Welcome to yet another one of my series. This one is a bit more personal than most. I have spent some time debating with myself on whether or not to actually share THIS particular journey of my life with the world. Despite the fact that I love to share my thoughts via my blogs, I tend to be a very private person in all reality. Yet after some serious thought I have come to the conclusion that by putting my journey out there that it may benefit another veteran that might be going through the same exact thing. Maybe some of the organizations that I mention could assist them somewhere along their time of difficulty. I for sure didn’t know that these people existed nor was I aware of the assistance that they provided.

if you frequent my blog (either of them), you are aware that I am  veteran of the United States Army. Up until the last four months I have been basically self reliant on myself since I was discharged back in 1999. I have kept consistent employment and residence since my release. A little over a year ago I was officially diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. I kept this to myself mostly because people have a way of either holding it against you or going out of their way to provoke an episode (or some kind of reaction). I share this now because I have come to the personal conclusion that this needs to be out in the open. There needs to be an open dialog, especially among veterans. Just because I was officially diagnosed doesn’t mean that the symptoms weren’t there. I hope to dedicate an entire post on this subject within this series.

Although I will be sharing my journey, it is in hopes of getting some much needed information for veterans in need might desperately need. I far one had no clue that there was this much assistance out there for vets until I came upon a time when I was in need. if you happen to read this series and you are not a veteran, that’s okay! All I ask is that you [ass the information to a veteran you might know or come across. This is the best way you can thank a veteran for their service. so if you see “Life after Service” in my title know that this is geared toward a veteran that might be in nee in some way.

As a final note. I would like to add this disclaimer. I am not a veteran assistance professional, nor do I work for any of these agencies that I mention. what I am is a veteran that has been faced with a difficult time in my life and was fortunate enough to discover that help was out there and I accepted it. (sort of!)

Hoping to have more for this series soon. Until next post.

The Loon