Page 841 - Total War on PTSD

ongoing counseling. I have been diagnosed with PTSD. The diagnosis has helped me to remain humble and be more sympathetic and understanding of others with emotional issues.
My wife Rebecca and I love animals (especially Rebecca) so we're always open to helping strays and orphans. We have none of our own kids at home, but I have an adult son from a previous marriage...he is 22 and on his own. We are currently temporary parents to two foreign exchange students. Marine is 18 and she's from Belgium and Pietro is 16 and he's from Brazil. It's been a great experience and this is the second year we've done it.
I currently have one dog (Petie the Maltese Mixed Breed, approx. 12 years old), one cat named Simon, and my Service Dog Ollie. We found Petie in a cornfield. He has been my constant companion ever since we rescued him. He is a typical small dog; he barks at everything but is afraid of everything too (especially loud noises). Petie lies on my lap and licks me while looking intently at me, which helps me to calm to and relax when I am overly anxious. Ollie the Chocolate Labrador is two years old and I got him in September of 2018 from Wren's Pet Lodge in Benton, KY. He is trained to be my PTSD Service Dog.
I think one of the biggest mistakes that was made before I redeployed back home was that our battalion Chaplain at the time got us all together and he was kind of giving us a debriefing for the whole war, more or less. Well, he simply said that we all got home, people would have a lot of questions for us, and he said that the best thing we could do was just to not talk about it. That was the biggest mistake and the most terrible advice I ever took. It caused me years of pain and frustration. Now I'm a Pastor...not because of that experience...but what that Chaplain chose to advise us does still affect me to this day. I have been able to help other Veterans who wouldn't talk to anybody else...who kept refusing to get help...only because I had befriended them as a Pastor.
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