Page 627 - Total War on PTSD

Nonetheless, as highlighted by Rieman, Gillums, and Toombs, we must make sure that, above all else, we maintain an environment that does not completely extinguish Veterans’ hope. Hope that they will make it through the darkest days; hope that they will work through their pain and suffering; hope that life will once again be enjoyable. The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once defined hope as “the passion for what is possible.” And for many of our nation’s Veterans, with the proper holistic emphasis on health and wellness, the possibilities are endless.
To reiterate my opening point, PTSD has a real impact on real people, and when real people are hurting, they may turn to suicide, believing it is their only way to stop their suffering. But, as evidenced by success stories like Rieman’s, this does not always have to be the case. We, as a society, still have a great deal of work to do to not only help Veterans, but to change how we view mental health as a nation. We are certainly on the right track, but we still have a long way to go.
“Every day I wake up and it’s something new and it’s a ride,” states Rieman, “I’m clean and I’m sober, I’ve done a lot of work, because you can’t think clearly when you’re loaded. I’m aware now, and I know if I’m having a bad day what I need to do. I had to re-learn what emotions meant, and I went to a lot of therapy to do it. There was also a spiritual component to the process, which included gratitude training. There were so many things.”
Currently, Rieman remains employed with Veterans Bridge Home, where he has taken on a more senior role in the organization. In addition to his ability to help other Veterans
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