The Unspoken Trauma: Navigating Post-Military Life and Its Hidden Challenges

Uncover the hidden challenges of post-military life with Garret Biss, a retired Marine Corps Pilot, addiction recovery coach, and TEDx Speaker. Garret shares his deeply personal journey of overcoming anxiety, depression, and a lost sense of identity after leaving the service. In this powerful episode, Garret, along with Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II, David Livingston, LMFT, and Dwight Hurst, CMHC highlight the critical need for individualized care, the profound impact of mentorship, and the importance of redefining purpose beyond the battlefield. Listen as they discuss how veterans can rebuild, recover, and find new meaning in civilian life, with a call to action that challenges outdated approaches to veteran care.

Podcast Episode Summary:

1. Facing the Void: Garret Biss shares his experience with the deep sense of loss and disconnection many veterans face when transitioning to civilian life, a topic often overlooked.
2. Redefining Purpose: Clare Waismann emphasizes the importance of finding new meaning and purpose post-service, likening the transition to a superhero being stripped of their powers, yet still needing to find value in everyday life.
3. The Power of Connection: David Livingston discusses the essential role of connection and community in recovery, noting that veterans often struggle with the loss of the deep bonds formed during service.
4. Challenging the Status Quo: Clare calls for a shift in how we approach veteran care, advocating for updated, individualized treatment that goes beyond medication to address the root causes of addiction and mental health struggles.
5. Mentorship as a Lifeline: Garret shares how mentorship was key to his recovery, offering a path to self-worth, identity, and renewed passion, and encourages others to seek similar support systems.

Transcript:

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Welcome back to a podcast to answer your questions on addiction recovery and mental health by Waismann Method Opioid Treatment Specialists and Rapid Detox Center. I’m Dwight Hurst, I’m a clinical mental health counselor and also privileged to be the co-host for this program. Um, month after month, week after week, whenever we do meet, I am here with you listeners to help answer your questions and am also lucky enough to be with our excellent panel of experts to talk today. So let’s go around and meet all of us here. Uh, first we have Clare Waismann, who’s a registered addiction specialist and substance use disorder certified counselor. She’s also the founder of the Waismann Method Opioid Detoxification Specialists and the Domus Retreat Aftercare. We’re also glad to be here with David Livingston, who’s a licensed marriage and family therapist and a leading expert in the field of psychotherapy and the psychological and emotional needs connected with addiction recovery, sobriety and health maintenance. Uh, today we are lucky enough and privileged enough to have a wonderful guest.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: We’ve had some great guests on and today is no exception to that. We’re joined by Garret Biss, who is a retired Marine Corps pilot and addiction recovery coach and TEDx speaker. In 2015, following retirement from the military, uh Garrett confronted challenges that are often inherent to the process of leaving the military for many veterans, including anxiety, depression, and a sense of displacement. This led to Garrett’s own experiences in history, struggling with addiction to alcohol, and the realization to make a change in his life, rather than embracing and going after traditional addiction treatments. Garrett looked into emphasizing self-worth, rediscovering identity, finding mentorship, tapping into reigniting passions and many things like that. This is exciting for us because we are big proponents of individualization in care, and we are strong believers that that trumps tradition and that goes beyond programmatic approaches in and of finding what works for the individual. So we’re excited to hear, Garret, uh, the way that you approach this and the way that you have used that energy to help other people. So, uh, Garrett, welcome to the show.

Garret Biss: I’m grateful to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation. It’s my personal goal during this, uh, next, our little time together to be the best guest that you’ve ever had. So let’s see if I can live up to that.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: There we go. We’ll have a we’ll have a rating system. Everybody out there. Here’s where you go to vote. No.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: I already liked it. He’s competitive.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Yeah, I’m with you David I double that.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Well, let’s start out. Garret, share us a little bit about your story. When you retired from the Marine Corps, what kind of challenges did you face going transitioning into civilian life?

Garret Biss: Yeah, certainly. So when I got out of the Marine Corps, it was all sunshine and rainbows. Um, great. Great times. Uh, really peaceful, joyful experience. Or at least that’s what I thought it was going to be like in reality. Um, I faced a lot of challenges, and I think the biggest thing that I struggle with was having this internal void and having this sensation inside that I couldn’t really explain. I couldn’t really put a name to it. I couldn’t figure out where it came from. And, um, fortunately, I found a path out of that darkness and that dark place. And what I’ve come to learn over the last couple of years is my journey is certainly not unique. And a lot of veterans struggle. We look at the 19 million veterans in the United States as a population. There are 200% more likely to suffer with mental health challenges or struggle with addiction. They say that 1 in 5 post 9/11 veterans is going to experience PTSD in their lifetime, and the rates of veteran-inflicted suicide unfortunately keeps going up, regardless of how much attention it’s getting and what we’re putting to it.

Garret Biss: What I gained a lot of clarity on through my own journey, and some schooling and training that I’ve been through, is really getting in touch with what it was that created that huge disconnect between who I was and the life that I wanted to experience. And as I shared my recent TEDx talk, what became clear to me was that we as humans, we have some fundamental human needs, and the way that we meet those needs when we’re in the service is taken away from us as we become a veteran and re-enter the civilian world. And that’s something I wasn’t prepared for. And I think a lot of veterans are not prepared for, you know, they help us prepare our transition to go find a new job, find a new place to live, figure out what we want to do professionally. But there was very little, if anything, offered to help provide some insight on the mental, the emotional, and the interpersonal or even spiritual challenges that we face as we transition out.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Yeah.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: I, uh. Go ahead. Claire.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Can I ask you what made you decide to serve? I mean, for me, it is, such an unselfish commitment. For me, it is. you have to be such a special person to, you know, put yourself out there to serve, just not your country, but trying to make the society you live in a better place. And giving the ultimate self sacrifice and, you know, often. So my question to you is, what does a young man that has his whole future ahead of him? You know what makes him decide? I want to enlist?

Garret Biss: Yeah, it’s a great question. And I’m sure for everybody, just like everybody’s journey into addiction is unique and different and has different things that probably everybody’s journey into military service is unique. For myself there, there certainly was a calling to be part of something greater than myself. Uh, I wanted to experience some adventure. I wanted to be put in some situations that I knew would be challenging, um, and do something that I could make a contribution. And, you know, there were some situations I would be willing to face, you know, looking through the eyes of the 18-year-old that enlisted, I knew that there were challenging situations. I knew that there were horrors out there, and I knew that somebody had to address that, or somebody had to be willing to step forward. So that’s a part of what motivated me. And then there’s the shadow side of that. Also, I also think that there was a part of me that was questioning how strong I was, how capable I was, how worthwhile I was to experience, you know, the good things in life. And I really wanted to put myself in a situation where I could prove to myself my own value and, you know, maybe prove to people around me that I had some sense of value. Um, looking again, looking through the eyes of that 18 year old that decided to join the military.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Do you find that that leads to then contributing, obviously, to your self-esteem, self-worth? Uh, I’ve noticed when I work next to a a Air Force base and many people I’ve, I’ve met who’ve transitioned into retirement find that all of a sudden, the thing I was doing that gave me a whole sense of purpose. Even the specific job is maybe gone, and maybe it doesn’t exist in the civilian world. Or if it does, it’s not attainable yet because of degrees or certification or whatever it is that all of a sudden the thing I was doing is no longer accessible to me.

Garret Biss: I think that’s absolutely contributes to a lot to it. You know, for a lot of people that are called into military service, they do it because there’s nothing greater, you know, to them than being willing to go forward into hard places, do hard things and sacrifice for your for your family, for your loved ones and for our country back home. And the opportunity to do that, or the way that that can be done is very different outside of the military. You know, for me, when I transitioned out, I was in my mid 30s, but you realize I enlisted when I was 18. So everything that I knew about myself, everything I knew about the world was through the lens of military service. So when I took that uniform off, um, all of that changed, and I really felt like an 18-year-old to get all over again, trying to figure out who I was, what my values, what my beliefs were, how that would integrate with the civilian, you know, experience that I would have there forward.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Gotcha.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: And it creates certain expectations. That’s very interesting. And maybe people don’t think about this. It’s not so much a transition back to civilian life. It’s a first time, particularly because when most people join so young. Right. You’re never been an adult in the civilian world before.

Garret Biss: Absolutely. And I mean, you look at the brain, you know, the brain development aspect of it. Our prefrontal cortex is still coming online at 18, 19, 22 years old. So even our our ability to perceptualize ourselves and our role as a human and our value as a, you know, unique individual is still kind of developing at that time at that stage.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Absolutely.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: Right. And, and I imagine, um, well, I actually know this from talking to a lot of veterans that it’s not it’s all of everything you’ve just said, but you’re actually been living in a different universe that’s so different that when you come back, um, you can people can say thank you for your service and mean it sincerely, but they don’t really have any depth of understanding what that actually means. And I think it’s why a lot of veterans return sometimes because they miss their unit, they miss the the people who actually do understand. And then once you’re displaced from that and that community is sort of, you know, not there. I imagine that’s part of that feeling you had inside as you’re trying to transition back into the world and kind of find your feet in this new universe. Um, and, uh, not an easy task.

Garret Biss: Absolutely. And that’s one of the key points that I really touch on in that Ted talk and the title of it, if I haven’t said it’s called The Unspoken Trauma That All Veterans Face and a realization of what those basic human needs were that were stripped away from me as I took off the uniform. First and foremost is our human need for connection. You know, we’re tribal creatures. We do our best when we’re a part of a group, when we feel that our, you know, we have a sense of belonging in a group. And that sense of connection in the military is very unique. It shows up differently than it shows up in the civilian world or in any other environment. I mean, you think the way that we express our devotion and our level of connection to the service members that we’re with is, I would go into battle with you by my side, and if it comes to it, I would even sacrifice my own life and my own well-being to protect those around me. Outside of the military service, it’s very hard, if not impossible, to find that sense of devotion to one another, that sense of connection. So that was the first thing that was created, a tremendous void inside of me. You know, that connection provides us our sense of safety and our sense of security and our sense of really our sense of belonging and identity as part of that group. When you take that away, you lose not only your that, that safety and survival, but you also lose your ability to emotionally process some of the things that you’re facing in your life.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: Yeah, right. That that a lot of trauma, just like you’re pointing out, has to do with shifts in the natural order. So people who go into the service literally enter another universe where there is a different order to everything, like you’re pointing out where, you know, you have people willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. I mean, I hear that nonstop from the veterans I talk to. Um, and so that’s not the same order you get when you come back into the world. On top of it, you’ve left the developmental processes, the connections, all of the things that you would have employed in developing if you had not have gone into enlist. And so it is it’s like you’ve had one monumental task. It’s also going to just send your nervous system into a different place as well, I imagine, or for many. And then now you’ve got to another monumental task and returning.

Garret Biss: Right. Certainly. And it’s that abrupt shift in that not being prepared for it or even alluded to that again, that mental that that emotional challenges that you’ll face. I think that’s what caught me most off guard. And what catches a lot of veterans off guard, you know, as challenges continue to come up in life. I mean, life is full of obstacles and challenges and hard times, but losing your foundation to be able to deal with those things and process those things, um, and also at a challenging time in your life is very unsettling and sends a lot of veterans down a dark path.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: I think when we talk about trauma inherent to veterans in the process of even PTSD, we think about combat. That’s what people think about, right? And that certainly is a huge part of this. And maybe we can speak to that a little. But we’re also talking about the trauma that is being experienced in real-time, right? When someone transitions out, um, and that, that, that level of how traumatic that can be, not just, oh, that’s kind of hard. It’s like, no, we’re talking about some real trauma. I think there’s even been studies that show that sometimes dealing with the retirement process and the red tape and bureaucracy of the Veterans Administration and some of those things triggers hormone levels and cortisol levels similar to combat experiences.

Garret Biss: Mhm.

Garret Biss: Certainly. And that’s what I got in touch with. And really the message I like to share is that regardless of what a veteran experiences while they’re in the military, that transition from military service itself can be traumatic from a very kind of basic layman’s understanding. I understand trauma to be an event or an experience that somebody undergoes that creates a fundamental shift in their values, beliefs, or understanding of the world or their place in it. And when you look at transitioning from the military, taking off that uniform, losing that sense of connection, losing that sense of meaning, losing that positive identity all in one instance, that’s a fundamental shift in your values, your beliefs, or your understanding of your place in the world.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: I think also what what my experience speaking to so many veterans that are suffering with extreme depression. I think your perspective changes as well when you come back, you know about the world, about you as a human. You know what? What are you here for? And, uh, it’s almost like what we had a patient that we treated a decade ago or even longer that, um, actually lost both legs in Iraq. And, um, as he was explaining to me, I sat with him. I think it was four hours that truly felt like 20 minutes. I couldn’t, you know, uh, absorb enough what he had to say because, again, his selflessness and, um, the way he described his job, you know, and what, what he was trying to reach was so above and beyond our, you know, daily routine that I even said to him and he said, oh my God, Clare, that describes 100%. I said, doesn’t it feel like, you know, you were Batman, you know, a superhero for so long? And suddenly that superhero is stripped out of you and your insides still feel like a superhero, but you can’t fly anymore and you can’t fight anymore.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: And he said, that’s exactly how I feel right now. Um, so I think it’s extremely hard, and I don’t think people understand, um, the level of commitment that an 18-year-old is required to make. I think the strength of the connections that they make with their buddies out there because everybody depends on each other, you know, for their lives. Um, the purpose, you know, is so much bigger than every day when we wake up. And what am I going to do today? It’s so hard, probably, for somebody to come back to find that purpose every day. And as you said, you know, Garret, that the devotion, it’s huge. It’s huge. You are devoted to something so much bigger than one can find in their everyday life. And how do you find that when you come back, do you know how you make how do you make your life as meaningful as those years were? I think it’s, um.

Garret Biss: It’s certainly a reframe, and it’s certainly a, you know, you’re having to start all over again in that sense of finding where your value is and what value you can provide. The story that you just shared about that veteran is something I hear a lot, and usually it’s described as I feel so underutilized now. Whatever somebody’s trying to do and their civilian career, you know that there’s something that comes, you know, you feel alive when you feel like you’re operating at the at the limits of a human’s capacity to endure hard times, to endure challenges, to learn, to think on your feet, to, uh, you know, be a creative problem solver in austere environments. And then now when you’re working in an office environment, trying to make a PowerPoint presentation look a little neater, there’s something like there’s so much that’s lost. One veteran described it like he felt like he was a finely tuned race car, always operating at the maximum of his potential. And now he feels like he’s that same, you know, million dollar race car. But he’s driving to the, you know, store to get groceries. And it is not being utilized the way that he was used to. So that aliveness that you feel when you’re really kind of leaning into something and putting your all into something that’s lost and, and that loss of that aliveness or that flame inside of you, that’s a very difficult and challenging thing to contend with.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Yeah, his biggest hurt was not being able to go back, knowing his brothers were still there and not being able to be there with them, and he said, I have offered myself to a sharpshooter as anything that I don’t need to run, but they won’t take me and I would do anything to be out there with my brothers.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Yeah. So he’s really had has his whole identity stripped away from him and now trying to find, you know, just as with any traumatic experience, you know, there’s a re there’s a reconciling you have to do with the person that you were before that experience and the person that you are after that experience. I think that’s a route a lot of the challenges that individuals face.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: No. No question. And, you know, you’re you’re asked to be the consummate warrior and you’ve got everybody around you who’s in that same mode. And so you come back and whatever the experience is and, and, uh, inevitably you’re going to start to, uh, feel losses and all the ways that we’re talking about through disconnection. Uh, even if people thank you for their your service sincerely, the depth of what they understand is not the type of connection you’ve been living where people literally know what you’ve been going through because they’re going through it at some level, too. And so the connection isn’t the same. I’ve always liked the imagery, right. It’s sort of an archetypal imagery of, uh, and I don’t think it’s thought of this way enough, which is maybe why I’m bringing it up. Is that, um, when people return from this experience where they’ve been a consummate warrior, they have to then have some vision of a way forward, not only externally. Definitely, they need that too, but also internally. They need an image to replace their image of themselves. And one of the things I’ve heard of is the movement from a warrior to a king, and the thing that moves a person from a warrior to a king is their ability to not only go out and up and fight is their ability to go and, and reframe their sense of themselves. And I don’t think there is enough help in understanding the value of that next phase. Right. You can’t be a king without being a warrior, but then eventually you’re supposed to be able to go down and in and reorganize as the next phase of it. And I don’t think we know how to talk about that. I think it’s really more about, you know, just thanking people for being a warrior. But they need a vision forward again.

Garret Biss: Absolutely.

Garret Biss: And I’ve heard, you know, and that’s not just, uh, something that veterans experience. I mean, I’ve heard of, you know, astronauts that have gone off and they come home or Olympians that, you know, they get their gold medal or they go off to the Olympics. And then after that, like they’ve lost so much of their identity, they don’t know what to do anymore. And that is, you know, creates a traumatic experience a lot unfortunately, struggle with, um, you know, substances or behaviors to try to help avoid or numb that pain. But I think that’s certainly a big part of it. And even a five-minute conversation, as you just presented, would be extremely helpful to plant that seed in veterans as they’re transitioning out. Give them something to think about. Give them something to ruminate over and try to answer that question for themselves. What does that mean to go from a warrior to a king? I think that that in and of itself could be extremely effective.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: 100% that to understand that depression as a normal process of actually asking you to reconfigure your sense of yourself and that think about what depression does, it slows us down. It makes us less interested in things in the world. And its healthy function is to turn us inward so that we begin to reexamine ourselves, but we see it as a failure. We misunderstand it, you know, and even though it is a disruptive process, there’s a purpose for it. And if the purpose is realigned and understood correctly, there really can be an emergence out of it. As I as I talked to you, I mean, I think I’m talking I can hear just from what you’re saying, the way you’re putting it, that you’ve sort of gone through this transition.

Garret Biss: Absolutely. I have it. And one of the most helpful things, and this was I don’t know where this came from. Well, it was from a book that I read was this thought of depression and considering it a verb? Depressing, not a noun depression. And that’s really helped me at times when I feel, you know, those symptoms of or those feelings of depression, to then ask myself, okay, what am I depressing? There’s something in me that’s trying to regulate, to slow me down, to disconnect me, to give me some time to rest. But what is it that’s going on that I’m depressing in myself? Uh, and that it at least sparks some curiosity to then do some self-discovery and try to figure that out. The much more effective way and empowered way to deal with some of these symptoms that come up, instead of just the disconnection and the self rumination, that maybe I’m not valuable, maybe I am defective. And the fear that that creates.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: Right? The depression is a return to your needs, and right your needs to help other people, to be helped by other people and on and on. Right? That’s exactly right.

Garret Biss: Mm.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: And, Garret, I know you talk a lot about mentoring and the importance that that’s played both in your life and how you advocate for people to have good mentoring experiences. What are some thoughts you have about how to find healthy, helpful and safe mentors?

Garret Biss: So I think for one, seeking it, that’s a great first step. Um, you know, one message that I love to share anytime I’m speaking with an audience, especially veterans or individuals who have struggled with addiction, is regardless of what you think about yourself and how you feel right now, know that you are lovable, you are acceptable, and you are just as capable as you need to be in order to get to a better place in your life without that feeling. And you know, this is something I felt. This is something a lot of people I’ve talked to that have struggled with addiction, have felt there’s a point in your life where after years of struggle, after years of feeling helpless or too weak to overcome a challenge that you’re facing, that really erodes your sense of self-confidence and, and and ultimately your sense of worth. I’ve talked to a lot of people that struggle or that are in the middle of their struggle that say, “I’m just, you know, I’m just not worth it.” Like I’ve done so many bad things, I’ve experienced so many bad things. It’s just not worth me getting better. I just have no, you know, inherent value left to get better.

Garret Biss: Well, know that might be something that your mind is sharing with you. That might be a thought that’s come up for you, but it’s absolutely not true. And if you don’t believe that for yourself, then believe it, because I believe that for you. And I’m sure everybody here on the panel will agree that you are lovable, you are acceptable, and you have the capacity to make a positive change in your life. So that would be the first thing. The second thing is just expose yourself to some different ideas out there. I mean, we can go to any library in America, and there’s enough information and wisdom in, you know, in the pages of the book that we can find. And on the internet, there’s enough people out there that are trying to offer some light from journeys that they’ve been through. And if you find something that resonates or really speaks with you or speaks to you, then investigate that a little bit more and see, um, what’s available for you and who seems to be the best kind of spokesperson for the challenges that you’re facing.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Are there any kind of groups or mentor places that people typically would go for that worked for you or that you see helping people in particular?

Garret Biss: So I work as an addiction recovery coach. Specifically,I work with veterans now. Um, and I think what I’ve seen is that I feel like there’s a at least what I’ve seen, there’s a lot more emphasis now and a lot more, um, offering of recovery coaching out there. So I understand the difference between coaching and clinical. I understand clinical, I’m not a clinician, but I’ve spent a lot of time with clinicians. But I understand, you know, the their their focus is on helping us identify or them identifying things that are wrong with us and then helping us find processes or pathways to mitigate some of the negative effects of those things that are wrong with us, so we can get back to a better place. My understanding of a coach and my role as a coach is to help somebody identify the things that are good with them, the innate strengths that they have, the values that they have, and how do we leverage those characteristics or those traits to get to a better place? And from that, from that context, I’m not saying there’s not some overlap, but from that context, I can see very easily how they how a clinical and a non-clinical partnership with individuals can complement each other very well and help somebody get to a better place. But as far as what I do and what I’ve seen in the coaching world, there’s a lot of emphasis on I studied applied positive psychology, so I bring a lot of influence from that. But the emphasis is on trying to find what’s right with you, trying to recognize the wins and successes that you’ve had in your life. Get clues from that, because those are things that you can leverage to overcome future obstacles and challenges.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: I have a…

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Dwight, I’m sorry to interrupt you because I think it’s really important. What, uh, Garret is speaking about here because I think that’s where we’re missing. You know, I have tried to, uh, speak to different people at the VA quite a bit. And unfortunately, I got nowhere because, you know, the treatment procedures are so archaic and they are so set in one path, regardless of the patient’s needs. So it’s one path for everybody. So nobody there, you know, is seen as an individual. And so many people fall through the cracks because of it. So I think us speaking about it, I think, uh, you know, Garret’s book whatever podcasts. I think, um, it’s really important because this needs to change. So when Garret speaks about, uh, working with people struggling with addiction, I mean, addiction is not just a symptom, but a consequence. So you know, a veteran comes and he is able to receive the mental help he needs in order to adjust to society in order to deal with the trauma in with anything and not just medication. Medication if needed, of course, but if they get the individualized help they need, then we’re not going to have all the other consequences that we see. And that leads to addiction, homelessness, alcoholism because what we see is the lack of mental health, the lack of accessible, individualized help. And then you go to, because of that lack, uh, self-medication and self-medication with anything you can find, because it gets to a point where not just you need to live in this world, but you have the people that live with you, your family, those expectations that you are still the person that left when you’re not.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: So it is important to have, you know, family mental health to everybody to understand what’s going on and work together. So now when you’re dealing with self-medication, you’re having a physiological change to your whole system chemically and physically, where when you, uh, have alcohol, the influence of alcohol or drugs, you cannot make those decisions anymore because your thinking is compromised. Your ability to make healthy decisions is compromised. So what I see, um, on the VA is let’s medicate them more. So they go from psychiatric medications to, um, maintenance medications. Maintenance medications that cause tremendous depression. Because now you have no ups and downs. You just live in a straight line. And then we see the horrible consequences we do as suicide, homelessness, broken families and all the above. So I think, um, it’s really, really important if we can get anything out of this podcast today is we need to change, not just how we view, you know, veterans when they come back, but the support that is given to them. We are in 2024. Medicine has come such a long way. We can see the brain-specific parts where trauma occurs, where, um, chemical imbalances occur. So we need to start providing these individuals that gave their life to us with some updated care with, you know, what we have best in not keep the same 50-year-old level of care that they received before because it’s not working and people are dying. And it’s unfair to most, but especially to those that selflessly, you know, fought for us.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: Well, it’s a it’s a very it’s an important and valuable conversation. There’s always, uh, and there’s much more to cover there. And in that spirit, before we we wrap up today, Garrett, uh, could you tell everybody a little bit where they can follow your work and some of the resources that you that you have?

Garret Biss: Certainly. So first and foremost, anybody that’s interested, I invite you to go check out the TEDx talk that I did, speaking about the unspoken trauma that veterans face. The best way to do that go to Unspoken Trauma Vet. Not only can you view the TEDx talk there, but there’s also an opportunity. If it resonates with you and you want to share that talk with somebody else, that we can co-host a virtual watch party. So you find some colleagues, some other veterans, some loved ones that want to better understand the challenges that veterans face. We’ll jump on a zoom room together, we’ll watch the talk, but then we’ll have an opportunity for some sharing. I think a lot of healing and gain of awareness can come through sharing what we what we’re feeling and what other people are going through. So that’s a great place to check it out. For anybody that’s a little interested in coaching or recovery coaching, what that looks like for a veteran, you can check out valiantpath.vet. And if you’re a little shy or you don’t want to reach out and you just still want to know some things that can help you if you’re feeling stuck, if you’re feeling like something’s missing, I put together a program that I’m going to offer all to all of your audience for free. You can go to thewarriorreset.com and there’s a ten-day challenge where I offer some of the most helpful and efficacious, um, uh, interventions that I’ve experienced for a mental, emotional, physical, physical and for some, even a spiritual reset. So if you feel something’s missing, if you feel like you’re not showing up as that best version of yourself, that’d be a great place to start.

Garret Biss: Wonderful, wonderful. Thank you. Right.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: And the last thing I’ll add is, um. Thank you so much for coming on. This has been a really enjoyed this. Uh, and, and, uh, liked your insights and your way of approaching it. Uh, the last thing I would say is effective treatment and, um, is a is a commitment. If you want to get better, you have to commit to it. And you have you need the insight. You need the words to describe what you’re feeling inside. You need to be able to return to what those feelings are in the inside, and how they need to get enacted. And the outside. It is a commitment to getting better. And the one thing you can say about veterans is they know how to make commitments, and that cannot change when they get home towards their healing. And if they make that and they take that same warrior approach like you’re suggesting to this, they can get better.

Garret Biss: Mhm. Excellent.

Dwight Hurst, CMHC: I would just say as we are wrapping up for today I’m sure you hear. Garret, I’m sure you hear people say thank you for your service. As we touched on that phrase before I, I want to add I think we, we want to thank you too for not just the service to the country, but the service you’re doing for veterans and that you’ve done since. That as well is very important service that you’re providing and that you’re you’re doing and dedicating your life and your career to what you’re doing with that to. And that’s something we definitely, uh, I know that I appreciate. And we all, we all are grateful for. Well, you know, one thing we’re grateful for, too, is anybody out there who is with us. We’re grateful for you listening. And we’re grateful for the things that you do for mental health and addiction. And we hope that one of those is that you’ll be able to share the things you hear. Uh, please feel free to share this program. Go to unspokentrauma.vet as well. You can reach out to us by going to our website at opiates.com, or emailing us at info@opiates.com. Uh, we’ve also been able to nab @opiates at all the social media places too. So if you’ve got opiates, uh, on your mind and if, well, maybe if you’d like to get opiates off your mind as well, then you should reach out to us at any of those places as well. But it’s an easy thing to remember and find. Um, on behalf of everybody here at Waismann and the podcast, I just want to say thank you again. Um, and remind everybody out there to keep asking questions, because when you ask questions, you can find answers. And whenever you find answers, you can find hope. Thanks again, everybody, for being here. And thank you to our panel.

Clare Waismann, M-RAS/SUDCC II: Thank you.

David B. Livingston, LMFT: Yeah.

Garret Biss: Appreciate it. Thank you.

Resources:

• https://UnspokenTrauma.vet (TEDx)
• https://TheWarriorReset.com   (A Free Fift for the Audience)
• https://ValiantPath.vet  (A Coaching Program for Veterans)
• https://GarretBiss.com   (About Garret Biss)