Here's How One Iraq Vet Dealt With Suicidal Thoughts And Turned His Life Around

Two years ago, I found myself in the bedroom of my apartment staring down the barrel of a shotgun. I was angry, depressed and just didn’t care about anything anymore.

It’s not that I didn’t want to care; I did, but was just unable to do it. My soul was crushed and my heart had been broken time after time during intense fighting in Iraq and the continuous loss of friends at home after.

In Iraq, I found it easier to give up than to care. But the problem was that once I stopped caring, I couldn’t turn the switch back on. It was like dropping a glass plate on the ground and then trying to put the pieces back together.

That evening, I didn’t pull the trigger. Obviously. This meant that I had proven that deep down I really did care and now I had only one option: to stop digging, throw down the shovel, and climb out of the hole I had nearly buried myself in. I started seeing VA counselors, going to groups, and taking prescription medication.

More