Manns Medium

One would think that since mental illness is not so much stigmatized as it once were and so many health care plans now cover treatment, we would be making great strides in our ability to help those “non-functional” individuals to become more “functional”.   I say that because this appears to be the only true difference between those who suffer and those who claim to not.   The non-functionality and functionality separate those who are strong enough to get the help that they deserve and those who continually deny that they need the help.   Those who may be functional at this moment often find themselves non-functional because they did not prepare with new coping skills and continue to rely upon the old ones to navigate through their days.   I say this because unless you are a robot, trauma occurs within the life of every human being.   The degree upon which it affects that individual is the difference between what may be very traumatic to you may not be...

I attended a VA workshop yesterday, Saturday, April 16, 2016 at the regional VA Office in Chicago to help with a pilot program that is designed to help ease and lower the high number of appeals for disability and discovered that the number one reason that these agencies appear not to be working is not just the policies and procedures but mostly importantly the personnel. The policies and procedures are normally handed down by those in charge but these policies and procedures are composed by the input of those in the position to help shape them.  If the opinions and experience of those who served are not voiced as passionately as they should and those expounding those views are not willing or able to demand better treatment of veterans, then the voices with no experience except what they were told or paid to say wins out.  This is the gist of what is happening right now.  That Veteran Service Officers (VSO) who are supposed to be the veteran’s representative does litt...

I have often sat up many nights wondering why so many good men and women are taking their own lives after enduring so many traumas, drama, pain and suffering.  After they may have seen their best friend die right in front of them or held them in their arms as they took their last breath.  Whether it had to pick up pieces of brethren, hoping that by some miracle a Navy Corpsman/woman or some doctor can put them back together and make them whole like they were just minutes before.  Whether their dreams and nightmares are any similar to mine and make me not wish to sleep for the fear of dreaming.  I often wonder if I am personally doing enough to help my fellow brothers and sisters and why a country who says they so love their troops are not doing more.  I wonder these things and other things but the answer seems to come back to one solid clue.  We are losing the good souls not only because of the things I just mentioned but other things that no one wishes to...

By Timothy Organ, Feb 1, 2016 I like having an incredible amount of influence. If your spirit can become friends with another spirit that bond alone will move mountains. That’s how you have an incredible amount of influence. That is what makes leaders. Just remember though persuasion is not influence. Persuasion is using the body to influence the body of another, there's no loyalty or respect in that at all, the spirit may or may not be that friend and trust is in jeopardy.         Under the influence, a person submits to the will of another. In this pretext it is best applied when that other person realizes they are not the final answer and submits themselves to the will of someone else. Where that will is, determines whether or not the influence is good or evil. Today’s society wants us to control our own destinies.         When we realize we have no control and submit to something greater than ourse...

According to an article titled “ Iraq Veteran, Now a West Point Professor, Seeks to Rein In Disability Pay “written by Dave Philipps with credit to Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times, tells us that “Nearly 200 sick and wounded soldiers in a gym at Fort Carson last month listened silently as Lt. Col. Daniel Gade offered a surprising warning: The disability checks designed to help troops like them after they leave the service might actually be harmful.  As he paced back and forth in front of the soldiers, some of them leaning on crutches, Colonel Gade said that too many veterans become financially dependent on those monthly checks, choose not to find jobs and lose the sense of identity and self-worth that can come from work.  “People who stay home because they are getting paid enough to get by on disability are worse off,” he said. “They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. They are more likely to live alone. You’ve seen these guys. And the system is driving you to...

“Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. told Bassett: “You should have more respect for police officers.”  Is what is reported that the judge said in an article titled “ Police Confronted an Air Force Veteran While He Tried to Save His Dog’s Life. Now He’s Facing Felony Charges ” by Jon Street for The Blaze.  This is doing a time where compassion and sensitivity is far outweighed by arrogance and that thin blue line supported by so many within our justice system regardless of what the circumstances are around ones action.  This is probably the same judge who would allow some Wall Street banker the luxury of using his “being too rich defense”  as an excuse for robbing his customers blind but failed to see the biggest clue in this case involving an Air Force Veteran. The article reports that “Air Force veteran Samuel Bassett was arrested Friday in an alleged brawl with police that broke out when the cops wouldn’t let Bassett back into his burning home to save his do...

Heard a story about this new bill working its way through Congress called “The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for America Veterans Act” on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.  This bill calls for independent evaluations of all mental health-care and suicide-prevention programs in VA and the Defense Department, a student loan repayment program that would offer up to $120,000 per year to recruit psychiatrists who commit to working for VA, and a program that would take back unneeded prescription drugs from patients at VA facilities.  Now while all this may sound good and is needed much of it is actually worthless in solving the problem of veteran suicide.  Clay Hunt’s mother said that after he finally got in to see a  psychiatric , he called her and said that he was not going back, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)  and other veterans groups believe to solve this problem VA needs more psychiatrist.  Both completely ignoring the fact that mor...