mental health

You know the trope: the veteran comes home from “the war.” He is distant, has vivid flashbacks that send him careening to the floor, is always on high alert and can’t seem to turn it off; he digs foxholes in his backyard and drinks way too much. Countless movies and television shows have portrayed veterans […]

A young man, aspiring to become enlightened, was climbing a steep mountain path one day when he came across an old monk carrying a heavy sack. With nothing more than a glance, the young man could tell that this old monk had achieved enlightenment, his awareness, his presence, his inner peace emanated from below the […]

“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering…” – Master Yoda One thing I absolutely despise is the use of dehumanization towards an enemy. Dehumanizing an enemy has never helped men be any better at fighting or killing them. If anything it has made men worse at the task. It […]

I’ve never been the type of guy that liked working out in new, shiny, clean gyms. Throughout high school, college, and Marine Corps sports, I always found solace lifting in grimey cave-like gyms, with damp concrete floors and music playing too loud to permit any sort of conversation. If I could commute to Rocky Balboa‘s […]

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Tuesday, mandating that the Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security departments work to develop a joint action plan to ensure all veterans separating from service have access to mental health services for a year after their separation from active duty, regardless of their service connected disability […]

Pass. The. Popcorn: U.S. House Republicans are drafting a contempt of Congress resolution against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, claiming stonewalling in producing material related to the Russia-Trump probes and other matters. Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and other committee Republicans, after considering such action for several weeks, decided to move […]

Like most introspective people, I’m not really sure if I’m capable of ever being truly content.  I’m at my very best, mentally and emotionally, when I’m entirely invested in accomplishing a goal, reaching an objective or completing a project.  It’s because of that need for accomplishment that I’ve accumulated what some might call an impressive […]

A Gulf War veteran committed suicide in front of a VA clinic by setting himself on fire following repeated failures on behalf of the clinic’s staff, an investigation has found. Charles Ingram, 51, killed himself in 2016 after going nearly a year without mental health treatment or medication and multiple appointment cancellations and reschedules. According […]

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Devin P. Kelley, the gunman that killed 26 people inside a Baptist Church in Texas on Sunday, should have been legally barred from purchasing firearms due to multiple domestic assault convictions levied by Air Force court-martial.  The troubled Airman reportedly fractured the skull of his toddler step-son and […]

In the new movie, “Thank You for Your Service,” Adam Schumann (played by Miles Teller) struggles to cope with the rigors of returning to his old life while carrying the emotional burden of tragedy and guilt he picked up throughout a particularly difficult deployment to Afghanistan.  His two friends, Aieti and Waller, also find themselves […]

This morning, President Trump tweeted out that he was reversing President Obama’s decision to allow transgender troops to serve openly. In my opinion, this is the correct decision. Let us concede from the outset that this may not even happen. The president released this information through Twitter, saying that “after consultation with my generals…” However, […]

I recently had the opportunity to interview Anthony Hassan, Ed.D, LCSW, President and CEO of Cohen Veteran’s Network, an organization founded with the mission to “strengthen mental health outcomes and complement existing support, with a particular focus on post-traumatic stress.” This is a simple but encompassing statement that sums up Cohen Veterans Network and Dr. […]