What to do after therapy?

[Kodah]

Where do I go next? I still suffer and lately it's not been fun. Lack of direction, desire to do things, maybe even depressed. When reading up on what happens to your dog when you are no longer here, well is this when vets find a home for their dog and load the gun for the last trip west?

 

[Deleted member 42665]

why did you end if you still feel like this? i would say you should go back :(

 

[Kodah]

I wasn't progressing. Military told me to quit and go on to the next resource. So I quit and since there was no other resource, I just retired and moved. That resource isn't available as a retiree since it's for combat vets and active duty only.

 

[hithere]

there are other non-therapy things you can do to try and heal, or at least move forward in life. For example, on this site some guy wrote about his experience helping rescued horses. I find working with horses healing for me because they are flight or fight instinct animals. Forming a bond with a flight or fight animal i found very helpful because I can see myself in that animal and the bond is real and very beautiful. If you don't have experience with horses, but you have an interest, you could try horseback riding lessons. Actual lessons. If there is a therapeutic riding center near you that may be a place to start. Dog training can also be helpful. I don't know anything about combat stress and PTSD and I can only use my imagination to what it is like. However, the member on this forum his wrote about his therapeutic horse encounters was a combat veteran. Also, I wonder if massage therapy may be beneficial?

 

[watundah]

I quit therapy a few weeks ago after 5 years.
I miss her but believe we went as far as we could. I also believe, for some of us, healing may be a lifelong journey. So, I have the following tools to help me keep pushing forward as a solo.endeavor:
.
Exercise at the gym w a trainer who has a warm and wonderful personality
Yoga
Meditation
Hiking or sitting with nature
Writing about anything
Travel, camp, go new places to get a new and different perspective
Listen to podcasts, YouTube vids and read books on healing, finding a spiritual path, etc.
Join a support group

I love the horse idea.
Or Can you explore finding a private therapist?

 

[Matt1]

Depending on where you are, there may be a low cost therapy option. In Denver, we have MHCD, which is a large mental health clinic. But most communities have some sort of subsidized counseling system in place. Also, you might want to try to connect with other vets in your area. If one or more of them has found a resource, then that saves you from starting at square one. Look online on meetup to see if there are any veteran only clubs in the area. My understanding is to keep communicating with people who can support you about what you're experiencing and feeling. If you can't find people to talk to, maybe you can try to write about it. You can write about how you're feeling here. If you want, maybe try to write about it on a blog. The last two articles I read about combat PTSD both said that the people who have the most successful recoveries are the people who talk or write about it.

One of the things to bear in mind is that if you're not progressing with a therapist, then maybe you should try a different therapist. I saw three before I found one that was a good fit for me. Someone who was a trained Cognitive/Behavioral Therapist (CBT) who had experience with PTSD. This is the fourth time in my life that I've sought support with a therapist, so now I can usually tell in the first session whether it's a good fit.

Hang in there. Look around on the web. Maybe call the Dept of Health for your county to get some info. Keep your dog.