1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,640 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,920 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,560 I am Jim Fossone. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,880 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,760 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,760 I think you'll find very interesting. 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:34,640 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,680 or at the web. 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:43,120 VeteransRadio.org is our new URL, VeteransRadio.org. 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,520 Where we're on the web 24-7, you can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 12 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:55,080 We post new ones every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a new interview, 13 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,960 something you didn't know before by going to VeteransRadio.org. 14 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,240 And before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors. 15 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:13,680 First up, we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 16 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:19,360 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran-owned businesses. 17 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:25,920 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 18 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,360 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. 19 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:35,000 Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation. 20 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:46,400 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at LegalHelpForVeterans.com. 21 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:53,520 We want to welcome to VeteransRadio today, Navy Veteran, Lee Bedot. 22 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:54,800 I'm sure I didn't get that right. 23 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:00,040 Help me out on the French pronunciation of this Louisiana girl. 24 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:01,720 It's Lee Biot. 25 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,160 Everything's silent. 26 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,480 It's very French. 27 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:11,520 And Lee, you grew up in Louisiana and ended up in the Navy. 28 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,040 How did a nice girl like you end up in the Navy? 29 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:15,920 Great question. 30 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:17,800 I was in college. 31 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,480 I was in college in New Orleans when 9-11 happened. 32 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:26,880 And I think when you're a teenager, you're very, very self-involved. 33 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:32,280 And whenever that happened, it just sort of woke me up to the idea that there's so much 34 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,200 going on in the world outside of myself. 35 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,120 And I felt called to serve. 36 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:43,880 So I dropped out of school and gave up my scholarship and enlisted in the Navy. 37 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,920 How did the family take those two decisions? 38 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:48,880 They did not take them well. 39 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:54,200 My parents called a friend at the Pentagon and tried to get me out of the contract. 40 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,880 It was hilarious. 41 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,160 But it all worked out very well for me. 42 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:05,480 I ended up taking the D-Lab and becoming a linguist, an Arabic linguist. 43 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:11,520 And it was an excellent decision for me personally and professionally from the jump. 44 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:17,240 And you spent six years in the Navy from 2008. 45 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,280 Tell us a little bit about what you did. 46 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:20,280 Sure. 47 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:25,600 So, you know, as a linguist, we actually spent a couple of years, almost two years 48 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:32,160 in school in California, which, guys, if you're going to enlist in the military, go for languages. 49 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,600 Not a bad tour if you can get it. 50 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:36,600 Yeah. 51 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:44,440 So I spent a couple of years doing that and then was based mostly out of the D.C. area 52 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,800 at the National Security Agency, which was a little funny as a sailor. 53 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:50,760 I never really spent time on a ship. 54 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,360 And most of the time I went to work in an office with civilians. 55 00:03:54,360 --> 00:04:00,840 So I was one of the only enlisted folks in my office on our particular target. 56 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:10,760 And then in 2007, I was given the opportunity to TDY with team seven and ten and spent about 57 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:17,160 a year attached to those teams and we deployed into Fallujah and spent some time over there 58 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:24,560 and again, an excellent opportunity for personal growth and professional growth. 59 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,800 And that led to the decision, you know, everybody has to make. 60 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,960 Is it time to get out of the service and you did an O8 and it looks like you immediately 61 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,320 transitioned to the next three letter agency in the government? 62 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:38,320 Yeah. 63 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:39,320 Yeah. 64 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,640 You know, so it was towards the end of that deployment, actually one of the one of the 65 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,200 seals that I was working with was asking what I was going to do when I got out. 66 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,880 And I knew when I enlisted, I had to finish my degree. 67 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,400 So I worked on my degree while I was in, you know, every opportunity I was able to take 68 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:54,520 night classes and stuff. 69 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,720 I was continuing my education. 70 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,800 So I was close to finishing by the time I got out of the military. 71 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:08,520 In any case, this man that I worked with sort of suggested that I look at actually, this 72 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:09,520 kind of funny conversation. 73 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:15,120 I said, well, I'm thinking about finishing my degree and joining the State Department. 74 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,320 Not to bash the State Department, but his response was, oh, the State Department is 75 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:19,320 a bunch of nerds. 76 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,760 You should join the CIA. 77 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:28,280 So, you know, he had worked at the CIA prior to becoming a seal. 78 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:31,760 He worked at the CIA in the 90s and then went through buds kind of at an older age. 79 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:36,120 So he was able to give me a little bit of insight into what that would look like. 80 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,520 And he gave me some confidence too. 81 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,320 You know, he said, hey, you're a female. 82 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:41,320 You've got combat experience. 83 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,240 You've got this language ability like you'd be a shoe in. 84 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:51,600 So I went home and applied and honestly, I was shocked every time they called me back 85 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:56,440 for another interview or hiring process, you know, saying every time I was like, really, 86 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:57,840 I can't believe this is happening. 87 00:05:57,840 --> 00:05:59,680 But then it did. 88 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:04,520 So over the course of a year or so while I was finishing my bachelor's degree is whenever 89 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:06,200 I was going through that hiring process. 90 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:12,440 And we should mention that you did get your bachelor's in Middle East studies from George 91 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:18,600 Washington University in Washington, D.C. and again, with that combination of study 92 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:26,760 in that area, the linguistic skills, the overseas experience that the Navy gave you, 93 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:31,360 it kind of sounds like you fit right in at the CIA. 94 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:38,240 Yeah, I think I guess another kind of anecdote was they'd called to put me in a particular 95 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,440 class and I hadn't finished my degree yet. 96 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,640 They were like, hey, we want to put you in, you know, the January class. 97 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:49,680 I said, well, I don't graduate on May, am I going to lose my slot and the hiring official 98 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,680 was like, I don't know if I can guarantee you a slot later or something like that. 99 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,520 And I remember saying, starting to sound like a Navy recruiter. 100 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,200 What I said, I said, I'm the perfect candidate for this position. 101 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,200 And it, you know, Jim, it came out of my mouth and it was the most, I think it's the most 102 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,600 confident thing I've ever said in my life and I don't have that kind of confidence. 103 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:13,000 It just came out of my mouth and I'm so glad I said it because she was like, okay, we'll 104 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,560 put you in the, you know, the next class or whatever. 105 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:20,920 And yeah, so boy, I wish I still had that same confidence that I did back then. 106 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:22,440 I go get her. 107 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,920 Well now as a mother of two, your confidence level is in a whole other area. 108 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:32,320 So, but, but let's talk about, you know, give us a thumbnail of the six years there and 109 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,160 then I want to transition to what you did afterwards. 110 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:36,160 Sure. 111 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,360 Oh, but so, okay. 112 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,360 So while, so while I was in this acting, I can't talk a whole lot about what I did there, 113 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,760 but my focus was Middle East and North Africa. 114 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:56,720 And it's a, it's kind of a lonely job in a way because there is a lot of having to misrepresent 115 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,080 who you are to achieve certain goals. 116 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:07,200 And I feel like I worked with some amazing people and we worked on some amazing operations, 117 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,200 but at the end of the day, it's a pretty lonely job. 118 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:16,080 And so after about five years, I think I started thinking this might not be the right place 119 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:17,440 for me anymore. 120 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:23,440 And I really wanted to have a family and the pace at which I was operating didn't really 121 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:24,960 allow for that. 122 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:30,160 So I took some leave without pay and came home for a little while and I tell you what 123 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,600 the plane touched down here in Louisiana and I spent about a week here before I was like, 124 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,240 I'm not going back. 125 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:41,520 Well, that's part of the transition I want to talk about you had spent, you know, better 126 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:47,920 than I don't know what it all adds up to, but, you know, 10 years in the DC area and 127 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:54,640 and going back home to rural Louisiana. 128 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:58,680 We were talking before we started recording about St. Landry Parish where you're at and 129 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:03,320 it's all 3000 people of it. 130 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:09,440 A big change of pace in life is was that transition something that you were yearning 131 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,640 for or it finally smacked you in the face and said, this is what you need. 132 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,200 Wow, that's a yeah, that's a great question. 133 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,800 I think it kind of smacked me in the face. 134 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:25,440 I really grew to a point where I was not happy in DC and you know, as much as as amazing 135 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,400 as that town is, it is very transitional. 136 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,080 It is very selfish in a way, very egotistical. 137 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:40,480 People are climbing the career ladder and I felt a lack of a sense of community there. 138 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:45,920 And, you know, I found whenever I wasn't overseas, whenever I wasn't deployed, whenever 139 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:51,560 I was in the city, I was constantly seeking to get out all of my hobbies involved, being 140 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:59,040 outdoors, trail running, orienting, which is like a kind of a hobby form of land navigation. 141 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,720 So I was always kind of out of the city anyway. 142 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,360 And that's not to say again, I think DC is an amazing city and boy, if you ever get the 143 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,320 chance to live there, so many free things to do in so much culture and that's amazing. 144 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:15,320 But as far as the opportunity to connect with other human beings, I felt that that was lacking. 145 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:17,720 I would make friends and everybody was T.D. 146 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:21,200 Wying and moving to a different job, moving to a different city, kind of coming in and 147 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:22,200 out. 148 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,040 So there wasn't a stable sense of community and that's what I needed and that's what 149 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,080 I have here in Louisiana. 150 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:34,240 And one of the things that you did was obtain your Masters of Clinical Mental Health at 151 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:39,200 Louisiana State University and you are now a licensed professional counselor working 152 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:45,800 with folks, you know, working their way through trauma of various sorts. 153 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:53,320 But part of your story was you had also experienced trauma during your careers in the Navy and 154 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:57,160 at the CIA that you were working and processing through. 155 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,880 And I think one of the challenges everybody has is kind of making that first step of, 156 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,280 you know, maybe I need to talk to somebody. 157 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:11,080 Help us understand how you got to that point and what you're doing now for folks. 158 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,240 Okay, yeah. 159 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:21,080 So yes, one of the traumas that I experienced while I was in the CIA actually, it took me 160 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,160 almost a year to seek help for it. 161 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:30,080 And I think what I found was that, you know, so I'm also a licensed addiction counselor, 162 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:34,520 I'm not sure if you knew that, but it's funny, someone will come to me and kind of say, my 163 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,680 wife left me, my dog doesn't want me to pet him, you know, lost weight. 164 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:45,240 Like all these things, like, well, maybe you should stop drinking, you know, right? 165 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:47,400 But as a therapist, it's really not my job to say that. 166 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,880 Well, as a veteran's disability lawyer, we call that self-medicating. 167 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,840 It sounds a lot better than, but that's what they're doing. 168 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:55,840 Yes. 169 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:56,840 Right. 170 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,400 So I think, you know, for me, that's what kind of drove me to seek help was sort of 171 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:03,560 feeling like, wow, everything, it almost felt like the world was out to get near, like 172 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:05,560 everything just kind of kept going wrong. 173 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:11,040 And one day I was kind of like, ooh, maybe it's not them, maybe it's me, you know? 174 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,360 So like maybe it's not the world, maybe it's me. 175 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,080 So I did, you know, I did kind of reach out and get some help. 176 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:22,640 And what I thought was so neat was part of that process with one therapist in particular 177 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:27,480 in DC was processing a pretty significant trauma. 178 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:33,720 And then after that, I kept seeing her and I laughed because this poor woman, and I e-mailed 179 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,080 her here and there and say, thank you. 180 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:42,040 But this poor woman listened to me kind of come in and vent, I guess, for lack of a better 181 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,880 word about the same stuff over and over. 182 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,880 And she just kept offering emotional support, emotional support. 183 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:50,200 You know, every couple weeks or every month or so when I'd go in. 184 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:55,240 And so finally one day I said, I think I might need to resign from this job. 185 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,640 Like I'm not sure if this is a healthy place for me to be anymore. 186 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:02,600 And then she was like, okay, well, let's, you know, let's talk about that. 187 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:03,600 You know, what are the pros and cons? 188 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,520 And she's thinking, why did it take you so long to get there? 189 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:08,720 Exactly, exactly. 190 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:13,560 And that's, you know, I mean, I feel like that's kind of part of what, like, you know, 191 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:18,840 as a therapist, I feel like people make the mistake sometimes of thinking that therapists 192 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:23,400 either don't talk at all or they tell you what to do. 193 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,280 And that's not what it is. 194 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,880 It's you come in and you tell me what you need from me. 195 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,040 Do you need me to be emotionally supportive? 196 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:32,440 Are you trying to make a change? 197 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,440 What are your goals and how can I get you to those goals? 198 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:36,440 Right. 199 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,720 And, and sometimes you don't even know what those goals are. 200 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,560 So I'm going to sit and I'm going to listen and be empathetic and provide that safe space 201 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,400 where you can be vulnerable until we figure it out. 202 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:50,200 Why did it go back to this issue that I think many veterans have, which is we don't want 203 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:51,560 to ask for help. 204 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:52,560 Yeah. 205 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:55,960 Can you enlighten us a little bit on how to get through that? 206 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:00,960 As you said, it took you a year to even say, well, maybe I need it. 207 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:06,360 Help us understand how we can get over our own emotional hurdles there. 208 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:07,600 Yeah. 209 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:14,680 I think, well, so some of the myths around therapists, you know, just knowing, I don't 210 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:19,200 know if that's answering your question or not, but this idea that all therapists are 211 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:25,800 alike, I think you have to get over the idea that you might have to go see more than one 212 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,720 to see who's a good fit for you. 213 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:33,920 I also think with veterans in particular, there's this idea of, if I go see a therapist 214 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,880 about my trauma, all we can talk about is the trauma. 215 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:44,560 And I guess I want to reassure veterans that sometimes real life can be harder than deployments. 216 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,360 I know that sounds strange, but it's like, I don't know. 217 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,200 For me, I know I really struggled with the idea of feeling like, how did I do all of 218 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:52,200 these things? 219 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,280 And then when I'm not deployed, like when I'm back in DC or even now today with the 220 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,240 kids, you know, how did I do all this stuff where there are like life and death situations 221 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:07,640 and serious things happening and I handled it with grace and then real life is so challenging 222 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,360 sometimes. 223 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:13,040 And I think sometimes that's embarrassing for veterans because they're like, well, I 224 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:19,520 want to go get help, but I feel silly because really what I'm struggling with is I'm irritated 225 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:24,000 with the everyday stressors. 226 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:29,360 The job, the kids, the wife, the spouse, whatever it might be is sort of the closest 227 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:30,360 issue. 228 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,920 You know, you kicked the dog that's closest to you. 229 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:33,920 Yes. 230 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:34,920 Yes. 231 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:40,600 But there's probably an underlying moral injury and that's one of the areas that you focus 232 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:45,880 on in trauma is trying to get to that moral injury. 233 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,080 Can you explain that word a little bit? 234 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:49,480 Sure, yes. 235 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:56,040 So moral injury is the idea that, you know, we grow up with a certain set of beliefs about 236 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,080 the world around us and about ourselves as human being. 237 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:05,120 You know, so often times, so you think about things like as a veteran, for example, you 238 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:12,280 might go into a war zone thinking I'm brave, I'm a soldier, I'm brave, I believe in this 239 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:17,680 mission, I believe in, you know, the United States government's mission here, et cetera, 240 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:18,880 all those things. 241 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:23,040 And then you might come out of that deployment on the other end feeling like, ooh, I'm not 242 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:28,000 as brave as I thought I was or perhaps this mission is a little bit fuzzier than I thought 243 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,000 I was. 244 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,960 And as a result of some of those experiences, it can make you feel like it can make you 245 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,120 feel shame about yourself. 246 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,600 It can make you feel like a monster. 247 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:46,160 I mean, I've had people talk about experiences where, or vice versa, Jim, I've also had veterans 248 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:52,000 that kind of come and say, hey, I'm really struggling with, as an example, I'm really 249 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:59,000 struggling because I really enjoyed the violence and I kind of don't know what to do with that 250 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,000 now, right? 251 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,200 I mean, that's a moral injury in and of itself. 252 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:06,680 Like, so, so according to your beliefs, it's okay to be violent when you're in a war zone 253 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,800 and when it's directed, but now kind of what do I do with that in my civilian life? 254 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:18,480 Yeah, we, you talked to a lot of guys who the adrenaline junkie part of it was something 255 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,120 that the Russia that is something that they can't replicate or they're trying to replicate 256 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:28,360 and can't in civilian life and that turns them kind of upside down as well. 257 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:29,360 Yes. 258 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:30,360 Yeah. 259 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:34,400 It's about your personal experience of kind of the actions that you've taken. 260 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,800 So when you talk about moral injury, there are different types. 261 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:41,240 So it could be, you know, I don't want to go into the whole kind of continuing education 262 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:46,720 credit on it, but, you know, it could be that you an act that was violent and kind of against 263 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:52,280 your beliefs and didn't reward it a kind of moral injury or it could be something where, 264 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:59,160 you know, you committed some sort of violent act that retrospect you feel like was not 265 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,800 who you and then you're left feeling a lot of shame. 266 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,160 You're left feeling a lot of disconnect from other people. 267 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,560 It can leave you feeling very isolated. 268 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,920 We talked to a lot of veterans also who struggle with the transition. 269 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,680 You know, when you're in the military, you've got that very structured, the Navy has you 270 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:22,560 on a very structured program or the Marines do, you know, what you're wearing every day, 271 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:27,880 you know, what time you're doing it, you know, who's the boss, all those sort of things. 272 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,960 When you get into the civilian world and particularly as you're maybe going through two or three 273 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,400 different jobs trying to find out where you fit, transition turns out to be hard for a 274 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:37,720 lot of people. 275 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,760 Is that something that you see in the work that you do and I know you're involved in 276 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,800 a veterans alliance and maybe you can talk about that as well. 277 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:46,800 Sure. 278 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:47,800 Yeah. 279 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:48,800 Wow. 280 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,280 I love the idea of like, I feel like that's that would be my wheelhouse. 281 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,640 If I could pick specific veterans to work with would be like veterans coming out of, 282 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,480 you know, multiple deployments that are trying to figure out what to do with the rest of 283 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:00,480 their lives. 284 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:05,720 Um, yes, I kind of, well, just for a second, a caveat to that, I guess would be, um, back 285 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,160 to this idea of deployments. 286 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:13,120 I hope people don't hate me for saying this, but I felt as if sometimes deployments can 287 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:15,000 be almost selfish. 288 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,280 And when I say that, especially if you're in a relationship, because when you're deployed, 289 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,400 selfish means maybe not the right word. 290 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,320 But yeah, when you're deployed, it's like other people are taking care of your laundry, 291 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,720 people are cooking, you're not worrying about bills. 292 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,720 You kind of have this built in social network because you have to lean on your buddies because 293 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:33,720 like who else do you get? 294 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,120 I mean, you know, it's like, because you're all going through this together, right? 295 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,880 So there are a lot of things that are almost sort of taken care of for you. 296 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,360 And then when you go home, you have to deal with the minutiae of daily life and all of 297 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:50,280 those things like paying bills and cooking and, um, getting, uh, you know, people back 298 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:55,960 and forth and, and investing time and relationships, all of that, um, takes a lot out of you and 299 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:58,960 it can be really, it can be challenging and chaotic. 300 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:05,840 So as far as the trend though goes, I think what happens is get out, people don't ask 301 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,120 the right questions of themselves. 302 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,200 And this is really related to like choosing a career. 303 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,320 Do you want to work with people? 304 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:14,720 Do you want to work outside? 305 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,200 Do you want to go to school? 306 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,520 Do you not want to go to school? 307 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:24,200 Like those are some of the kinds of questions to ask as opposed to, you know, what career 308 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:29,320 is prestigious or I don't know, or what career did your parents do? 309 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,720 I think a lot of people make the mistake of falling into careers because they're either 310 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:38,480 related to what they were doing in the military or it's because what their, because what their 311 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:46,080 friends are doing, you know, as opposed to really kind of taking some time to look at 312 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,320 what it is that fits your personality. 313 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,040 Are you introverted or extroverted? 314 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:51,040 You know what I mean? 315 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:52,040 I don't know. 316 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:53,040 Kind of feel like I'm babbling. 317 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,160 No, no, I think that's, that's exactly right. 318 00:20:55,160 --> 00:21:01,360 And again, it's part of this is having, if you're, if you're really struggling with this, 319 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:06,840 having a third party to talk to and even just sometimes just articulating it out loud, you 320 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:08,640 answer the question for yourself. 321 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:09,640 Yeah. 322 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:14,800 One of the things I want to talk about because I think there's so many more opportunities 323 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,640 to get help these days. 324 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:25,360 This is getting into see a licensed professional counselor and addiction specialist such as 325 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:32,880 yourself or somebody who works in this broad field, it doesn't, you don't have to be a 326 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,760 millionaire to do this. 327 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:41,560 There are a lot of services available, free services, lower cost services, insurance. 328 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:48,200 Talk to us a little bit about what I think is probably a financial worry of, I know 329 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:49,880 I need, maybe I ought to go talk to somebody. 330 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:51,840 Oh my God, I can't make my car payment. 331 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,440 How can I go do that? 332 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:54,440 Sure. 333 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:59,600 I mean, you know, like a veteran specific, I'll give a plug to like, giveanhour.org is 334 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:05,880 an organization where it's a collective of therapists across the country who volunteer 335 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:06,880 hours. 336 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:12,600 Now, of course, you may not be able to see someone indefinitely, but it's called giveanhour.org. 337 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:16,000 And if you're a veteran, you can see a therapist for free. 338 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,640 Obviously, if your service connected or have some sort of deployment status, you can go 339 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,920 to the VA and see that as well. 340 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,680 Yeah, it can be a little bit of a barrier. 341 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,560 I know that's something that I do with AVAC. 342 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:35,160 You mentioned the Acadiana Veteran Alliance, which I guess I'll give a brief kind of overview 343 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:36,160 of that. 344 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:42,840 We provide a service, we don't provide the treatment, but we send referrals. 345 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,280 So I do a PTSD assessment and send a referral for the Stalate Ganglion block, which is an 346 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,520 injection in a bundle of nerves in your neck that helps to treat post-traumatic stress. 347 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,960 But beyond that, something I'm really passionate about through AVA is when each of these veterans 348 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,760 come to us for that treatment, I say, hey, are you seeing a therapist? 349 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,840 Some of them have no interest in seeing a therapist. 350 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:04,880 That's fine. 351 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:09,240 But if they want to see a therapist, how do we get through those barriers to see one? 352 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,160 And yes, some of it is insurance. 353 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,720 If you don't have private insurance, that's okay. 354 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,520 I kind of refer them to those given hour or other LPCs that kind of volunteer their time, 355 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,680 send them to the VA, et cetera. 356 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:27,880 But an easy kind of an easy resources psychology today and you can filter by whatever insurance 357 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,560 you have. 358 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:38,000 It can be a barrier if you have no insurance, but again, that givenhour.org and the VA are 359 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,000 good resources. 360 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:40,000 Yeah. 361 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,680 We don't want people sitting there thinking, well, I need to do it, but I don't have the 362 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:44,680 resources to do it. 363 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:51,640 As I say, today in almost every jurisdiction, there's somebody somewhere who's going to 364 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,080 step in and help you out, finding them is kind of a challenge. 365 00:23:55,080 --> 00:24:02,960 But that's where you start at your local veteran service officer or local veteran organization. 366 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,280 And they're going to probably point you somewhere. 367 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:12,800 We're talking to Leah Beall, who's a licensed professional counselor down in Lafayette, 368 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:13,800 Louisiana. 369 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,440 But she's giving you advice that's broader than just, hey, if you're in Louisiana, we 370 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:20,080 can find you some help. 371 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,400 You really do find this all over the country, don't you, Leah? 372 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,400 Absolutely, Jim. 373 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:29,480 And we actually get outreach from veterans out of the state of Louisiana with those 374 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:30,680 types of questions. 375 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,800 So I am available as a resource. 376 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:38,440 And our email address for that is heal at supportav.org. 377 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,080 And honestly, if there's a veteran out there that's like, I need to see a therapist. 378 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:43,680 I don't know how to go about finding one. 379 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,240 I'm happy to help you. 380 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,760 We've had veterans from Wisconsin email us and I'll help you navigate that. 381 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,920 Yeah, you just need somebody to point in the right direction, Leah. 382 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,800 And that's a wonderful service that you're doing. 383 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:04,520 I read your story and what you were doing on some news aggregator that caught a NOLA.com 384 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:05,520 article. 385 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:11,560 I said, wow, I got to talk to this lady and actually use psychology today to reach out 386 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,440 to you and got a quick response. 387 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,120 So I do appreciate that. 388 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:22,440 You've had an interesting career both in the Navy and the CIA and now as a mother of two. 389 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:28,040 But I think the work that you're doing helping people through their individual struggles 390 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:32,400 and trauma is maybe one of the most important things that you're going to do in life. 391 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,320 So we really appreciate you taking time today to talk to Veterans Radio. 392 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:38,960 Jim, I appreciate you having me on. 393 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,360 I'm very passionate about mental health. 394 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:43,520 I wouldn't be doing this job if it didn't matter to me. 395 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:45,000 I feel like I found my calling. 396 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,240 So thank you again. 397 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:48,240 Thank you. 398 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,480 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 399 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:53,920 I am Jim Fossone. 400 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,320 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 401 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,120 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 402 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:08,680 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 403 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:13,560 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 404 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:18,200 shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org. 405 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,920 That's veteransradio.org. 406 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,080 And until next time, you are dismissed. 407 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:28,560 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 408 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,800 Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 409 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,800 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 410 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,760 Your number again, 1-800-693-4800. 411 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:46,360 We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development 412 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:55,320 Council, NVBDC.org, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, the Vietnam Veterans of America, 413 00:26:55,320 --> 00:27:04,280 Charles S. 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