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Anchored. Podcast Episode 5 - The War Within: Impact of Post - Military Combat PTSD on Military Couples and Families

CEUs for this podcast are no longer available. However, we appreciare your feedback via the EVALUATION available at this link: https://vte.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1zvelMOjuwQRJ0F          


Anchored. is MFLN Family Development’s [https://blogs.extension.org/militaryfamilies/family-development/] NEW podcast created to support and inspire those connected to military families. Each episode focuses on real life struggles and topic areas that many families encounter. We invite you to sit back, relax and get Anchored. with us!

How to obtain CEUs:

We provide 1.0 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and 1.0 Georgia Marriage and Family Therapy CE credits. More information on the CEU's we provide can be found here.

Presenter Bio

Greg and Traci Ferris have been married for thirteen years. Greg joined the Air Force in 2001 and served four years as a flying crew chief. After dealing with a host of medical and emotional difficulties for about a decade after he separated from the Air Force, Greg was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Traci now, along with the duties of full-time employee, wife and mother, takes on the role of caregiver as Greg battles his health problems. They have two sons, ages six and four.

The Quote

It’s not just some fake diagnosis that people come up with. It’s the real deal and it definitely can make major impacts on your life.- Greg

He went on a deployment and for all I knew, he was on an island fishing. But then after he was out, those words just weren’t there to be able to describe what happened to him. -Traci

We are battling PTSD- we are doing it together- Traci

Noticeable Changes

From my perspective, I was terrified because I thought he was dying. For me it was a lot of just terror, panic of what is going on with my husband. Why is he so different now? When I met him, he wasn’t in the military. I knew what he was like before and I knew what he was like after was totally different. It kind of shook the foundation of how I saw him as a person. You know, I saw him as this strong, military-type guy. Very strong leader, brave. He was kind  of the leader between the two of us. But after everything started happening, we had to shift roles. I became the leader- okay, let’s see what we have to do to keep this family together. It made me see him, of course, in a very different way. - Traci

From my perspective, I lost myself. All the focus internally for me had to be placed on myself and that took away from putting that energy forward to really keeping our bond as a couple, as husband and wife together, as a team.- Greg

Unforeseen Barriers

One of the big things that I think a lot of people don’t realize about PTSD is that it may be a mental disorder, but physiologically, it does take a toll... From your mind constantly working so much on trying to  make sense of what is going on... the mind can heal so much quicker than the rest of your body….It’s an invisible illness, you can’t see it from the outside. -Greg

Traci and Greg's Advice

Really trying to find some things that I enjoy doing. Reading, running, taking a bath… recognize that both of us need time to wind down if things are stressful… we really have to make that conscious decision and push each other. -Traci

Join Us on LinkedIn

The MFLN LinkedIn group is a forum for military family services providers, including DoD, Branch Services, Reserve, Guard and Cooperative Extension members. We invite you to join us to share professional experiences, discuss issues, and make connections. MFLN focuses on family development, personal finance, military caregiving, community capacity, transitions, network literacy, and nutrition and wellness.  

If you are interested in joining our group so that you can participate in our podcast discussion, please visit www.linkedin.com/groups/8409844. Keep in mind that this is a private group. To request membership, click “join” and your request will be reviewed by the group manager.  

Please join us so that you can respond to today’s question of:

PTSD has become more prevalent amongst our military service members. What do you find most helpful in working with service members with this diagnosis? How has the diagnosis affected their relationships?

Cover Photo Image: Flickr[Decaying boats and an rusty anchor at Sheldrakes, Heswall, Wirral by Beverly Goodwin, October 15, 2013, CCO]




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This technology is supported in part by New Technologies for Ag Extension (funding opportunity no. USDA-NIFA-OP-010186), grant no. 2023-41595-41325 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Extension Foundation. For more information, please visit extension.org. You can view the terms of useat extension.org/terms.

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