Finding support through group therapy
Interviewee1:
I knew it was going to take me a minute to adjust to the stateside, but overall, I really didn't really think there was something wrong with me, but I saw my anger and my frustration with a lot of things in life just getting worse. They noticed some change in me. They noticed that I wasn't the same happy, joy, lucky person I was.
Interviewee2:
I had an anger issue from that point and that's how I dealt with my feelings. Over the years, it was everything that I couldn't control in my life, I reacted in anger.
Interviewee3:
When I would talk to my friends after coming back you know, and they want to hear stories and a lot of times I would say stuff like, I was just like, "Oh well, it's too hard to explain."
Interviewee4:
I went from being an active duty Marine to being a stay-at-home dad overnight, in less than 30 days. You know, and it was rough because I didn't have any resource, I didn't have any friends, the family, there's nothing around.
Interviewee2:
I went back to counseling. I called the clinic and asked to see mental health and I went back, and I'd spent 6 weeks with a counselor and throughout the time every week that I saw him he said, "I think you should go to group therapy. I think you should go to group therapy," every time, and I didn't want to go to group therapy. I don't care what everybody else went through and they don't care what I went through and listening you know, to how they felt wasn't going to help me, and finally I just gave in, fine I'll go once but I'm not going to promise that I'm going to sit through all of it. We all addressed our actions in the same way, and so I went back a second week just to see, give a little bit more of a chance and it turned out to be the best decision that I had ever made.
Interviewee4:
When you have that kind of strength there in group therapy, when you have other people who have been through the same things you've been through and who have dealt with them in all different kinds of ways, it helps you in immeasurable ways to try to move past all the things that are going wrong and all the things you're having a problem with and group therapy does that.
Interviewee1:
It just helped me to relate to Veterans who currently deploy, recently deployed, and those who have been home for long periods of time and just made me feel safe being able to talk about my stories and the hardships and stuff that I've dealt with.
Interviewee3:
I could meet up with other vets and who are in massive pain like me and then it wasn't just, I didn't feel like it was just me dealing with my issues. It was, hey, we are all dealing with these issues.
Interviewee4:
Having the group therapy and being able to either just hear a guy bitch and complain because he needs to bitch and complain or you've got guys that have legitimate you know, things they're dealing with and that maybe something that you went through before or that maybe something that you know somebody went through and you can obviously help and do all these kinds of things because you can relate to it.
Interviewee1:
It helps me at my workplace. It helps me at my church. It helps me in the community. Like a lot of these skills I can apply to anyone and help anyone with it.
Interviewee2:
I still talk to, on a daily basis with women that were in the women's group with me. Being around other people that want to better themselves pushes you to want to be a better person.
