Showing posts with label Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Show all posts

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Jonathan Pears was killed by lingering ignorance of what PTSD is

If a veteran being shot and killed by police after being called by a family because he was in crisis, doesn't bother you, you are not thinking. If they have PTSD and need help, but end up being killed, the rest of us don't stand a chance either. 

There are millions of American joining the PTSD club every year and none of us want to belong to it, but when we are not getting the help we need when we are in crisis, it doesn't make the news. When veterans are killed, it does. 

Veterans do, and always have had my heart. I got into working with veterans 40 years ago and have not stopped, even though now my efforts are for everyone struggling after surviving. I am one of them. 

When you read the following story about Jonathan Pears being killed by police officers after his family tried to get him help, understand that it could be you or someone you love this happens to. If the police still don't understand how to respond to someone in mental health crisis, even with so many officers dealing with PTSD, the rest of us can very well end up with the same fate. We survive what happens to us and then, too many cannot survive what comes afterwards. We've been doing this for far too long to still be losing so many lives out of lingering ignorance.


Family of veteran with PTSD killed by Alabama deputy wants answers, new body camera law

Associzated Press
Published: Mar. 30, 2022
Born into a military family, Jonathan Pears had served first as an airman and then as a contractor in Afghanistan. When he returned, he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, according to his father, retired Air Force Col. Andy Pears.
Andy and Mary Pears stand with a photo of their son by the memorial to him in the front yard of their home in Elmore County, Ala., on Nov. 5, 2021. Thirty-two-year-old Jonathan Pears was shot and killed by deputies on July 28, 2021. The couple said their son, a military veteran suffered PTSD and depression after returning from Afghanistan, and they called 911 seeking help for him during a mental health crisis. The Elmore County Sheriff's Office said Pears was holding a large knife and refused commands to drop it. His parents maintain deputies were a safe distance away and did not have to shoot their son. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)AP
When Mary Pears called 911 because her veteran son who had PTSD appeared to be having a mental health crisis, she had hoped to get him help and keep everyone safe.

Within minutes, 32-year-old Jonathan Pears was dead, fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in the front yard of his parents’ Alabama home.

“I wanted someone to talk him down. I wanted someone to come help us to get him calmed down. I absolutely did not want them to kill my son, nor did I ever think that would happen,” Mary Pears said.

The tragic end to their call for help didn’t have to happen, the family said. Now, they want changes in how officers respond to a mental health crisis and have filed a lawsuit accusing the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office of using excessive force.
read more here

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Wounded Times #4 top PTSD blog!

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 27, 2022

I wrote 3 new books and published them in just six months, but they are being buried on Amazon. I can't afford to buy ads, so I am doing what I can to help people find them. I spent most of the day trying to find the best way to get people to see these books.

Writing them was a miracle because there is no way I could have come up with a story like this on my own. They were an answer to my prayers. With over 30,000 posts, over 700 videos and 3 other books, I needed a new way of saying what I've been saying for 40 years. People can heal PTSD if someone shows them how to do it. I thought PTSD Patrol would be the way.

After all, that is exactly how people have healed PTSD. Someone cleared the way for them to get to the place in their life so they would discover how much power they do have to heal. It worked for a while, but not enough.

In August, I was really depressed about it. I asked God for help to write one, but He helped me write three. Just goes to show that God still listens to prayers and still inspires people to go out and change the world. When I started all this back in 1982, the world was smaller. I wrote opinion pieces to local newspapers. We didn't have the internet in our house until 1993 and I got on AOL. I had a blog there, eventually I had many more but always focused on PTSD.

Now the online world seems too big for me and I my work gets buried, or at least I thought it did.

Lesson I learned today. Sometimes we pray for a miracle and that is all we focus on. The one we want is all we want to see. When we discover that a different miracle came, we realize that we have been looking in the wrong places.

I knew about Feedspot having my site up but did not know it just reached #4 of Top 60 blogs for PTSD.

I no longer live in Florida but was stunned to see that Wounded Times is number 4!

I live in Rochester NH, not NY but still consider this an honor.

If you've been praying for a miracle, I hope you take some comfort in this. There are people out there just like me, doing the work for the sake of the work to be done. The simple fact that people found this work or the books, or the videos, proves God guides us to where we need to be to find what we were searching for. 

Yep! One more thing that is The Lost Son series. Miracles happened when people were guided to where they needed to be to be found!



Wednesday, March 2, 2022

PTSD? Surviving was the first miracle


Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 2, 2022

When you survive the cause of PTSD, it sometimes feels as if it is torture. People in your life don't understand what happened to you. They can't figure out why you changed. You hear stupid things like "Well look on the bright side, you're still alive." That isn't very helpful when all you can see is darkness surrounding you. Fear consumes you. At the time when you need to be comforted by someone, you are pushing them away out of fear you will be judged instead of being understood. 

You need help to heal, but may not feel as if you deserve it, even if there is a tiny glimmer of hope you can be. If you feel alone, and everyone is walking away from you, no one comes to help you, and all you see are news reports of others suffering too, you can't see hope.

I know what that's like. I survived over ten events in my life. I still know what that is like when there are many times when I can't find anyone to help me. I end up feeling as if they must not think I deserve any help from them, or even their time to listen to me. I know what it is like to need comforting and reassurance
that these dark days will not last, just like all the other dark days were taken over by brighter ones.

For me, when faced with great need and no one answer my plea for help, I turn toward times in my life when things were really bleak and remember what it felt like to have a miracle happen just when I needed it most of all, even when I felt as if the world was telling me I didn't deserve one.

There are miracles happening all around us. I can't explain why they come or when they come. I can only explain how they come. They come when people hear God and do what they can to answer our prayers.

Oh, sure there are some that come directly from God. The Bible is full of them. Sometimes they are huge ones. Other times they are small ones but when you are in great need and put your trust in God, that mini-miracle makes all the difference in the world to you.

Consider this one I found while searching for something to comfort me this morning. 
From Way Nation
The Never Ending Flour Jar and Oil Jug
For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:14-16


Why It’s Awesome:
I love this miracle because of its small-ness. It wasn’t big and loud. It didn’t help a huge number of people. And it’s not even the biggest miracle in this chapter. It’s just a woman and her son, yet God sees to it that their suffering and fear are alleviated.

It can be hard to believe that God cares about me and my struggles when so many other big things are going on in the world, but this miracle reminds me that’s just not the case.

 I had no idea this site was even out there, but I found it when I needed to. That was a mini-miracle for me. The fact you are reading this at all is mini-miracle for you, since that is the only way anyone finds this work.

The thing is, when we are forgotten by others, it is easy to forget about the times when we had people in our lives. Easy to forget when we knew we had God in our lives and found hope. I went to sleep last night after crying, feeling defeated because no matter how many times I tried to get help for what I need, no one replied. No one on this earth answered. God did. This morning I woke up with enough hope to even sit here and write this. Considering how much misery I was in last night, that is a monumental miracle for me, even though it may only seem like a mini-miracle to others.

When you survived the cause of PTSD, people helped you do it. You didn't expect strangers to show up, but they did. They showed up because they were sent to let you know you were safe again because God sent them to you and they responded. Every time we survive, we have a choice to make. Do we focus only on what was done to us, or do we focus on what was done for us?

We need to honor the feelings we have as survivors so we can begin to heal. Cry-scream-get angry-and get it out of your system. Then focus on the people who came to help you and let their acts of kindness fill you. Those who came to help, outnumbers those who came to harm. Those are the people I am remembering this morning and remembering they came when I least expected them to help.

Friday, February 25, 2022

Can you become part of a miracle?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 25, 2022
Have you ever wanted to help someone but didn't think you could? If you're thinking that you are only one person and there isn't much you can do, think about it. A lot of people felt the same way, until they remembered how one person, just like them, helped them. Lives are being changed because people are using the power they do have to deliver miracles.

The Lost Son series are fictional, but there are survivors doing whatever they can to give hope to others that they can heal too. There are actual people all over the country doing the same thing because someone helped them along the way.

Read this from Alive Again and see if you can see yourself in any of this.

Greer from Alive Again, The Lost Son Part Two
“Good morning. We’re all here because we know miracles still happen. We know that because of Chris’s books, they were happening all around us, all along, but the world is a less lonely place now that we know they are. I’m sure you’ve heard on the news, even up to yesterday, that they also come when we least expect them, and least expect we’re going to need another one. Miracles happened to all the people behind me, and they happened to me too. The people behind me helped Chris heal in just thirteen days. That’s all it took for him going from wanting to end his life, to beginning to write about the miracles, and how all of us could become ingredients of miracles.” She looked at the crowd and the cameras.

“Many of you are doing video testimonies with the people from Netflix, so others will hear your stories and find hope. Our hope is you receive the same reward all of us did. Since the books came out, we discovered how much of an impact they had on people. They said it was priceless learning that what they did spread out to many others. They spread it even further, changing the world one person at a time, or in Chris’s case, millions.” She started to walk around.

“This is the reason we are asking you to open your hearts and wallets to donate to wherever your soul is leading you to. If you are touched by the homeless, find a shelter to donate to. If you are touched by hunger, donate to a food bank. If it is for animals, donate to a rescue shelter for them. Whatever it is, give what you can because you can. If you cannot donate money, but have some time, donate your time. If you don’t have money or time, then donate prayers because all of us know how prayers are still heard and are still answered. If you have a neighbor in need, help. If you are in a store and a clerk is having a rough day, smile or joke with them so you change their day. If you see someone acting out of anger, pray for courage to correct them.” She stood near Chris.

“Because of what happened yesterday, we understand that this event is being covered by reporters from across the country and internationally by the BBC. We are asking all of you to remember, ‘For God so love the world, He gave his only begotten Son’ and remember those in other parts of His world and care for all His children, no matter where they live.”

She smiled, “When you are feeling this world is too dark, remember that there are still more people walking in the light and join them. Realize the power you have to make a difference in this world and become a part of a miracle others are praying for. Thank you all for being a part of ours.” Greer turned around and David hugged her.

That is how you become part of a miracle. Doing what you can for the sake of others because you know how it feels to have little or nothing. If you know what it felt like to have someone help you heal PTSD, pass it on. Even if you only help one person, that help does not end with them. Whoever helped you, was helped by someone else, and they were helped before that. That miracle of hope spread person to person and lives were changed.

Over the last 40 years, I helped people because God guided me to search for answers and I was helped to find experts willing to teach me, even though I am no one special. I had no money, no connections to powerful people, but what I had was a strong desire to help anyone I could. Each and everyone of the people I helped, passed it on, for no other reason than they wanted to help someone else find their way out of the darkness of PTSD they had been living with. That's how miracles happen.


Chris with his therapist in Stranger Angels, The Lost Son Part Three
Chris looked down at the floor. “I don’t know how to say it. I’ve never told another person. I didn't even tell Mandy.”

Dariana leaned forward in her chair. “Whatever it is, it may be what is missing in your healing. Just close your eyes and tell me.”

Chris leaned back, closed his eyes and the memory came to life. “When I was young I wanted to become a Priest. That part I was able to talk about. It was a reoccurring dream that I never talked about before. I was in the sanctuary wearing vestments and carrying an empty challis, walking down the aisle, like the Holy procession but there was no one else inside. All the pews were empty. Instead of going up another aisle, I carried the challis out the front door. When I got outside, I was wearing a flannel shirt, T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, like I wore to school. I stood on the top step, looked down at the challis and it was full. I looked up and saw hundreds of people there. I gave Communion to all of them, and then preached on the the Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
Luke 10:30-37
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’"

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
You don't have to be Christian to do likewise. You don't have to believe in God or Jesus to do likewise. All you need to do is care about others and be willing to do what you can for the sake of others.

Like with all other books out there, these books are intended for a specific audience. Most people who do not go to church are not intended to get your body into one. They are not anti-church but are anti-hypocritical. The goal of these books is to empower survivors living with PTSD and fill them with the same things that filled me, nourished me and gave me peace with the past so that events no longer controlled me and people who hurt me, no longer had power over my life.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Lost Son and Me

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 23, 2022


When I created this image of me, I was trying for something that looked more like an elf. It didn't work but I got a big kick out of it and decided to keep it. It made the point I was trying to make, that although my wrinkles, scars on my face, bags under my eyes and graying hair, make me appear to be mean, I am far from it. The thing is, people who know me, know what I am all about, and know my character, don't need convincing about that. Only strangers do.

When I wrote The Lost Son, people in my life saw parts of me in the main character. Christopher Papadopoulos is mostly the male version of me.

The scars on his body were reminders of what he survived but the scars in his soul were reminders of why he didn’t want to anymore. Chris Papadopoulos was tired of waiting for his life to get better while he grew more bitter. Tired of paying the price for covering suffering while working as a report for an LA newspaper. Tired of the seven years he survived the bomb blast that ripped through his body while covering the war in Afghanistan. Tired of watching all he had erode like the fire escape from his window.

Seven years was long enough. He sat on his bed with a gun in his hand while a war between hope and despair kept him from lifting the gun to his head. He gave up and went to the bar figuring that if he got drunk enough, he wouldn’t have to think about anything much longer.

Chris thought everyone he knew burned down the bridges between them and him. He couldn’t see he was the one with all the matches and his friends were trying to find the firehose. Chris was dismissing the fact he had PTSD. He was right about one thing. Seven years was too long for him to be suffering instead of healing, but God had other plans for him. That night, Chris was sent on a mission to save himself and millions of others when he discovered a secretive society changing the world one soul at a time.

This is for the "churchless" children of God so you will know, that miracles do not come from a church, but they come from God.

Like Chris, I survived an attempted murder when my first husband came home from work one night and decided to beat me. He almost killed me. He stalked me, just like Chris's wife did to him.

Chris wanted to become a Priest in the Greek Orthodox church, so did I but, as a female, that was never going to happen. Later in life I was told I missed my calling and should have converted to another denomination they would let me preach. I became a Chaplain instead. My church does not support women in ministry, so I felt as if there is no place for me there.

Chris didn't know he had #PTSD and thought he would just get over it. I thought the same thing too. After all, I had devoted 40 years of research, writing and helping other people discover how much power they did have and nothing to be ashamed of as survivors of whatever caused it. The problem is, just like Chris, I turned it into a contest that I didn't want to win. So many others over the years, had it a lot worse than I had it. My panic attacks, mood swings, flashbacks and nightmares, only came to life when I heard the sound of a muscle car, because that was what my ex-husband drove. 

Like Chris never read anything about someone like himself, I never read anything about anyone like me. I survived over 10 events beginning at the age of 5. I saw two therapists and neither of them diagnosed PTSD. I dismissed what I was going through because it didn't happen all the time and did not rob me of a good, happy life.

Chris wanted to become a reporter. I always wanted to be a writer. When Chris started to heal he began to write a book to help others heal too. He wanted them to be able to read about people just like them so they would know they were not alone and their lives could be better. I wanted the same thing and tried through three other books, over 700 videos and countless articles on this site, as well as others. I wanted to tell the truth as much as I wanted to offer hope.

Chris spent 7 years regretting he survived because he thought everyone he knew walked away from him and God sent the suffering to him. On September 13, 2019, seven years after a bomb blast changed his life and caused the nightmarish series of events, he decided his suffering should end. So did God, but God disagreed on how that should happen.

In 13 days, he was led out of the darkness he had been living with, to enlighten the world of what was possible when miracles walk in the door, when he least expected them. Within 6 months, he wrote a book about miracles workers in a secret society of Chaplains and a miracle worker named Mandy living in a cabin in Gabriel New Hampshire. As for me, I wrote 3 books in 6 months because I prayed for a new way to say what I've been saying for 40 years. No one should choose to stay in darkness when the road has been cleared to make it into the light of God's love, even without a church.

Most of the people I helped all these years, believe in God and Jesus, but no longer felt they belonged in a church where they would be accepted. These books are for people like me. It is important that they see what is in the Bible and the beauty of it without feeling as if someone wants to beat them over the head with the Bible they refuse to read, instead of emulating what Jesus said His followers should actually be.


Saturday, February 19, 2022

Are You A Stranger Angel?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 19, 2022

Part three of The Lost Son, Stranger Angels
2022 began with a new mission for Chris and his friends. In the process of writing a new book, Chris wanted to address the traumas that happened when some of his friends were young to give hope to others living with abusive parents and bullies. He also had to find closure for the abuse he survived in LA.

Dreams were haunting him and grew stronger. He kept his promise to go into therapy for PTSD and finally had to admit the thing he had been hiding all along.

From Stranger Angels

“Remember, we didn’t want to talk about anything outside the house. Anyway, once they got her into bed, we were sitting in the kitchen and they were talking about how they rationalized it by things that happened to them. How they just forced themselves to get over.” Bill saw the shocked look on the others. “Don’t look at me like that. All of you did the same thing. You thought just like I did, that you’d just get over it and you waited.”

Chris said, “I know I did and it just got worse. I have to tell you that if I knew how many others had PTSD just from living, and not just from combat, I would have gone into therapy a long time ago. I had no way to know it was too often part of surviving. I’m just wondering why your Dad didn’t connect what happened to Brenda to what happened in Vietnam?”

“Don’t get me wrong but, the only way I can explain it is, since he understood so little about it, it was almost like a contest in his mind. He got over it the first time, the second time and the third time. He couldn’t just get over it the fourth time. It was too much. God must have agreed because after he got wounded, the docs discharged him and sent him home. The thing is, he said his wounds weren’t bad enough to be discharged. He just knew somehow, they knew he needed to get out.” 
“So he thought Brenda should get over it too?”

“Pretty much.” Bill took a swig of beer. “See the thing is, no one they knew talked about any of this either. When we went to Afghanistan and Iraq, that was all anyone was talking about back home, but we didn’t talk to each other about it. I didn’t talk to David and he sure as hell wasn’t gonna tell me since he was the strongest and bravest of all of us.” He looked at David and he was nodding his head agreeing. “Folks back home pretended that PTSD and suicides only happened to our generation and only because of war. Everyone else was being ignored, like veterans like my Dad. Even he didn’t connect Vietnam to PTSD until I was diagnosed and I was explaining it to him.” 
“I know I tried to pass it off too. Like I’d just get over it. I saw what you and David went through and that you guys had it a lot worse than I did. Now I get it. I turned it into a contest too.”

David agreed, “It’s easy to do. I did it too but it was a contest I didn’t want to win. Maybe that’s why I was fighting a losing battle until I met Mandy. I don’t know but I do know, she didn’t just save my life, she gave me a reason to live.”

Greer nodded her head, “So did I. I was a tough Black MP. Admitting I needed help was the last thing I was ready to do. The stupid thing was, I had no problem asking for backup when I needed it doing my job. I had no problem trusting the other MPs with watching my back but I had a huge problem trusting them with what was going on with me. The crazy thing was, until a few months ago when we got all that publicity, I had no idea how many others I served with were going through the same thing and thinking the same way I did. Like, we could trust them with our lives but couldn’t bring ourselves to trust them with our thoughts and struggles.”
The purpose of this series is to let you know you are not stuck suffering with PTSD and give you a way to fuller, happier life.

Studies show that suicide risk is higher in persons with PTSD. Some studies link suicide risk in those with PTSD to distressing trauma memories, anger, and poor control of impulses. Further, suicide risk is higher for those with PTSD who have certain styles of coping with stress, such as not expressing feelings. (PTSD VA)

The other thing I hope you take away from these books is the fact that you are human and while it may seem as if no one will understand what you're going through, ask the other 15 million people in the country joining the PTSD club every year that no one wants to be a member of. They may not understand what combat did to you, but they sure as hell understand what living and surviving did to them.

If you don't try to fight PTSD alone, then you learn how vital it is to have help to heal. You also find the need to help others heal too and you become a Stranger Angel!

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Beyond the battlefield

Beyond the battlefield: Author shines light on PTSD that occurs outside a war zone

The Rochester Voice
Harrison Thorp
January 30, 2022
ROCHESTER - Kathie Costos of Rochester has devoted much of her life to the study of PTSD, including its far-less diagnosed forms that follow traumatic episodes outside the battlefield.

During a ribbon cutting for her two new books on Thursday Costos explained that her first brush with PTSD occurred at the age of 5 when she was seriously hurt in an accident, but was sent home by medical professionals who told her to just "get some sleep" when she had actually suffered a fractured skull and concussion.
read more here


A couple of lessons to take away from this. The first one is, never give up. It took me 40 years to get support like I've been getting here in Rochester New Hampshire. We moved here 4 months before COVID hit.

The other thing is, I hope readers of these books discover that they have nothing to be ashamed of if they, or someone they love, has PTSD, no matter what caused it. The truth is, surviving the cause, makes us survivors!

If someone thinks they should be ashamed but struggle with knowing they need help, see someone else ask for it and then get treated badly, they won't ask for help. If they see someone breaking the silence and receive help to heal and be happier, they are encouraged to dream about being able to do the same thing.

You can find these books and the rest here on Amazon. I am currently editing the third part of this series. Not bad for five months of work!

Friday, January 28, 2022

Rochester Chamber expanded my support system and felt more like family

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 28, 2022 


The Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Tanya and Laura, made me feel welcome and gave me the support I needed. In other words, the Chamber expanded my support system and felt more like family. Yesterday, they went above and beyond, hosting a ribbon cutting to help me celebrate the two books I wrote in just a couple of months. I am honored and blessed to be a member of such a wonderful organization! Thank you to everyone who came out to share this wonderful day with me!

The Chamber was pleased to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony today for author Kathie Costos of PTSD Patrol, who has recently written and published two books, The Lost Son and Alive Again. The books, which are about the many causes of post traumatic stress disorder, feature a main character who was a reporter covering the wars and are based in Salem, MA and the fictional town of Gabriel, NH. Both books are available for purchase at the Chamber office, or contact Kathie: (407) 754-7526 or email moralmortal.llc@aol.com. Present in the photo in no particular order are: Kathie Costos with family and friends, Chamber Board Members: Lauren Jerr, R.W. Creteau Regional Tech Center at Spaulding High, Mark Farrell, Laars Heating Systems Company, Dave Stevens, Hourihane, Cormier and Associates, and also Harrison Thorp of The Rochester Voice and Rochester Police Chief Gary Boudreau.

If you have been wondering why I haven't been posting lately, I am editing the third part of The Lost Son. This one was started in December and is already done. Check back soon for details and as always, thank you for your support too!

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Veterans with PTSD on trial

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 12, 2022


My head is exploding right now. Can any reporter explain to me why they manage to always report on a veteran with PTSD committing crimes, use it in the headline, yet do not notice they do not report on everyone else committing crimes when they have PTSD too?

Apparently veterans with PTSD are on trial but reporters fail to see we all are!


This is the headline the headline that caused a massive headache!

"Veteran with PTSD pleads guilty to killing 2 men in SC in 2017, lawyers say" and is on Stars and Stripes.
Family members for King and McNair spoke on Friday before Melton's sentencing "about the tragedy and loss of their sons," Campbell said.
Mental illness and drugs

Melton served in the military and was stationed in Iraq in 2004, developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of that experience, said his defense lawyer, Justin Kata of the Giese Law Firm in Columbia.

Kata said Melton was later diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

At the time of the killings, "he had PTSD symptoms and he was self-medicating," Kata said.
According to the National Center for PTSD, there are 15 million Americans joining the PTSD club every year but reporters will only cover veterans committing sucide and crimes.
Facts about How Common PTSD Is
The following statistics are based on the U.S. population: About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. About 15 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma. About 8 of every 100 women (or 8%) develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared with about 4 of every 100 men (or 4%). Learn more about women, trauma and PTSD

Let's look at the results of this. 

Veterans have a hard time finding jobs because employers remember reading about a veteran like this one. Because reporters do not cover all the other survivors with PTSD, they have no idea that PTSD does not make people dangerous or even get them to contemplate the simple fact that they have probably already hired a lot of good employees with PTSD unknowingly.

Veterans getting all the attention is a billion dollar industry because people care about veterans. While that is a good thing, we should consider why there are no massive fundraisers for everyone else with PTSD not getting the help we all need.

People in law enforcement, fire departments, emergency responders, medical, you name the occupation, are ignored. No one seems to care.

I was guilty of this too. I spent decades focused on veterans when few others were. I thought that since there were so many other people, they'd have enough help but I did not know no one in the media was putting it all together. It never even dawned on me that after surviving over 10 events, I had a rare form of it. It also didn't dawn on two therapists I saw over the years.

Do we take care of veterans properly? NO!

Do we take care of anyone in need to mental health care properly? NO!

Until we get reporters to cover all of us so that we know how many of us there are after surviving, we will not be able to focus on what is helpful to others, that can help us too. We will not be able to inspire hope to others suffering from something only we can understand. While we may not be able to fully understand the causes if we did not experience it, we can understand what it is doing to them, and they can understand what it has done to us.



Kathie Costos on Amazon

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Thursday, January 6, 2022

with reporters like this...PTSD survivors are doomed

'In simple terms, I feel great:' WRAL Investigates new treatment to help veterans with PTSD

Posted January 3, 2022


    THAT WAS THE HEADLINE BUT IT IS NOT NEW....


First post was 2008 and if it worked....they would be doing it for everyone. After all, PTSD does not just hit veterans. It hits survivors!

Back to the so called news....
By Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter
More U.S. service members have died by suicide since the War on Terror began than those who died fighting in it.

Now, a pain treatment that’s been around for almost 100 years is revolutionizing the treatment of veterans dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

For years, the WRAL Investigates team has reported on the struggles of service members and veterans dealing with the emotional scars of military duty and their fight for mental health services.
and then came the head spinning moment....
In our latest chapter, we looked into a promising new treatment that’s actually been around for years. The treatment actually attacks trauma through a cluster of nerves in the neck.

Why bother talking about facts? Why bother to mention that over 15 million American survivors from other events end up joining the club every year, searching for help, treatment and hope but cannot find it because reporters would rather close their eyes instead of actually helping.


This is from The National Center for PTSD


 

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Reporters talk about PTSD year after attack on Capitol

One year later, reporters are still processing what happened on Jan. 6

CNN Business
By Ramishah Maruf
January 2, 2022
Some journalists have been candid about post traumatic stress disorder following the insurrection. Walker said one hallmark of PTSD is to have eerily clear flashbacks -- something he has experienced when reflecting on Jan. 6.
One of the defining stories of this year was the Jan. 6 insurrection, and its significance is only growing from here, CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said on "Reliable Sources" Sunday.

Approaching the one year anniversary, journalists are continuing to report on the attack and its aftermath, and many are still reeling from their own experiences covering the insurrection on the ground.

"We're all kind of feeling the same thing right now, this sort of disbelief that already a year has gone by and here we are," Grace Segers, a staff writer at the New Republic, said.

Hunter Walker, author of the newsletter "The Uprising" and a contributor to Rolling Stone, said that many Americans are still not truly aware of the extent of what happened that day, and not just due to active attempts to deny the seriousness of the event. Many journalists were working from home due to Covid, and jammed cell signals delayed the release of videos from the Capitol.

"There's a bit of an informal network of reporters who've been through it that day, and are still coping with that, who are leaning on each other and talking to each other," Walker said.
read more here

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

When the church has no room for you

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 15, 2021

Almost 40 years ago, I started researching PTSD and in all these years, 90% of the people I helped, do not attend church. They felt as if there was no church that had a place for them. They just never fit in with what the leader preached, but did not practice. They didn't fit in with what the parishioners claimed when they saw how they actually acted. More had other reasons. Some were raised in a certain faith, but it was not practiced at home. Others were not raised to worship in a place, but raised to be "good people" with compassion and kindness, the same way Jesus taught.
Some knew that God still had room for them, even if they simply lived their lives worshiping Him the same way Jesus did. He did not attend "church" but prayed outside most of the time. He was actually against what was being done in the name of God, while it always involved money.
Jesus at the Temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

They charged money for everything and if you didn't have any, you got nothing from them. Jesus never charged anyone for anything but paid for everything people needed from God with His Own Life!

Early Christians did not attend church, but prayed at home, or in small groups among their friends. They passed on hope, healing, God's mercy and love for them freely!

Not all houses of worship are like the robbers, and that is wonderful. Not all religious leaders are saying, "Praise God but write the check to them." Not all of them are living in mansions while people go homeless and hungry. Not all of them are involved with seeking political power over prayer. Not all of the people attending church are showing up just to be seen and then doing what they want the rest of the week.

No need to wonder why so many have left organized religion and prefer to be called spiritual instead of religious.


What's your religion? In US, a common reply now is "None"
Associated Press
By LUIS ANDRES HENAO, KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU and DAVID CRARY
December 14, 2021
Through high school and college, he "drifted away" from Christian beliefs and in his 30s began a serious, long-lasting journey into spirituality while in rehab to curb his alcoholism.

"Spirituality is a soul-based journey into the heart, surrendering one's ego will to a higher will." he said. "We're looking for our own answers, beyond the programming we received growing up."

'I want to inspire people': Woman dedicates 10 years to copy the entire Bible by hand His path has been rough at times – the death of his wife from a fast-moving cancer, financial troubles leading to the loss of his house – but he says his spiritual practice has replaced his anxieties with a "gentle joy" and a desire to help others.

He previously worked as a landscape designer and real estate appraiser, and now runs a school teaching qigong, a practice that evolved from China combining slow, relaxed movement with breathing exercises and meditation.

"As a kid, I used to think of God up on a throne, with a white beard, passing judgment, but that has totally changed," Marston said. "My higher power is the universe... It's always there for me, if I can get out of my ego's way."

This is why I wrote The Lost Son series on Amazon. 

We live in a time of growing traumas and survivors need help to begin to heal. Experts have proven the need for mind-body-spiritual approaches to healing. How can they turn to spiritual healing when they feel there is no place for them?

Most people focus on veterans when they hear the term PTSD and then dismiss others suffering after surviving other events. They turn it into a contest to see who has the worst story of survival instead of listening to those who have the best stories of inspiration. It is almost as if having a happy, successful life afterwards is something we made up. I've heard it said time and time again, if a person is happy, then they made up the suffering.

I refuse to be ashamed of surviving over 10 events and still having a strong relationship with God, even though I have become a churchless child of His. I refuse to get into a contest with churchgoers because they are satisfied with their house to worship in when I prefer my own house.

There is a place for all of us with God. It is up to us how we live our lives and how we choose our own beliefs to live by. The Lost Son is about healing through faith and the actions of others to deliver the miracles out of God's Hands into our lives.


If you are still unsure of how God does understand trauma, all you need to wonder is, "Did Jesus Experience Trauma?" Experts Say ‘Yes’
Under the weight of the sins of the world, Jesus' body began to show signs of acute stress and trauma even before the physical torment leading to the crucifixion, and the crucifixion itself took place. In a moment of overwhelming love for us, dedication to his Father’s will, and desperation to be released from the agony to come, Jesus suffered in his mind, body, and spirit as he knelt in the garden. And then, he surrendered himself to the men who would torture, humiliate, and murder him.

“From a neurobiological perspective, we know that Jesus experienced pain so intense and overwhelming that by any human standards would likely mean he became traumatized,” says author and therapist Aundi Kolber.

So yes, He does. He doesn't send all the bad  stuff into our lives. People do. The weather does. Fires do. Wars do. Evil people doing evil things do. If you believe in God then you need to admit that the other guy is just as real. We've all seen what he does but he gets most of the attention making headline across the world. The Lost Son is an attempt to get people to see it is time to give credit where credit is due and give God as much publicity as Satan gets. 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

It is time for the other survivors to find comfort too

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 8, 2021

If you have PTSD, it can be very hard to believe in miracles. Surviving the cause of it, didn't feel like a miracle, especially if you are suffering afterwards. The thing is, it won't change as long as you only focus on the event and misery that came with it.


Having survived over 10 of them, I can tell you that I felt lucky to still be alive at first. Then came the unanswerable questions filling up my mind. Some were caused by strangers. Some were caused by people I knew. Some were caused by doctors. Some were caused by my own body. Each and every time, there were miracles following the horror shows.

If you learn nothing else from me, learn how to see things in a different way.

The first miracle was, I survived. 

Once I stopped asking why it happened to me, I started to wonder why strangers would show up to help me. That was the second miracle I needed to see. All the people dropping what they were doing and helping me, in whatever way they could, helped me heal.

The third miracle was when I started to cry and released all the bad emotions that came with the event. That allowed good emotions to be fed and hope returned to my soul.

The forth miracle was when I used what I learned to help others along the way. I think that is the best miracle of all because it did not stop with me. It spread out. People I helped, helped others. They helped even more and it just kept going.

Survivors are proof that miracles do still happen. The thing you need to decide is, do you want to have your life defined by what tried to kill you, or do you want it defined by the miracles you pass on? Each time I helped someone, I was strengthened. There are no limits on what you can do, just as there are no limits on what God still does.

I hope you find what you're looking for in THE LOST SON because that is what it is all about. Each character in the book survived, regretted it and then, miracles walked into their lives. They became the answer to the miracles others were praying for.

While there are veterans in it, there are other main characters from other events as well. It is time for the other survivors to find comfort too, because there are 15 million Americans fighting PTSD every year and joining this group seeking happiness.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

being denied mental health care and compensation is mashugana!

I continue to be stunned by the fact no nation takes care of their service members or veterans with PTSD. As bad as that is, it is even more a sickening they fail to see the rest of the people in their country feel the sting of the stigma inflicted upon them as survivors of the traumas they face too.

Getting PTSD because you serve your nation, was job related. Getting it because Israel requires service of everyone, then being denied mental health care and compensation is mashugana!

Disabled IDF veteran denied PTSD treatment commits suicide

The Jersualem Post
By ELIAV BREUER
Published: DECEMBER 5, 2021
47-year-old Itzik Chen, who was injured in Lebanon in the early 90s, committed suicide while fighting for recognition of his post-trauma.
A protest by disabled IDF veterans in Tel Aviv, April 18, 2021
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
Itzik Chen, who served as a paratrooper in Lebanon and Nablus, committed suicide on Sunday morning, Israeli media reported. Chen, 47, was recognized by the Defense Ministry as a disabled veteran but had been fighting for additional recognition of mental illnesses stemming from his service.
The Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department has long been criticized for being excessively reticent in recognizing veterans’ claims of injury during military service. Until a veteran’s condition is recognized – a process that can take years in some cases – they are not eligible for assistance.

“We are hurting and stunned by the suicide of the disabled veteran Itzhik Chen,” the IDF Disabled Veterans Association said on Sunday. “This is exactly the cry that we have been raising the whole time. There are disabled IDF veterans who have been waiting for recognition for years, falling through the cracks over time and not receiving proper treatment.”
read more here

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Post-trauma days of living different lives as survivors,

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 4, 2021




If you listen to any news program, the chances are, you have no idea what is going on when it comes to PTSD. Until we do, finally, understand that while the causes of PTSD are different, what comes after in the Post-trauma days of living different lives as survivors, will remain the silent suffering of millions around the world.

Survivors had been suffering in silence long before I came along into this life. The issue that grieves me most of all, is the simple fact that none of it had to happen.

None of it will change until we actually manage to change the conversation we're having, and what we settle for the press continuing to ignore.

I read, what are considered to be, strange things all the time. It makes sense to me because as a survivor, I am strange to others, and I'm OK with that. What give me more comfort is the fact that when I read strange things, I find how much we as humans surviving life, are all linked together.

Reading "Front-line healthcare workers at risk of suffering from PTSD", on The Morning Star covered what is happening with healthcare workers facing the continued battle against the pandemic. They are expecting over 200,000 new cases of survivors dealing with PTSD. It shows what most experts know.
Professor Neil Greenberg, a PTSD specialist at the college, said: “It’s a common misunderstanding that only people in the armed forces can develop PTSD — anyone exposed to a traumatic event is at risk.
“However, clearly there are jobs, including working in many healthcare settings, where experiencing traumatic events is more common so the risk of developing PTSD is unfortunately much higher.”
“Early and effective support can reduce the likelihood of PTSD and those affected should be able to access evidence-based treatment in a timely manner,” Prof Greenberg added.
Yes, you read that right. It isn't just about people in the military. PTSD strikes survivors, no matter what they survived. The problem with the article is that it also strikes people going about their daily lives when something happened to them without warning, leaving them to wonder if it was such a good thing they survived it or not.

PTSD from occupations also hit all over the world. Keep in mind that these people are still facing life as the rest of us, and then their jobs are piled onto their shoulders taking care of the rest of us, and all too often, each other as well.

Here in the US, our healtcare providers are dealing with the same linked traumas. For providers with PTSD, the trauma of COVID-19 isn’t over by the Association of American Medical Colleges
Even before the pandemic, 16% of emergency physicians self-reported symptoms of PTSD. Recent data, including an unpublished survey conducted in the fall of 2020 and presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in May, suggest that as many as 36% of front-line physicians suffer from the condition. And that statistic omits those who don’t meet strict diagnostic criteria but have still experienced powerful psychological effects. “Health care workers had to worry about not having enough beds, not having enough ventilators. They had to move into fields they didn’t know,” says Jessica Gold, MD, a psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who treats physicians. “They saw their colleagues die or had to intubate their co-workers, and they had to worry about ending up that way themselves. Those are huge traumas.”
The article points out many differnt, important points, however, this one applies to everyone suffering as survivors of the causes of our traumas.
For providers suffering from PTSD and the hospitals that rely on them, what lies ahead is unclear. Once a person develops PTSD, it can last for years. More than a decade after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, 27% of police responders were still suffering symptoms, for example. But certain treatments, including anti-anxiety medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, have been shown to help. Bankhead-Kendall certainly finds her therapy useful. For one, she’s learned to cry more. “My counselor told me I needed to not keep things bottled up, and to grieve, so when I’m feeling really sad, I find an appropriate place and I cry,” she says. “It seems really simple, kind of silly, but it helps.”
It doesn't seem silly to me, or any of the other people out there getting the right kind of information about healing. We have to let out the pain before we can heal hope.

If you have PTSD, get  help to heal and then pass it on. If you read something in your favorite news source and they get something wrong, let them know what the truth is. If they get it right, praise them so they continue to be beneficial to other survivors.

Reach out to anyone, no matter what caused their PTSD and understand it is not a contest between who is suffering more, but is a quest to help them gain strength from your experiences. Be the miracle for others the way you had someone start yours!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD.

Monday, November 29, 2021

I MARRIED THE WAR

My mother married the Korean War. My mother-in-law married WWII. I married the Vietnam War. They fought the battles in combat, but we fought the battles they brought back with them. Chances are, if your reading this site, you did too. Maybe the one coming home was your wife, son, daughter or friend. You know what it's like when things are going fine, as much as you know what things are like when they are not so great.

When I got into all of this, no one was talking about what it was like. My parents kept it all a secret and so did my husband's parents. It was almost as if they felt they should be ashamed of something. I had to learn what it was all by myself and eventually, wrote For The Love Of Jack, His War/My Battle.

Today I received an email about a fabulous documentary, I Married The War, and happy to share this. The thing is, their service is a part of them. Combat is a part of them. When we marry them, that is included in the deal. When I watched some of the videos, I thought, wow, this is for the rest of us who fight their battles back home.

Official Trailer for I Married the War

We are thrilled to release our new Official Trailer for I Married the War. Created by our stellar Director of Photography, Bill Krumm, it offers an introduction to all eleven women, and clear insight into what the film is all about.

We couldn’t be more grateful to these women for their honest and candid interviews about their experience as wives of combat veterans. Even though less than 1% of our country’s population currently serves in the Armed Forces, we still have 5.5 million military caregivers living with veterans from WWII, the Korean War. the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and OEF/OIF (the Middle East Wars).

It is our goal that I MARRIED THE WAR will help foster the national dialogue about supporting our veterans when they return home forever changed, and their families who are not prepared for that change when the war comes home with their loved ones.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

PTSD Overgrown Harvest

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 27, 2021


When will people ever learn? When will the truth become unhidden? Until that day comes, millions around the country will continue to suffer in silence.

When people hear PTSD, they assume it is related to military service. After all, that is all they hear about.
The number of Veterans with PTSD varies by service era
Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD in a given year.
Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.
Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime.
When they hear about female veterans, they assume it has to be related to sexual trauma. After all, that is all they hear about.
Among Veterans who use VA health care, about:
23 out of 100 women (or 23%) reported sexual assault when in the military.
55 out of 100 women (or 55%) and 38 out of 100 men (or 38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.
Facts about How Common PTSD Is
The following statistics are based on the U.S. population:
About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives.
About 15 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma.
About 8 of every 100 women (or 8%) develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared with about 4 of every 100 men (or 4%).

Firefighters end up with PTSD too, but too few hear about them.

As the Florian's Knights full patch motorcycle club, the freedom felt on two wheels inspires North American firefighters to speak truth against the stigma of first responder mental health and outlaw biker culture.

Police officers, emergency responders, and every other human surviving the thing that caused PTSD, pay a price, but too few even know what we're dealing with. PTSD is not limited by age, or occupation. It only knows something terrible happened to survivors of whatever caused it to enter their lives.

The truth is, most groups are only helping veterans with PTSD. Some are doing a great job for the right reasons and have a team in place to take care of the needs of the veterans seeking them out. They are not the ones getting the most attention. The ones with the money to bankroll advertising get the attention. The good groups do the best they can with what support they receive.

When so many are suffering with PTSD, instead of healing as survivors of the cause of it, this harvest field is overgrown because there are not enough workers to tend to all of them.

The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:35-37

And the field keeps growing far beyond what our eyes can see.
The front lines of mental health start in a person’s mind and body. Depending on the day, external stressors, resources or medication, that landscape gets smoother or rockier to navigate.

But it doesn’t end there.

The front lines shift and intersect in many environments: It can be a classroom or office, a hospital or church, a jail or shelter. Ultimately what begins as a personal experience ripples through a whole community, affecting not just the person experiencing mental health issues but their families, friends and neighbors.


And while we all have mental health (just like we have physical health), some live with mental illness, a wide range of conditions spanning mood disorders, addiction, PTSD and more. (The Seattle Times)
They can't keep up withthe need it Colorado.
DENVER (KDVR) — Mental health providers are noticing an increase in demand for services, far beyond what they experienced at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent survey from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing found 78% of behavioral health organizations reported seeing an increase in demand over the past three months. A majority said their waitlists are growing and nearly all respondents said they’re having trouble recruiting employees.

“We’re trying to see as many people as we can, but I don’t see it slowing down,” said Dr. Liz Chamberlain, a licensed psychologist at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.

Look up what is happening in your own state and see how overloaded the mental health system is in your own location.

Nothing will change until we change the conversation to include all humans trying to heal as survivors. We need to change the conversation we have with them, as much as we need to change the conversation we have with the lawmakers and reporters, or nothing will change. 

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Thankful God Had Plan B

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 25, 2021
When I was five years old, I had a fractured skull, concussion and head trauma. Aside from everything else, it caused a speech problem. Kids being kids, I was made fun of and limited what I said out loud. When I got older, it was easier to write instead of speak. My pen was my voice.

In my senior year of high school, my English teacher said I was a natural born writer. I wrote a speech for a national competition and it won first place. The thing was, I had to have one of my classmates read it because when I got nervous, words didn't come out right. My typewriter was my voice.

In 1982 I was introduced to the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when I fell in love with a Vietnam veteran. I had no way of knowing it at the time, but I had it too. My ex-husband tried to kill me and then stalked me for years. It helped me to understand what war did to my veteran. The more I learned, the more convinced I was that people needed to know about this. Writing was still my voice and I wrote to local newspapers.

In 1993, I got online and started to write about it on as many places as I could. My computer was my voice.

When I got older, a friend told me I missed my calling and should have become a preacher. The problem with that was, as a Greek Orthodox woman, that wasn't possible. I did not want to renounce my faith to join another church where my preaching would be welcomed. My computer was still my voice.

In 2002, I finished writing my first book on PTSD. For The Love Of Jack told our story and I wrote about the importance of our souls aiding in healing, I had to republish it in 2012.




My computer is still the voice I use most of all, but in today's world, it also because my way of speaking through videos.














One of the first videos I did was back in 2006. Coming Out Of The Dark. My video camera was my voice.
Why be afraid if you're not alone? Life is never easy, the rest is unknown. The song is by Gloria Estefan and the first time I heard it, all I could think about were the Vietnam veterans I spent so much time with including my husband. You are not alone fighting to heal PTSD just as you were not alone during combat.


All these later, almost forty of them, healing PTSD has used everything God planned for me as well as the pain others caused me.

This past summer, I was at a crossroad and not in a good way. After all these years, I had nothing new to say. I did the writing, research, created over 700 videos and had three books. I was depressed reading reports on PTSD and constantly seeing failure after failure, topped off with reporters never telling the whole story of the lives of survivors.

My faith in God was stronger than ever, but my faith in myself was at the lowest point in my life. I did what I usually do. I turned to God and prayed for a way to express what He taught me all these years. I wanted to give knowledge as much as I wanted to give hope.

God answered that prayer with The Lost Son.

Before I was done with this one, God delivered a second one to begin. Alive Again

Both book are like the Parable of The Lost Son because the main character was supposed to be a priest, but became a reporter. He walked away from God because he believed God walked away from him first. As with the lost son in the Bible, he went back to his Father and God rejoiced. He used Chris's talents and all the gifts he had to deliver messaged to the world that God still hears prayers and answers them through other people.

The stories involve veterans dealing with PTSD, but also everyone else trying to come to terms with being a survivor. I hope you find understanding and, above all else, hope that your life story is one that you determine and define. We are limited in what we can do but there are no limits on what God can do for us, and through us!

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for God's plan B for me! God gave me back my voice.