Marine on Getting Support: “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
Sun. Nature. It's resetting. Great for your body, so being outside, one with the water, this benefits me physically and it's something that I could gear my mind towards in a positive way.
My name is Stefan. I served in the United States Marine Corps as a 28 41 from 2010 to 2015. My family's fought in every war that America's been a part of. It's almost like a rite of passage. Felt like a calling since as long as I can remember. I think actually the first impact where things resonated was my first deployment, and so then I started asking the question, why are we really out here? What are we really doing? I realized I wasn't getting some of those answers. So, to lose a friend without knowing the why behind, a true why, gets your brain ticking a little bit. Anything traumatic like that will have an impact on anyone. It becomes the norm. You want to suppress your trauma because it wasn't as bad as your buddy's trauma.
My experience transitioning out of the military, I feel very blessed. I landed a job eight months before I got out of the Marines, so I knew I had a job. I definitely struggled finding a new purpose. And then to start my career where they're like, "Do this. Nothing more, nothing less. This is your job." It just felt very meaningless.
First time that I went to seek help for my mental health, it was kind of demanded. So, I was diagnosed with TBI, traumatic brain injury, PTSD and bipolar. I think it was a series of repetitive concussions that caused a TBI. It wasn't one incident. Sports when I was younger to MMA, martial arts instructor throughout the Corps, and so it involved some neuropsychologists and they wanted me to get a couple therapy sessions just to see where my mental health status was.
The symptoms or red flags was essentially to almost feel always guarded or prepared to attack. What brought me back to seeking help was recognizing that I did need help, so that's step one. My experience with talk therapy was like having a conversation with the most unbiased friend, and I think that's really the key, is having the most nonjudgmental conversations. Something that you're probably scared to talk about because the fear of being judged.
I do homework often. It's what helps me. If I stay on top of it every day, it directly translates into my life being happier. Be like if I had a cold and they give me a week's worth of medicine and I took it one day, my cold never went away, but if I'm actively taking my prescription daily, I will get better.
I think wake surfing has a dramatic impact on my livelihood and well-being. Wake surfing just benefits my mental health from getting just sunlight, being around water, and then I feel like I'm active. And being surrounded by peoples you love, I can't think of a better thing for me to do. If you'll see me go down it's probably because I'm tired.
I think the biggest advice I could get, if you've ever questioned it, if you've ever thought about it, it's one of the best things that I've ever done. I can't speak enough about it. I would be doing a disservice to my brothers and sisters not wanting to encourage them to take that next step.
