{"id":32182,"date":"2022-11-10T13:52:55","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T18:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=32182"},"modified":"2022-11-17T19:08:35","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T00:08:35","slug":"retired-solider-helping-others-address-stigma-of-invisible-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/retired-solider-helping-others-address-stigma-of-invisible-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired solider helping others address stigma of invisible injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Warrant Officer (Retired) Ryan Mitchell is quick with a sense of humour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-time member of the Queen\u2019s York Rangers, who saw active duty as a Quick Reaction Force Commander in Bosnia and Croatia jokes that he\u2019s been diagnosed with RBF \u2013 \u201cresting bitch face,\u201d he deadpans \u2013 but as much as dark humour is a coping mechanism, his true diagnosis is far from a laughing matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medically released from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2012, Mitchell lives with an Operational Stress Injury, once commonly referred to as PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a diagnosis, he says, that still carries a stigma with many military members, serving or retired, but in this next phase of his career, he\u2019s committed to helping break down that stigma and provide military personnel the tools they need to cope through mental health first aid courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such programs were just getting off the ground when the global pandemic arrived, shifting everything onto the backburner. As such, Mitchell says there\u2019s a significant backlog of veterans who need a helping hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was medically released due to injuries outside, but later they found other injuries inside,\u201d Mitchell shares, adding that close family and friends were less than surprised when the long-lasting internal injuries were formally diagnosed. \u201cI have PTSD and even now it is tough to say that and get that out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But getting that out there is a challenge that both he and his family have taken on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PTSD can often be masked or misinterpreted as depression, anxiety, codependency, alcoholism and addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mitchell and other servicepersons, the symptoms can be physical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As November is a time for Remembrance, Mitchell often finds himself at services across Ontario to not only pay tribute to the fallen but to spread the message that it\u2019s never too late to get help. After being on parade, he says he feels physically and mentally drained. It\u2019s not a story that is unique to him but, as he tells his comrades, being able to tell the story is half the post-service battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re not educating families, friends and colleagues of what a veteran is, how can we get them support?\u201d he says, noting that servicepersons of his generation often find it difficult to identify with the \u201cveteran\u201d label. \u201cI don\u2019t care what branch of service, I don\u2019t care what country you\u2019re in\u2026if you have done basic training and you have been honourably discharged, you\u2019re a veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitchell, who identifies with the term \u201ccontemporary veteran\u201d to differentiate between our elder veterans who served in the Second World War, Korea, or other theatres of war, continues: \u201cGetting them help is what we\u2019re trying to do and I had to start with myself. I had to call myself a veteran. When I got my diagnosis, it took 10 years and nobody was surprised. No one. Everyone was like, \u2018Yeah, we knew that a decade ago.\u2019 The biggest thing is when you don\u2019t think there is any other out, you\u2019ve got to get help, but you need that help before. You need a therapist. You need trusted people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is what Mitchell aims to provide in both speaking out and leading mental health first aid programs at Legions but he says there came a point where his family told him he could not lead another program unless he buckled down and took the program himself \u2013 an invaluable experience, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you start having extra pain and you don\u2019t know why, there is a reason why,\u201d he says. \u201cAfter Remembrance Day, I can\u2019t walk for a few weeks without struggling. I didn\u2019t injure myself, it\u2019s just a matter of being physically and mentally drained from that and how it shows up. Everyone has their different story, so we\u2019re saying, \u2018Tell your story. It\u2019s okay.\u2019 However, me saying I needed help got me medically released and I gave up my command for Afghanistan, where I was supposed to be the patrol commander. It\u2019s still a bitter pill to swallow, but I believe God had a plan in all that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his operational service injury and all he still has to go through today as a result of it, Mitchell still contends he would do it all again in a heartbeat \u2013 that\u2019s what being a member of the Canadian Armed Forces is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting about this is I still have a bit of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and even now I love to be needed,\u201d he says of not being able to go to Afghanistan. \u201cYes, I still miss it. It\u2019s not about the valour of the medals, it\u2019s the lost opportunity of the [feeling that] when I was overseas I made a difference and want to make a positive difference in everything I do. A lot of our soldiers do that. They still miss the high. They want to do something else, and with that high \u2013 what are you going to do? Parachuting? Paragliding? Drugs? Get back into the community and make a difference \u2013 that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do\u2026 We\u2019re competitive by human nature, so you want that next level or rung. I can now still serve by doing this, serve by giving back, and our family too. Our kids know our job is service and we\u2019re still trying to do that. You can still serve. You can still make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about us, it\u2019s about other people sharing and trying to make a great difference, we hope, in our community. If people give back and people make that mission to help others, I think we would be better off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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