Course Correction: Therapy Helps Student Veterans Succeed
4-minute read
Course Correction: Therapy Helps Student Veterans Succeed
4-minute read
As a Veteran who’s gone back to college, you may be looking forward to the opportunity to learn, create new career opportunities, or find a new purpose. But how can you tell if mental health conditions related to your service are affecting your ability to succeed in school? And if they are, what can you do about it?
Perhaps you’re experiencing problems with memory or concentration. You might find it hard to pay attention in class, focus on learning material, or remember what you’ve learned for exams. You may feel anxious or on edge. Experiencing symptoms such as trouble sleeping, recurring nightmares, or flashbacks of a traumatic event can also make school more challenging.
The good news is that there are ways to address these challenges so you can excel in your studies.
“You’re not weak because your mind is reacting to some things that you’ve gone through in the past,” says Stephen, a U.S. Army Veteran who initially faced challenges in college because of his posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
“You’re a strong individual. You haven’t changed any of that,” adds Stephen, who now leads a team of mentors who help Veterans transition from military service to college life. “Now you just need to find some ways to move forward.”
Finding a way forward
With therapy and treatment, you can overcome the challenges you face. Learn and draw inspiration from the way other Veterans addressed their mental health conditions and symptoms.
Stephen’s story: Full disclosure
Stephen first sought mental health care from VA when, after completing his Army service, he moved to Arizona for school. Until then, he didn’t understand how he could have PTSD, so he didn’t connect his challenges to the disorder. After he was diagnosed at VA, he learned how to manage his flare-ups and triggers.
“You have counselors who have gone through those things and have been to those places that you have, so I think that was the most positive side is just being able to sit across from somebody that’s lived it and have a conversation with them about how to constructively move on,” he says. Those conversations included ways to handle his challenges in school.
“For a while I had a touchstone, and that was one that one of my counselors had kind of mentioned, he was like, ‘Carry something on you that has some sort of significance, that when you start feeling these things happen, you touch that as a reminder,’” he says.
“One of the other pieces of advice was to have conversations with my professors and let them know that these are things that I have, these are issues that may present themselves and I may need to walk out of your classroom from time to time,” Stephen adds. “Learning how to cope and talk and have conversations and be open was some of the best advice I got, for sure, and as a result I really don’t have a whole lot of flare-ups or any more triggers that really present themselves.”
Elliott’s story: Symptom by symptom
Elliott, a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, dropped out of college 3 years after he started because he couldn’t control his anxiety. He felt it rising when surrounded by students in class, going out with friends, or driving in traffic (when he felt like someone might be following him). “It started to really have a negative impact on my ability to succeed in school,” he says.
He already knew he had PTSD, but he didn’t fully understand it. “I didn’t know why I was reacting to certain stimuli the way that I was,” he says.
A Vet Center counselor helped him get back on track. “She basically educated me about what was happening in my brain, so that I was able to understand why I was having the reactions that I was having,” he explains. “So now I could take steps towards actually fixing each individual symptom and recovering from each individual symptom, so that I could learn to manage them.” For example, breathing exercises and singing can help calm him in traffic.
With his new skill set, Elliott went back to school. “I was happier. I was able to focus again. My energy levels were a lot higher,” he says. “I graduated with my associate’s degree in behavioral science, on the dean’s list from that same college.”
Linda’s story: A winning combination
Linda experienced PTSD during and after 20 years of service in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, including a deployment to Iraq. Her symptoms included nightmares and isolation. She charted a new path through therapy and her husband Steve’s involvement and support.
“It’s not just one thing that works. There’s a combination, and it’s different for each individual,” Linda says. For Linda, that combination included Steve’s participation in creating a video for her therapist to show what PTSD felt like in Linda’s head, which also helped Steve understand what his wife was going through. That combination also included her dog, Willow, and the joy she brought to their home each day.
With her mental health improvements, Linda earned her psychiatric nurse practitioner degree. With her degree, she obtained a job with VA that allows her to help other Veterans.
“I usually say there’s about three things we really got to focus on,” she says. “One is therapy; you have to process that trauma. Two, there might be medications involved; they help with the symptoms. And three—an area that I don’t think we focus on enough—is finding a purpose in your life again. For me, it was going back, getting my psychiatric nurse practitioner, becoming someone that can help.”
