Poor Man Survival
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How Horses Help Veterans With PTSD to Heal
After
10 plus years of two wars, America has experienced a significant increase in
homeless veterans, wounded veterans and war-related problems challenging our
nation as seen in its latest mass shooting.
Unfortunately, under the Obama administration our VA hospitals did a
poor job of caring for our nation’s returning veterans and only recently has
the situation improved despite anti-veteran sentiments of many of elected
leaders [Sen. Stabenow in MI where I live voted against raises and health care
improvements for our military and MI voters still reelected her?!] Here’s a terrific example of how one woman
ultimately won her battle…
After
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, US Navy veteran Lois Fritz had
lost all hope of ever finding joy again.
But one incredible horseback riding lesson gave her an amazing new
beginning and led her to help other veterans heal too.
After
serving in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm Lois became an emergency room
nurse but began experiencing traumatic scenes from the horrors she had
witnessed along with her abusive, poverty-stricken childhood. Enlisting in the Navy at 18 was her way
out. Afterward, she became a nurse and a
mother finding comfort in caring for her patients and her son.
Unfortunately,
she began experiencing panic attacks and other terrifying symptoms and had
trouble focusing, her anxiety attacks became more frequent and she began to
overeat and drink to numb the pain.
Desperate
for help, Lois began going to counseling, where she discovered she had
PTSD. During the next several years she
continued treatment and joined support groups and read several self-help books
to counteract the overwhelming hopelessness that gripped her.
One
day her therapist asked her a life-changing question: “What would have made 9-year-old
Lois happy?”
Without
hesitation Lois blurted out “Riding a horse!”
“Why
not do it?” her therapist encouraged.
This is crazy. I haven’t thought about horses in years, Lois
mused, skeptical that riding could make any difference after all she had tried
to help her PTSD. But with nothing to
lose, Lois gave it a shot.
During
Lois’ first riding lesson, she carefully mounted the horse. And as he began to trot, Lois felt an
unfamiliar feeling rise up within her…a sense of calm and peace, like she’d never
experienced before.
Stroking
the horse’s silky mane, Lois smiled through welling tears…feeling hope for the
first time in decades.
Thrilled,
Lois knew she had to keep riding, so with her partner’s help finally bought a
horse of her own, naming it Chip.
Through
the unconditional love Lois found in riding Chip she slowly began to experience
fewer PTSD symptoms, her world brightened, and soon an idea took hold: if Chip could work this miracle for me,
perhaps horses can help other veterans who are hurting.
In
2016 Lois and her partner used their life savings to found New Freedom Farm
[NewFreedomFarm.net], a non-profit with 20 rescued horses on 13 acres in
Buchanan, VA dedicated to helping veterans recover from PTSD, brain injury,
depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
For
the past two years the farm has thrived, drawing in veterans nationwide.
A
female veteran from Maine couldn’t stop crying when she visited as she felt so
at peace. Today at 49, Lois successfully
manages her own challenges with the love of her rescue horses and this year she
will host their 3rd annual Thanksgiving Feast for homeless vets!
My
wife and I have taken in rescue horses and donated them to a children’s rescue
when we had to leave AZ to help family in MI and know first-hand how much love
and aid a horse can provide to a human as horses are hyper vigilant about their
environment and will bond closely with afflicted human providing a calming
influence.
For
information you can search “equine therapy for PTSD” online to find programs in
your area and if you are a veteran, go to:
OperationWeAreHere.com
Finally,
consider becoming a volunteer…many area stables and horse organizations [which
you can find online] are glad to welcome you!
Yours for better living,
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Sad Postscript
In the United States
we take particular pride in recognizing as heroes those who have served in the
military.
Yet while we honor our veterans with holidays, parades, discounts at retail stores and restaurants, and endless political rhetoric about their sacrifice and bravery, we do a pitiful job of respecting their freedoms and caring for their needs once out of uniform.
Despite the fact that the U.S. boasts more than 20 million veterans who have served in World War II through the present day, the plight of veterans today is America’s badge of shame, with large numbers of veterans impoverished, unemployed, traumatized mentally and physically, struggling with depression, suicide, and marital stress, homeless, subjected to sub-par treatment at clinics and hospitals, and left to molder while their paperwork piles up within Veterans Administration offices.
Still, the government’s efforts to wage war on veterans, especially those who speak out against government wrongdoing, is downright appalling.
Consider: we raise our young people on a steady diet of militarism and war, sell them on the idea that defending freedom abroad by serving in the military is their patriotic duty, then when they return home, bruised and battle-scarred and committed to defending their freedoms at home, we often treat them like criminals merely for having served in the military.
The government even has a name for its war on America’s veterans: Operation Vigilant Eagle.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, this Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program tracks military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and characterizes them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.”
Coupled with the DHS’ dual reports on Rightwing and Leftwing “Extremism,”which broadly define extremists as individuals, military veterans and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics bode ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.
Yet the government is not merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as it is taking aim at individuals trained in military warfare.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the DHS has gone extremely quiet about Operation Vigilant Eagle.
Where there’s smoke, there’s bound to be fire.
And the government’s efforts to target military veterans whose views may be perceived as “anti-government” make clear that something is afoot.
In recent years, military servicemen and women have found themselves increasingly targeted for surveillance, censorship, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment, labeled as extremists and/or mentally ill, and stripped of their Second Amendment rights.
Yet while we honor our veterans with holidays, parades, discounts at retail stores and restaurants, and endless political rhetoric about their sacrifice and bravery, we do a pitiful job of respecting their freedoms and caring for their needs once out of uniform.
Despite the fact that the U.S. boasts more than 20 million veterans who have served in World War II through the present day, the plight of veterans today is America’s badge of shame, with large numbers of veterans impoverished, unemployed, traumatized mentally and physically, struggling with depression, suicide, and marital stress, homeless, subjected to sub-par treatment at clinics and hospitals, and left to molder while their paperwork piles up within Veterans Administration offices.
Still, the government’s efforts to wage war on veterans, especially those who speak out against government wrongdoing, is downright appalling.
Consider: we raise our young people on a steady diet of militarism and war, sell them on the idea that defending freedom abroad by serving in the military is their patriotic duty, then when they return home, bruised and battle-scarred and committed to defending their freedoms at home, we often treat them like criminals merely for having served in the military.
The government even has a name for its war on America’s veterans: Operation Vigilant Eagle.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, this Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program tracks military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and characterizes them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.”
Coupled with the DHS’ dual reports on Rightwing and Leftwing “Extremism,”which broadly define extremists as individuals, military veterans and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics bode ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.
Yet the government is not merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as it is taking aim at individuals trained in military warfare.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the DHS has gone extremely quiet about Operation Vigilant Eagle.
Where there’s smoke, there’s bound to be fire.
And the government’s efforts to target military veterans whose views may be perceived as “anti-government” make clear that something is afoot.
In recent years, military servicemen and women have found themselves increasingly targeted for surveillance, censorship, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment, labeled as extremists and/or mentally ill, and stripped of their Second Amendment rights.
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Bruce ‘the
Poor Man’
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Other
notes of interest…
Living Frugally In Suburbia
You live differently than your neighbors.
You live differently than your neighbors.
14
Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
8 Simple Ways to Put More Money in Your Pocket
Have more money without working harder!
Have more money without working harder!
Knowing
When and How to Stockpile Groceries
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
10 Stores That Give Discounts to
Shoppers Age 50 or Older
You don't even need an AARP
membership card to qualify for the "senior" discounts at these
retailers.
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2 comments:
Terrific article-I love horses and I support our veterans [unlike so many Democrats]...wish I could start a similar group where I live.
Here's an interesting related article:
From shell-shock to PTSD, a century of invisible war trauma
https://theconversation.com/from-shell-shock-to-ptsd-a-century-of-invisible-war-trauma-74911
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