We hope you enjoy our books and Journal issues. Bringing you these good reads is a labor of love, one from which we are constantly learning more about how best to share what matters in our rapidly changing world, while building a vibrant global community of changemakers: writers, artists, activists, and you– our readers.
However, as Abe Lincoln famously said, “You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time. But you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” True that!
Here is your opportunity to post your reactions to our publications. Please be sure to cite the correct book title or Journal issue, article or artwork, and author or artist! The most interesting and relevant responses will be shared in the next issue of the Journal, in print and online.
While we invite your honest feedback, please be aware that we will not publish any hurtful, threatening, salacious, or defamatory remarks. This includes denigration of race, gender, sexual preferences, ethnicity, religion, politics, and pretty much anything else one might think of. Such remarks will be immediately removed and the writer banned from further posting.
De-polarization is the goal here, inclusion is the practice, and kindness is the key.
Photos from Pixabay
Dr. Joe Alexander’s article, “Treating Trauma in the Military,” really cut to the chase – got right into the heart of it. It took me a long time to see what had happened to me and Dr. Joe helped by corroborating what I’ve been experiencing. The whole body effects of PTSD are heavy duty – disastrous. Unfortunately my experience of counseling with the VA was nothing like Dr. Joe’s approach – it was much more rigid, designed to make things “not look so bad,” like we were making too much of our trauma. So, thank you, Dr. Joe!
I want to thank Dr. Alexander for his article “Treating Trauma in the Military.” Both of my grandfathers fought in wars, one in WWII and the other in Vietnam. My grandfathers came back changed men by all accounts. For many of us who do not experience war ourselves, it is impossible to imagine what veterans experience or understand how those experiences impact the rest of their lives.
Dr. Alexander is in a unique position to help us with this.
I appreciate that Dr. Alexander begins with an account of his flights to and from Hawaii filled with the spouses of soldiers fighting in Vietnam. This is not the trauma we often hear about in stories about war. Maybe Soroyan’s The Human Comedy touches on this type of trauma, but I cannot think of many others. The discomfort Dr. Alexander felt on these repeated trips is palpable. The imagery of planes filled with young wives caught between hesitant excitement and expectant grief is still with me. It speaks to how war affects loved ones and families too.
Dr. Alexander’s stories of veterans working through their trauma stateside illustrates the deep impact wartime experiences have on the day to day lives of those who served. Bolting from meetings at well-scouted parks and seeking out the calming effects of gunpowder drive home the crises veterans face each day. As civilians, we read click-bait articles about returned service members who snap and hurt themselves or others. We read articles about veteran homelessness, but we never really have a full understanding from these reports on how this happens. Dr. Alexander provides a perspective we do not typically have access to and one that really engages our humanity.
The fact, as he points out, that not all trauma originates on the battlefield but arrives with recruits is a revelation. Early life experiences make battlefield trauma unbearable for some, while others do bear it, but I imagine all struggle with it on some level. I know both of my grandfathers did.
Many years ago, I approached members of both families to ask if it would be okay to ask ‘grandpa’ about his war experiences, to record his stories. The responses ranged from ‘he never talks about it’ to ‘he won’t talk about it,’ but all thought it would be appropriate to ask. Both of my grandfathers readily agreed to share their stories. My first question then, was why didn’t they like to talk about their war experiences? One of my grandfathers answered, “they don’t want to hear about that stuff” and the other replied, “well, nobody ever asked.” Clearly, they felt alone in bearing the effects of their experiences. There seemed to be a quiet solemnity around the topic for both families.
When I finished reading Dr. Alexander’s account, I thought to myself, “well, okay, there are bright people with the best intentions developing strategies to aid soldiers facing these traumas, this is good!” It’s important to know that people care and resources are being marshaled. Yet, I clearly receive the message that there needs to be more done to help veterans and current service members. The fact that there is no follow-up or patient tracking allowed, and soldiers only receive 10 days of treatment following a suicide attempt is concerning. These limitations seem like significant obstacles to ensuring the well-being of these patients over the long term.
I am grateful for Dr. Alexander and his efforts to help those who serve in our military. I am grateful, too, that he is willing to share his insights and experiences with us. It helps. Reflecting back, both of my grandfathers seemed to have developed ways to cope with their wartime experiences, some positive, others, not so much. I wonder if they would have benefited from the help that Dr. Alexander provided for so many. I believe so.