Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center\u2019s<\/a> new golf cart. As a volunteer with the Center for Development & Civic Engagement, he shuttles Veterans and visitors from the parking garage to the atrium entrance. For patients with mobility challenges, the ride saves steps. For Flynn, it eases the weight of PTSD.<\/p>\n\u201cI think just getting out of the house is a good thing to do,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cIt\u2019s no good to anybody to stay at home. If you can be outside helping people, connecting with other Veterans, it makes a difference. I\u2019ve always looked up to the older Veterans, so this is another chance to engage with them, be productive and just be out of the house. And yeah, it calms me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flynn first heard about the golf cart role when he reached out looking for community service opportunities. His experience came naturally from his first job as a caddy, and he grew up around golf courses. \u201cSo yeah, it\u2019s a natural fit,\u201d he said, smiling.<\/p>\n
For Flynn, connecting with other Veterans comes more easily than talking with civilians. \u201cMost people are supportive of my service,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there are some who aren\u2019t\u2026 the Veteran community understands in a way others can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what advice he has for other Veterans struggling with PTSD, Flynn doesn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cBe patient with it,\u201d he said. \u201cReach out and get connected with the community. You don\u2019t have to wait until you\u2019re in crisis to ask for help. Don\u2019t be too hard on yourself; give yourself some grace. You can\u2019t predict how PTSD is going to affect you, but you can make sure you have good people around.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those visiting Louis Stokes Cleveland VA, Flynn will be waiting, and he\u2019ll be golf cart ready to offer you a lift and listening ear.<\/p>\n
Support for PTSD<\/h2>\n
VA offers several different PTSD treatment options that work and can help you regain a sense of control over your life. You and your VA health care provider can decide together which treatment is best for you\u2014based on benefits, risks, side effects and other preferences. \u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive 24\/7 confidential support. You don\u2019t have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect. To reach responders, dial 988 then press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net\/Chat or text 838255.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on the Orlando Health care System site<\/a> and has been edited for style and clarity.\u202f<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For almost nine years, Ryan Flynn served in the Army as a military police officer. Service was his calling, but life after the uniform brought a new kind of battle: severe PTSD. Today, Flynn has found a surprising source of calm: driving the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center\u2019s new golf cart. As a volunteer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":657500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,221,1294],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-664488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-ptsd","category-visn-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=664488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":664489,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664488\/revisions\/664489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/657500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=664488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=664488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=664488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}