Obey-ish?
The marriage vow “…to love, honor and obey…”, is not exactly easy for us to obey. Especially when our very loved military/former military spouse comes home with a TBI or PTSD. That threw my starry-eye vision of love/laughter/rainbows and joy into a bit of confusion and martial turmoil. But, you know, knowledge is power and understanding what has happened to change the love-of-my-life can make a big difference in the re-building a marriage.
Here is a link to an article entitled, Marriage Tips for PTSD $ TBI Families, which gives some very good suggestions to help bridge that gap of “what the heck happened to my husband” to “this will take awhile to get it right, but we can make this marriage work!”
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Ever on the lookout for ways to help our warriors/husbands/wives/veterans/active military, etc., I recently popped on the website of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and thought I would share it with you as it’s goal is to – > ” support(s) the military’s Special Operations Forces and their families through three programs:
- College scholarships for the surviving children of fallen Special Operations Forces
- Educational & family counseling, and advocacy support
- Immediate $3,000 financial grants to severely-wounded Special Operations Forces service members
Does this interest you or spouse? If so, please log onto http://www.specialops.org/ for more information.
PTSD and Couples
PTSD is no fun, as many of you military wives and husbands know. Focus on the Family’s, Pres. Jim Daily wrote a really great blog entitled, How Couples Can Work Through PTSD, as well as some great links that can really help with some other questions you might have. Just check it out. Okay?
The link is: http://jimdaly.focusonthefamily.com/how-couples-can-work-through-ptsd/
I’d love to hear your feedback.
Landmark
Beautiful commemoration for our Military Veterans.
Have a great Veterans Day and thank you all so very much for your service and sacrifice.
NEW – VETERAN’S HEALTHCARE CHOICE PROGRAM
I thought this might be some interest for you Veterans who are having a difficult time getting help from the VA. Below is an excerpt from the announcement from the VA about this new program and a link to the article.
“Many Veterans will now have the option to receive non-VA health care rather than waiting for a VA appointment or traveling to a VA facility.
Beginning November 5, 2014, the new Choice Program will begin to cover non-VA care for eligible Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare. Veterans are eligible if any of these situations apply to you…” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
Communication Problems?
It is the silences I remember most. The feeling that even though we could touch each other and loved each other, but we have difficulty really talking to each other. If you, too, are having problems communicating with your loved one, check out this website: http://www.poweroftwomarriage.com/info/how-to-communicate-with-your-spouse/
Now I am not saying that you need to take the course they are obviously selling, but the communication suggestions listed on this webpage are quite good, such as:
If this makes sense to you, check out the link and be sure to view the videos included on the site. They are fun and informative.
Anti-depressants after TBI
I know first hand how a loved ones personality can change after a TBI. It is like they are different, yet the same. Strangely enough you can see the difference in their eyes as well as their mannerisms. Yet, should someone who has experienced TBI and suffers from depression be given anti-depressants? Should they see a doctor while taking these medication? Should they be receiving counseling as well?
Here is advice about TBI and meds by Dr. Brian Greenwald.
So, your son/daughter has enlisted….
Having a husband leave once again for deployment is tough. However, as Ellie Kay writes in her July 2014 blog entitled, Deployments and Random Acts of Emotion, having your son or daughter enlisting and being deployed sets off an avalanche of emotion and sometimes heartache. Ellie writes, “… sending a family member away to a deployment is a different situation entirely and even though I may not sob buckets of tears, these deep seeded emotions have a way of bubbling to the surface like the tar in the La Brea Tar Pits.” Click here to read more from Ellie’s blog.
For the Love of Veterans 