Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful. We just past 3,885 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2016. We only had 1,000 two years ago. In 2017 help us to make it to 4,000.
We are only 115 away of reaching our goal. We will be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,000th person to subscribe.
Help us make it to 4,000 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that, and the posts will come straight to your inbox. ____________________________________________________________
Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.
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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did.
https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton
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We have just added a fantastic product for people who are suffering from PTSD. I have looked at the video myself. It is a little long, but it is very valuable. Go to https://sites.google.com/site/v4vweaponspackage/ to see for yourself. It will change your life if you suffer from PTSD.
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Change is hard even if it is good change.
I have been connecting with many veterans through RallyPoint. It is a social network just forminitary and their families. Here is the link. Check it out.
www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton
One thing I have been hearing from people I am connected with is the hard times they have been having since they moved to the civilian life. The change they have to go through is very hard at best.
- Fitting into a civilian job.
- Finding new friends
- Learning to not force their feelings onto others.
- Battling PTSD,TBI, Depression, Homelessness, War wounds.
The list could go on. Many of you could write your own list.
When I am writing this I am directing my words not only to the veterans, but to their families and friends. You are an important part of their transition. You need to help the veteran through his change.
There are so many who are struggling. 22 veterans take their own lives every day! Some say that figure is even higher. Some veterans can not win the battle of change that is churning in their own heads.
I am glad to say that I have finally found peace for me. I was very depressed when I came out of the military. Yes, it was half a century ago, and they didn’t have the word PTSD, but I was there. I was struggling. I considered suicide myself. I even sat in my rig one day back in 2001,and was ready to check out of this hotel called earth.
God stopped me that day, and directed me into writing, and here I am spilling my guts to you.
So, What can we do to fight back? How can we survive?
- The first thing I learned is that most of my battle was in my head. I finally realized that the mind can control you in a positive way and a negative way. If we let it, the mind can be our secret weapon. If we block out the negative thoughts and only allow positive thoughts, I whole life will change.
Sound too simplistic? It may be for some, but check it out as one of your steps to recovery on the path of change you are walking.
2. Slow down. You don’t need to rush into anything. You have heard the saying about people who are in the rat race? Will I am here to tell you that even rats rest. They sleep after a hard day of scaring people. BTW… even the tides rest. They come up to a high spot and pause for a few minutes and then they go into the other direction. That is what we need to do. We need to pause and go the other direction to accept change.
3. You may think you aren’t capable of taking all this on. Maybe you are thinking you would rather stay in bed all day and forget the world. You may even want to stick your head in the sand and hide. You are strong! You may not have heard that in a while, but back to basics my friend. When you went into the military, you were a mean, green, fighting machine. Find that same fire in your belly. Dig deep and pull out the strength you had then.
4. Know when to ask for help. Others can help you change. Most veterans feel they shouldn’t ask for help because they are supposed to be tough. If I kept that mentality I wouldn’t be here today writing to you. Ask for help! I am going to share a telephone number with you, and please call it if you have any self destruction ideas for yourself.
There is always help for you 24/7 at: 1-800-273-8255
5. Take charge of your life. Do a turn around. Stop letting the dark side control you. Accept the change.
Remember:
You are never alone.
You are never forsaken.
You are never unloved.
And above all…never, ever, give up!