Give the gift of healing - 2025 Black Friday Sale

Our culture emphasizes strength and self-reliance above all else. The old "Boot Strap" mentality. This often creates a stigma around seeking help for mental health issues, as many feel pressure to present themselves as unbreakable. 

Many more people are afraid to share their true experiences because they feel it is too “trivial” or they feel their pain is “unworthy” of burdening others. And some people simply hide their pain for fear of the stigma associated with mental health issues in a culture where they are expected to “suck it up”. 

But all that hiding, burying, or pushing aside pain only exacerbate the emotional and mental weight of problems brewing under the surface. 

It's time to end the stigma and get on the path of recovery. 

To help you get started, this weekend (Black Friday through Cyber Monday), the PTSD Recovery Series eBooks and Audiobook are on sale. 

Give yourself (or someone you care about) the gift of healing this holiday season.

Ebook

$9.99 $0.99

Nov 28-Dec 1

https://bit.ly/SoldiersGuidePTSD

https://bit.ly/WomensGuidePTSD

https://bit.ly/First-Responders-Guide

Healing isn’t just about surviving trauma, pain, or anxiety. It’s about learning to sit with joy again, to accept happiness without guilt, and to let yourself fully exist in the good moments too.

Remember: Mental health isn’t optional, healing isn’t linear, and needing support isn’t a flaw.

Also Available in Audio

$9.99 $2.99

Nov 28-Dec 1

Chirp

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-soldier-s-guide-to-ptsd-by-virginia-cruse

Apple

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1572632529

Barnes & Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-soldiers-guide-to-ptsd-virginia-cruse/1140112068

Connection, support, and validation are also important parts of the healing process.

Do you need support? Join our PTSD community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ptsdrecoveryseries

Veterans Day Weekend Buddy Check!

 

Team, this weekend is going to be hard. It's Veterans Day weekend and our Facebook feeds will be full of pictures and tributes to those we've lost to combat and to suicide. And it is hard. I'm not here to force-feed you some rah-rah message about how life can change; I'm here to stand with you - because this weekend consistently sucks every single year and we need each other right now. 

Please do your buddy checks this weekend, and nag the shit out of the people you love. Make sure they are okay! Having people who care for us and believe in us can can make all the difference in our ability to cope with and recover from difficult events.

I've never met a combat Vet who lost more buddies to war than they did to suicide, and that's not okay. Rather than doing 22 push-ups, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call someone to check in. 

If you learn that your battle buddy is in trouble, here's how to get help: call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 or send a text to 838255. You can text the crisis line while you are on the phone. Ask you buddy where they are located, who is with them, and whether or not they have a weapon. Pass this info on to the crisis line; they will send emergency services. 

I know that no one wants to piss off their buddy, but no one wants another dead buddy either - so choose your battles. The single most loving thing anyone ever did for me personally was stage an all-out intervention; it saved my life. 

Please consider sharing this info. Thanks, Team - stay safe out there.

TL;DR: call your battle buddy, and if they need it, get them help!

AND YOU - if you're in this head space, talk to someone now - like right now. Call your buddy, call the crisis line, do whatever it takes to hang on until this feeling passes because the world would not be better off without you.

*****

Looking for support? 

Join our Community on Facebook!

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“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

*****

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD,  

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD,

or After the Call, A First Responder’s Guide to PTSD

World Mental Health Day is October 10th

The objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. So let's talk about it.

A person's mental and emotional well-being is essential for a healthy life. When individuals struggle with mental illness or substance abuse, it profoundly affects all aspects of their lives and the people they care about.

When discussing mental health, another term often arises: resilience. We discussed this before and dispelled the myth that those with PTSD are "not resilient."

Resilience is not an innate quality; it is developed through facing challenges and overcoming adversity throughout one's lifetime. However, being resilient does not mean that a person is immune to difficulties or distress in their life. It means that they have the ability to adapt in the face of trauma, tragedy, and threats.

Remember that word, adapt. It’s a verb, an action word. It means we have to do something.

To promote resilience, we have to develop protective factors like exercise, a healthy diet, a healthy sleep schedule, good communication, and most important of them all, a healthy support network. 

We may not always be able to sleep eight hours, stick to a healthy diet, or maintain a good schedule at the gym. Life happens when we make our best plans, so those can’t be the only strategies we turn to. 

Resilience is active, right? So we need to move to the next item on our list. A healthy support network.

When we’re struggling and in need of help, we have to communicate our needs. And that’s where having a healthy support network comes in. There’s not enough sleeping or eating right in the world that is going to fortify a person against the effects of trauma. To borrow a phrase, “it takes a village.” 

When there are people ready and willing to step in and help (peers, partners, friends, and/or family), you are better able to cope with difficult situations. Social support has been shown to reduce our level of stress during troubling situations. And knowing someone “has your back” creates the opening to do the hardest thing possible. It allows you to be open and ask for help when you need it.

Remember, resilience isn’t “toughing it out through the worst situations”. It’s having a strategy and support system in place...and using it when you need it.

*****

We value your feedback and ideas! 

Reach out on our Community Facebook Page!

*****

“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD