Marine's Mom planted seeds of hopeful healing

Garden of Hope: One Mother’s Mission to Help Marine Son and Other Veterans Heal and Grow

Woman's World
By Bill Holton
September 3, 2023

“If I found a spot, what do you think of planting a bigger garden — one where other vets could come and grow, too?” she asked Jason. Instantly, a smile spread across his face. “Yup, let’s do it!” he said. “I saw the old light in his eyes,” Anne Marie says.

Suffering with PTSD, Anne Marie Mucci’s Marine veteran son had retreated from the world. Then, one spring, he helped his mom plant a vegetable garden and, amazingly, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. As the seedlings grew over the summer, so did his spirit. “We have to share this with other vets,” Anne Marie thought. And so, their backyard project grew into The Veterans Garden — a mission of love and hope. Here, read their story of healing.

A son she didn’t recognize
When Anne Marie Mucci’s son, Jason, returned home after serving four years with the Marines in Iraq, he was a changed man. Struggling with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, he was no longer the outgoing young man she’d kissed goodbye.

“He barely spoke. Didn’t bother with friends or family. He basically went into his bedroom and didn’t come out,” Anne Marie confides to Woman’s World. His depression deepened when a Marine buddy died by suicide. Jason had a warehouse job, but spent most of his time in his room, sleeping, watching TV and playing video games.

Then, one spring day in 2016, Anne Marie decided to plant a vegetable garden in her West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, yard. As she turned shovelful after shovelful of soil, suddenly, Jason came up behind her. “Let me do that,” he offered — and Anne Marie couldn’t have been more shocked or grateful.
read more here and find inspiration for what you can do too!

This story brought back memories of when I first heard about my husband's uncle. He was a Merchant Marine during WWII. His ship was hit by a kamikaze pilot. The survivors were found in the ocean and in total mental distress from the sinking of their ship along with what they had to deal with until help came.

He was given a choice of going to an institution for the rest of his life, or, living on a farm with others like him. He chose the farm. They lived together and worked on the farm while the farmers took care of everything they needed and the veterans healed together.

I know a lot of readers don't know how far back all this goes. I hope you understand that they are still doing it because it worked.

People want to help and find inspiration in different ways. Maybe there is an idea you have about what you can do, not just for veterans, but for others you know with #PTSD. After all, millions of Americans join this club every year and need help too!

Worcester Police Officer-Disabled Veteran fired for what service did to him

Disabled Military Veteran Fired by Worcester Police

This Week In Worcester
By Tom Marino
August 20, 2023

Documentation from the VA indicates Condo told its staff that while in Afghanistan, he was assigned a tent near a Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) unit at a base that experienced significant attacks where soldiers were killed. Public records show an attack at Bagram Air Force Base led to five casualties there on July 8, 2014, while records show Condo was stationed there. Documentation from the VA indicates Condo told its staff that while in Afghanistan, he was assigned a tent near a Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) unit at a base that experienced significant attacks where soldiers were killed. Public records show an attack at Bagram Air Force Base led to five casualties there on July 8, 2014, while records show Condo was stationed there.

Jerry Condo served as a Worcester Police officer for 14 years and is a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force National Guard with a combat tour in Afghanistan. During his time with the Worcester Police Department, he was never the subject of a citizen complaint. He was the subject of two investigations by the Bureau of Professional Services (BOPS), the internal affairs unit that investigates officer wrongdoing inside the Worcester Police Department, for alcohol-related incidents in 2017 and 2018. Both investigations were sustained. Termination was recommended.

Prior to Condo’s termination, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) designated Condo as a disabled veteran due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in connection with military service. Despite documentation from the VA that Condo was engaging in treatment for both PTSD and alcohol abuse consistently throughout 2018, then City Manager Ed Augustus signed a letter terminating the employment of this disabled veteran on Dec. 14, 2018.
read more here

HOLD ONTO YOUR TEMPER AS YOU READ THE REST OF THIS. They recognized what service does a couple of months later.

shortage of mental health providers just sent a sense of hopelessness up my spine

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 30, 2023

Most of us understand how it feels to be so frustrated all we want to do is SCREAM! That's the way I've been feeling for decades. Reading the news on the shortage of mental health providers just sent a sense of hopelessness up my spine. I screamed!

Scream

As the mental health crisis in children and teens worsens, the dire shortage of mental health providers is preventing young people from getting the help they need
Steven Berkowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Sun, August 27, 2023

The situation is so grim that in October 2021, health care professionals declared a national emergency in child mental health. Since then, the crisis has not abated; it’s only gotten worse. But there are not enough mental health professionals to meet the need.

The hospital where I practice recently admitted a 14-year-old girl with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to our outpatient program. She was referred to us six months earlier, in October 2022, but at the time we were at capacity. Although we tried to refer her to several other hospitals, they too were full. During that six-month wait, she attempted suicide.

Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common story for young people with mental health issues. A 2021 survey of 88 children’s hospitals reported that they admit, on average, four teens per day to inpatient programs. At many of these hospitals, more children await help, but there are simply not enough services or psychiatric beds for them.

So these children languish, sometimes for days or even a week, in hospital emergency departments. This is not a good place for a young person coping with grave mental health issues and perhaps considering suicide. Waiting at home is not a good option either – the family is often unable or unwilling to deal with a child who is distraught or violent.

I am a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Colorado, where I founded and direct the Stress, Trauma, Adversity Research and Treatment Center. For 30 years, my practice has focused on youth stress and trauma.
read more here

First getting people to understand what #PTSD was seemed an impossible endeavor. Then the battle was to get the message across that no one had to suffer when they could heal as a survivor of what trauma did to them. That offered them hope they weren't stuck the way they were. The problem back then was there were not enough mental health professionals with specialized training in trauma. 

How could we expect anyone to seek help when it clearly wouldn't be there for them? Years passed and as word spread about the millions suffering, that field grew. The problem was, that they were focused on veterans while unwilling to understand that PTSD was a human wound caused by many different traumatic events. 

To see all of this end up right back to where I started 4 decades ago is heartbreaking, but all is not hopeless. To know that just being able to talk to someone begins the healing process and all of us can at least listen to them is something all of us can do until things change again. 

If you know you need help and believe you may have #PTSD, no matter what the cause was, go here and take the assessment from the National Center For PTSD to get an idea of what you may be experiencing. The best way to know for sure is to be evaluated by a mental health professional but until there are more of them, you can take steps now to begin to heal.

Learn what it is, and why you were hit by it, and try to explain it to the people in your life. Right now, just like you are assuming things about yourself they are making assumptions too. They don't know any better than you do. Put yourself in their place and understand you'd probably do the same thing if you didn't know what it was.

You do not have to go into details with them but if you trust them, then find what helps you understand it better and share it with them. Just begin the conversation by telling them you need help and for them to listen. 

If you don't have anyone you trust, then search online for groups that focus on the cause of your PTSD because they will understand what you survived better than other groups. If you cannot find one, then search for groups focusing on PTSD in general. Any support is better than no support at all because at least you'll understand you are not alone in what you are dealing with. Sit back, read, or listen to what they have to say, and then if you feel comfortable, try to open up. If not, then move on to another group until you find one you feel comfortable with.

Do not give up trying to find a mental health professional. If you have to wait months for an appointment, take it. There is only so much you can do without their help but at least you can begin to heal until you find one. Also, keep in mind there are online providers to help you too.

Learn surviving the unexpected before you need to know what PTSD is

Residents Trained During First Wave of Pandemic Experienced Less PTSD

Apple Valley News
Lori Solomon
Aug 25, 2023

FRIDAY, Aug. 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- First-year residents training during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly less likely to screen positive for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) versus residents training before the pandemic, according to a study published online Aug. 22 in JAMA Network Open.

Michelle K. Ptak, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined changes in PTSD symptoms among first-year residents training before and during the first pandemic wave (March to June 2020). The analysis included participants in the Intern Health Study (2018 to 2019 [prepandemic; 1,137 participants] and 2019 to 2020 [during the pandemic; 820 participants]).
read more here

Now that you've read that, understand that #PTSD can be prevented with knowledge before it happens, while trauma cannot be prevented, no matter how hard you try. After traumatic events, we understand what it is like to have our "normal" reality shattered. We enter into a new reality of life as a survivor of it. We have 30 days to fight the symptoms and begin the healing process. As soon as that happens the less residual changes we have to live with. After 30 days, if the symptoms are not gone or at least weaker, we may need professional help. The only way to know that is to find a mental health professional to evaluate us. (Good luck on that one when they are hard to find now.) The thing is, you do need to see one as soon as possible. It is what you do between now and when you can that can make all the difference in the world. You can begin to heal by learning what it is as soon as you figure out you've changed. Learn from others who have begun their journey into life as a survivor. The thing is, as soon as you realize you are not alone and there are many more out there just like you, it can prevent a lot of the bad stuff that can come if you know nothing about it.

One of the biggest things is anger. Considering how many thoughts crash into each other, the longer we face people judging us almost as much as we judge ourselves, anger feeds off anger. We think about the fact it happened to us and then we think about everyone we know judging us because they have no clue about what we don't even understand. How can we explain it or expect them to understand if we don't? Anger is fed when we get frustrated because waiting to get over it doesn't work, but in fact, lets it get worse claiming more and more of the person we used to be. It gets very uncomfortable having a stranger living in our heads when our bodies look the same. That's the stranger they don't understand. They get angry too because they want us to just get over it and go back to the way we were before. We want them to understand us, and at the same time, we know we'd probably react the same way they are. 

Is anger a real thing that is different from normal anger? Yep!

Anger, The Forgotten Emotion Unveiled: How Trauma Influences Problem Anger

Neuroscience News

August 26, 2023

While we know a lot about sadness and fear, anger still has an uncomfortable place in society. Most of us don’t know what anger is for, or the difference between healthy and problem anger. Summary: Anger remains a misunderstood emotion, often stigmatized and mishandled in society.

Researchers revealed a significant link between problem anger and trauma experiences, with anger serving as a common, yet overlooked symptom of PTSD. The study also highlights disparities in how men and women experience and express problem anger, particularly after trauma.

Understanding the nuances between healthy and problem anger could pave the way for better mental health interventions and societal attitudes toward this complex emotion.

Key Facts:

Problem anger is a common but poorly understood symptom following trauma, affecting up to 31% of trauma-impacted populations like veterans and first responders.
Healthy anger motivates action and should not be equated with aggression or violence, which are choices rather than emotional reflexes.
Social gender norms result in differing expressions of problem anger in men and women, making it more difficult for women to openly express their anger.
read more here

So, the message here is simple. Get help to prevent more from happening to you. Even better is to learn all you can about surviving the unexpected before you need to know. 

PTSD and Grimm Reailty

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 21, 2023

Having to be home so much due to some personal things, I've been discovering series I never had the chance to watch. A couple of weeks ago, I found the Grimm series.

 Grimm

Portland detective, Nick Burkhardt, has seen some gruesome crime scenes, but nothing prepares him for the strange visions he begins seeing: seemingly regular people momentarily transforming into hideous monsters. A visit from his only living relative reveals the truth. Nick has inherited the ability to see supernatural creatures, and as a "Grimm," he is tasked with keeping the balance between mankind and the mythological. A reformed "Big Bad Wolf" becomes his greatest (and also reluctant) ally and confidant. It's not long before his work as a policeman leads Nick to the criminals he once thought were only found in fairy tales.—L. Hamre

I am a fan of horror as long as the good guys win in the end. What got me hooked was the horror of this series it was also about friends standing by your side to help you defeat the demons you have to fight. After all, that is how we heal #PTSD.

Over the weekend I was binge-watching the 3rd season when I saw The Red Menace. I wasn't ready for it to include Juliette's friend having to hide at her house because she was running away from a violent husband. Watching it, I had to take a lot of deep breaths. It brought back memories of when my first husband tried to kill me and then stalked me. To me, he was the demon I had to fight. That's how he became my ex-husband and how the marriage lasted less than two years. (I've been with my second husband since 1982.)

The thing is, we do heal from what we survive, no matter what it is. The grim reality is that we still have scars, and every once in a while, the memories leak out of those cracks and come alive. The more we heal, the less time they take away from our current reality. After that episode, I ended up watching a comedy for a break. Today, I went back to watching it and not fearing what I'd have resurrected.

Kathie Costos author of

The Scribe Of Salem

The Visionary Of Salem

13th Minister Of Salem