Tag: domestic violence

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Battling PTSD Can cause Heartache for a Family

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 3,994 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 six away of reaching our goal.  We will be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,000th person to subscribe. Somebody will win in the next few hours. 

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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The 4th of July is passed, and life will settle back down for us veterans, but will it really?

Many veterans have struggles all year around. They battle PTSD, TBI, depression, homelessness, war wounds, etc.

There are many brother and sister veterans who don’t have the peace they need. They feel they don’t have the support they need. They would rather hide in their bed all day.

I feel for these heroes. They served their country and should be respected, and get the treatment they need.

If you know of someone who is suffering, reach out to them. Show them they matter. It could in your own family.

The hard part is that many veterans don’t want people to know they are hurting. They hide in their little world and try to go at it alone. Some many suicides happen because of this. There are 22 veteran suicides everyday. I didn’t say every week, or even every year. This is everyday.

How do you know if a veteran is hurting?

  • Have their feelings changed about the world since they left the military? Often this is a sign of an inner battle going on inside them.
  • Do they seem distant and do not want to talk about their experiences from the military? This is a sign of PTSD.
  • Do they get angry easily? Another sign of PTSD.
  • Do they refuse to  get help? They feel they are suppose to be tough guys, and not seek help.
  • Do they break down crying and they don’t know why? The memories come rising up in their brains like a huge tidal wave.
  • Are they abusive? Domestic violence has no place in the homes, but PTSD often causes it.

So what can we do about it?

  • Love them unconditionally. Not matter how hard it gets your consistent love will overcome them eventually.
  • Make them seek help. This is one huge step to their recovery. They will probably fight this, but you might have to let them know that it is a deal breaker if they don’t get help.
  • Try to make their environment stress free as possible. If it is near the 4th of July, go for a trip away for the fireworks for a couple of days. It will be a good bonding time, and the veteran will not be jittery from the noise.
  • Listen to them! If they want to talk that is a huge break through.

I fully understand that it is hard on the whole family. You are probably close to battling depression yourself. Stay strong, you may be the only hope for a struggling veteran.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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More Military Veteran Interviews

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 3,300 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2015. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 4,000.  Could you be the one that puts us over the top? Our goal for the end of this year is 6,000.

Help us continue to grow by subscribing today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

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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 will be reaching 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. Doug sent off his mini proposal to an agent who is very interested in his concept. We will update you when we hear more. 

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On my last post below I started sharing a few of the interviews I am doing for my new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

This book is reaching out to all the veterans who may be suffering after or even during their time in the military. It covers PTSD, deployment, loneliness, depression, domestic violence, spouses left behind, etc. It even has some humor of when I was in the military.

Today I am going to share a couple more interviews. In the last post I said that I would only be sharing a little part of each interview. I will continue that here. To see the entire interviews you will need to get the book. (This is called a hook in the writing community.)

One interview I had was with a Vietnam veteran. It wasn’t planned interview. I happened to be at a fast food restaurant and saw him sitting alone staring out the window. I could tell he was a veteran by his Vietnam hat he had on.

He finally got up and I saw that he had a cane. He hobbled over to the trash bin and then started to leave.

I asked him if he would sit with me for a while. He hesitated until I told him I was a veteran as well. Here is the conversation we had. It really wasn’t an interview. I didn’t want it to sound that way.

Me- “What unit were you in?” Veteran-“I was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam, and we had a helicopter unit that went in to rescue soldiers, bring in supplies, and did humanitarian help for some of the starving people.” Me- “What was the worst moment you had in the military?” Veteran- “I saw my best friend and the rest of his crew take off in a helicopter and suddenly crash into the ocean. They never recovered the bodies because it was too deep.”

There was much more talked about, but this was the most heart breaking part.

Another interview I had was with a Vietnam medic. He had some horror stories which I won’t share here but will be in the book. Here are some highlights:

Me- “Was being a medic a tough job?” Veteran- “Of course it was. To see young men with their legs gone, or near their last breath was extremely hard.”  Me- “Did you have some special moments?” Veteran- “Yes, I was caring for a soldier who couldn’t have been much over eighteen. He asked me if I was scared. I said yes. That seemed to calm him down a lot knowing that someone felt the same way as he did, but was still trying to help him anyway.”

I will have many more interviews in the book, and the book will be full of hope, and showing veterans ways to cope in the world we have to live in after we hit the private sector.

A word to all veterans…

You are a special person. You went out of your way to serve you country. God loves as you are, warts and all. You are a hero to not only me, but many other people. Never be ashamed of what you did. Never feel your time was wasted. Never allow others to degrade you for what you have done for your country.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

 

 

 

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Don’t Ever Give up !

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 3,255 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2015. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 4,000.  Could you be the one that puts us over the top? Our goal for the end of this year is 6,000.

Help us continue to grow by subscribing today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

____________________________________________________________

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 will be reaching 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. Doug sent off his mini proposal to an agent who is very interested in his concept. We will update you when we hear more. 

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It has been a while since I last posted here. Many different illnesses, and interference’s.
I am going to Cardio rehab on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I found that there were three veterans that were also in rehab. I found out their names, and got to know them.
Two of them were in Korea like I was. Another was a Vietnam veteran. It is very interesting that there are so many veterans who are having heart problems, but I haven’t pursued that thought yet.
As I got to know the men, we found that we each had different experiences that should be shared with other veterans. I took it on myself to set-up official interviews with each of the men.
I will share so of the conversations with you on later posts.

The book “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life,” Is nearing the finish line. Just a few new added chapters, and finishing up with the large amount of interviews I have lined up, and the book will be ready for publication.
I will give you a quick sneak preview of some of the interviews I have had so far. No names; no places. Just quotes from some of the veterans. I will be disclosing names and places in the book. (This is called a hook, in the writing industry!)
One WWII soldier told me the story of him being a tanker in the war and having a Japanese soldier tossing a grenade into their tank. He said his close buddy next to him was killed instantly. He was wounded. He received the Purple Heart, and another medal for bravery.
Another WWII soldier said he was wounded and lying on the battle field pretending he was dead, as the German soldiers checked to see if anyone was alive. He survived that horrible ordeal, and received the Purple Heart.
A Vietnam era Medic told me about holding soldiers in his arms while they died. He also told me one soldier asked him if he was scared, and he said, “Yes I am.”
Another Vietnam Navy veteran told me he watched in horror as his best friend’s helicopter, he was the pilot of, lifted off of the ship and then crashed into the ocean. It sank with all the soldiers trapped inside. The water was too deep to rescue them, so they all perished.
The first Iraq war left many soldiers with PTSD. I have interviewed some of them and their stories are heartbreaking.
All these interviews and many more will be in the book.
I was in the military. I was deployed just like many other soldiers. I was extremely lucky not to be in a war zone. Many other soldiers were not.
The book will cover deployments, spouses left behind; domestic violence in the military; loneliness; some humor; individual interviews from many of the soldiers who were in the trenches, and many personal stories.
If you are a veteran, and current person in the military, or even a family member/friend of someone in the military, I feel this book will be very beneficial to you.
I am not plugging this book for fame or money. I am plugging this book to reachout to all of those veterans and military who maybe hurting.
Here is a statistic that I want to change some how:

•There are 22 suicides a day among the veterans and military. It has never gone below that figure for several years.

Please, if you are military, or a veteran, stand strong. Know that many people are praying for you. Don’t give into the negative thoughts in your head. That is Satan talking to you, and he would love to add you to his trophy wall of people who gave up.

You are a person of much worth. God made you in His image. He loves you. Cling to His promises, which are:
•You are never alone.
•You are never forsaken.
•You are never unloved.

And I must add…. above all…never, ever, give up!