WEBVTT - Meditation for Veterans

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,

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<v Speaker 1>helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re

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<v Speaker 1>energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves. And now I want to help you do

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<v Speaker 1>the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths.

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<v Speaker 1>U let's begin today's journey. Korea. O'Brien is a science

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<v Speaker 1>teacher at Hamilton's Township High School in Columbus, Ohio. Every

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<v Speaker 1>day he would stand in front of his class and

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<v Speaker 1>explain the basics of the physical sciences and biology. Then

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<v Speaker 1>he would go home to help his own five kids

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<v Speaker 1>with their homework. Every day for twelve years, he did

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<v Speaker 1>his best to show up as a husband, a father,

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<v Speaker 1>and a teacher, but the truth was he was going

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<v Speaker 1>through the motions in eyed his life was a living hell.

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<v Speaker 1>Corey O'Brien is an Iraq war vett. Military service runs

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<v Speaker 1>in Corey's family. His grandfather was a B seventeen bomber

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<v Speaker 1>pilot during World War Two in Korea. His father was

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<v Speaker 1>a marine veteran during Vietnam, Corey spent nine years with

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<v Speaker 1>the U. S. Army and the Ohio National Guard, and

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<v Speaker 1>he did two deployments to the Middle East. But Corey

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<v Speaker 1>came home from his last deployment in two thousand and

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<v Speaker 1>five with post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury

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<v Speaker 1>or tb I. He struggled in silence, feeling like he

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<v Speaker 1>let down a lot of people. I didn't come back

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<v Speaker 1>a hero, Corey says, I just did my job. I

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<v Speaker 1>took an oath, and I followed orders. Corey tried hard

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<v Speaker 1>to make it work. When he got home, he was

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded by the love and support of family and friends,

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<v Speaker 1>but he just couldn't figure out how to function, much

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<v Speaker 1>less survive. Corey's family took the brunt of it. He became,

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<v Speaker 1>in his own words, a monster. My temper was so

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<v Speaker 1>bad that at times I scared myself. Looking back, there

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<v Speaker 1>were times I was lucky I didn't end up in jail.

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<v Speaker 1>The local v A hospital offered Corey antidepressant medications, which

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<v Speaker 1>he turned down. Like a lot of veterans do. I

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<v Speaker 1>learned certain skills in the military that kept me alive,

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<v Speaker 1>like hypersensitivity and hyper alertness. He says, I didn't want

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<v Speaker 1>to take a magic pill and have all that disappear.

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<v Speaker 1>PTSD runs in Corey's family. His grandfather had it, his

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<v Speaker 1>father has it, and Corey knows he has it. But

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<v Speaker 1>making things worse, Corey also has traumatic brain injury. Things

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<v Speaker 1>kept going downhill. Whatever help he was getting from the

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<v Speaker 1>v A just wasn't enough. If Corey wanted to survive,

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<v Speaker 1>He realized he would have to find his own way.

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<v Speaker 1>That's when his luck finally turned. Three years ago, Corey

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<v Speaker 1>met doctor Chrisanne Gordon, founder and chairwoman of the Resurrecting

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<v Speaker 1>Lives Foundation in Dublin, Ohio. Her foundation provides cognitive retraining

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<v Speaker 1>to veterans through a team of tb I experts, including

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<v Speaker 1>physical medicine specialists, speech pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, job coaches,

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<v Speaker 1>and social workers. Dr Gordon met Corey and right away

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<v Speaker 1>she knew he needed to meditate. She introduced Corey to

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<v Speaker 1>David Kidd, a Vietnam veteran himself and a teacher of

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<v Speaker 1>transcendental meditation in the Columbus area. Corey jumped at the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity and learned from David. What surprised Corey was how

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<v Speaker 1>easy it was to meditate, and how the results were

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<v Speaker 1>so immediate. Right from the start, I felt so much

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<v Speaker 1>more rested, and I slept so much better, he says.

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<v Speaker 1>Over time, I've become a better father and a better husband.

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<v Speaker 1>I've also become a better teacher. In fact, Corey felt

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<v Speaker 1>so much better that he told his father, the marine

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<v Speaker 1>about the meditation, and he learned too. Now his dad

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<v Speaker 1>is off three different types of medications. Reflecting back on

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<v Speaker 1>the fifteen years since he returned from his deployment, Corey says,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm convinced that TM will give veterans their lives back.

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<v Speaker 1>I know it brought me back from the dead. I

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<v Speaker 1>was resurrected. I've become a human again. My health tip

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<v Speaker 1>for the day is actually more of an awareness tip.

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<v Speaker 1>T b I does not only afflict veterans like Corey,

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<v Speaker 1>it can afflict any of us. A traumatic brain injury

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<v Speaker 1>can come from a blow to the head or a

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<v Speaker 1>penetrating head injury, which disrupts normal function of the brain.

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<v Speaker 1>Nearly three million people sustained a traumatic brain injury in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States every year. If you think that you

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<v Speaker 1>or someone you know may be living with t b I,

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<v Speaker 1>please go online and contact the Brain Injury Association of

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<v Speaker 1>America and get help. All right, let's end this time

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<v Speaker 1>together doing something that I think should be a feature

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<v Speaker 1>of our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take

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<v Speaker 1>a break, just take a moment. It turns out when

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<v Speaker 1>we do that, it's good for our health as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be right back, all right. Thank you for joining

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<v Speaker 1>me today. I hope you heard something that inspires, that

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<v Speaker 1>uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your own life.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bob Roth. Stay calm, hey, all of you

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<v Speaker 1>out there. I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>send me your stories, your questions, or anything else on

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<v Speaker 1>your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or

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<v Speaker 1>Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com. I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to hearing from you.