1. You’ll need to get set up for e-Transfer at your bank.
2. Then login to your bank account on your device or computer.
3. Navigate to your e-Transfer section and add us as a payee using the email address info@veteranshouse.ca
4. Then you can send us your donation.

Here’s a video from Interac about e-Transfer

As a Registered Psychotherapist ten years into the work, I have noticed that there is a lot of misinformation about the role of quality Psychotherapy and what that looks like. I am writing this to try and provide more clarity into what good therapy looks like, and how it could help. 

Psychotherapy is a unique relationship built and based on trust and confidentiality between the client and the therapist with the sole aim of improving the client’s life, based on the client’s individual needs and wishes. For some who have experienced basic counselling, social work, or talking with a good friend while this is helpful, Psychotherapy differs in some very key ways. I am hoping the following list helps explain this.

Good Psychotherapy involves having:

• An appropriately trained and licensed Psychotherapist.
• A therapist that presents as competent and experienced with your issues.
• A therapist that explains the process of therapy and how you can benefit from it.
• The focus needs to be on you, the therapist keeps the focus on you and your needs.
• Any diagnosis is only part of therapy – all your needs are taken into consideration.
• If the modality or approach is not working, they are open to shifting gears and refocusing.
• You feel as though your information is kept confidential and safe.
• Techniques and approaches are explained, and you have awareness and feel “in control” in the sessions and within treatment.
• You feel as though you can communicate with the therapist honestly.
• You feel as though you are gaining insight and knowledge from the sessions.
• You are supported when working through your vulnerable feelings or memories in a way that you do not have re-traumatization. The therapist does not push you to go too far, or avoid talking about areas which are of importance to you.
• Fees, insurance information, privacy information and any other questions are answered prior to starting therapy.
• You feel as though it is your choice to undergo therapy. They will support you with continuing treatment, discontinuing treatment, or referral to another therapist.
• You are setting goals within your work with a therapist and they give you concrete examples of goals and progress. These goals can be open to change. 
• You feel connected and respected by the therapist, and you feel as though they believe in you and the goals you set for your life.
• Conversations seem natural and comfortable, not forced.
• Your therapist can balance root causes of distress as well as symptoms and day to day distress.
• It should be clear that your therapist’s sole role is to help you, without talking excessively about themselves, or enlist your assistance with anything that is outside the purpose of helping you.
• If they make a mistake, they can receive this feedback from you and implement changes.
• You are treated as a “whole person” who is an equal human being, and they never make a negative judgment about you. You feel genuine care and concern from them, or “unconditional positive regard.” 
• The therapist is respectful of your values, belief systems, and does not exhibit any agenda founded on their values or personal belief systems.
• They are sensitive to your culture and background. 
• They empathize in an appropriate way where they are responsive emotionally to you.

How can you tell if treatment is working properly?

There are some signs and indicators that things are moving in the right direction. Such as:

• At some point you begin to feel better. You notice you are happier, calmer, more at ease, and more hopeful about the future.
• After some time, you should be able to resolve and face your issues and are not looking to have someone else fix them for you.
• The therapist helps you find insight within to guide you to your own best solutions so you can make the right choices for yourself.
• You notice therapy is giving you more connection to yourself and your emotions, and to other people in your life.
• You begin to see things differently, and your perspective shifts from that of finding problems to being able to find solutions.
• You find yourself making different choices and looking at your own needs more. You see choices you did not think you had before. You can set healthy boundaries with yourself and others.
• You smile more, and you feel more positive and future focused.
• Other people notice you are changing in a positive way.

I hope the above list is helpful and clarifies what Psychotherapy can do for you or someone you care about and how to get quality care. If you are a veteran, you may have coverage through Blue Cross Medavie, where you can obtain free supports. Other individuals may have coverage through their workplace programs, or with extended healthcare benefits which can cover costs.

In addition to one-on-one Psychotherapy I feel strongly that peer support is of great help. I recommend peer support, of some form, to every client I work with. I will be writing more about peer support in my next blog entry.

Step One: Increase Your Good Healthy Fats.

The brain eats fat, not carbohydrates and sugar. In fact the brain prefers a high fat low carbohydrate diet and recent health studies are showing our low fat diets are killing us. Although starches and sugars give a quick stimulus, they also create fatigue. The short rapid highs are followed by deep depressing lows and thus the cycle of needing the next quick fix begins. With every sleepless night and tiring day comes a greater need for the sugars, starches and stimulants. Truth is it’s a very destructive path. Couple the lows with the anxiety and depression associated with mental health issues and in my opinion it is a recipe for self destruction. The best thing you can do for yourself if you are a victim of mental health, in particular Post Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSD) or Operational Stress injuries (OSI’s) is not compensate for fatigue and sleeplessness with poor diet and stimulants. The very first dietary change we should make is to increase our good fat intake and not consume any starches or sugars or as little as possible.

Step Two: Stop Eating Starch and Sugar.

When the brain is exhausted and/or starving from not enough fats (both result in the same reaction) it searches for any food that will help it to stay alert the quickest but not necessarily healthiest way possible. Caffeine, Sugar and Starches (which are easily and quickly converted to sugar), become the food the stressed individual craves. Hence the nickname comfort food I suspect. This Double Edged Sword is why diet change rarely works, most people skip step one and try to execute only step two without or with little accountability and understanding. An added component is that processed food no matter how healthy it says it is, is much higher in starches and sugars. Diet or Healthy Choice meal plans are exceptionally bad as they limit calories instead of switching calories from Starch and Sugar base to Fat Base.

Step Three: Accountability (Where is your Fire Team Partner?)

Who is holding you to accountability? Who is that one person who will keep you honest with yourself and focused on your goals. With soft tissue trauma, we have Doctors, Nurses, and Physiotherapists etc., that advise and keep us on the right track for rapid recovery and healing. They follow up and are not afraid to tell us off when we don’t follow what is in our best interest. Unfortunately Dietitians and Mental Health Professionals are bound to the Canada Food Guide and encourage unneeded starches and sugars. To break with the Canada Food Guide can cost them their licences. This is slowly changing as brain specialists and even cancer and cardiac specialists have changed their tune with what is a healthy diet.

Here is a question to ask yourself. What mechanisms do you have in place to hold yourself accountable? When you are Grocery Shopping, what will keep you from buying what you shouldn’t be eating? Are you using a meal plan that forces you to buy only fresh vegetables? Do you have proper snack food high in natural balanced fats available like nuts, and avocados? And no fruit is not a healthy snack food neither are fruit juices. They are added sugar. This doesn’t mean you don’t eat fruit, it means you have a serving of fruit and have it at the beginning of your day so you aren’t getting a spike of sugar in the late afternoon or evening.

Strategies:

This is a great site for planning purposes. Enter the food you plan on eating and hit enter. Scroll down and you will find a list of preparation styles, choose the one closest to your food preparation. It will outline the nutritional value based on the unit measure you select and also give you a breakdown on the amount of starch, sugar and fats. Including the type of sugar and fat, as well as the number of calories from starch and from fat. Also included is an overall nutrition score and a Glycemic Load Score. The Glycemic Load score is very important. This tells you how much of a load of sugar you are adding to your body from this particular food in the manor you are preparing it.

In order to feed your brain and not your mental illness, work on getting your total Glycemic Load for the day under 10, and the bulk of that load as early in the day as possible. Increase your fats to 40% of your diet, yes I know you have been told to have low cholesterol, but this is a misnomer. What you need is to have your Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) at 1/4 to 1/3 of your High Density Lipoprotein (LDL). What that means for most people is to lower your LDL, not your total cholesterol. Remember your brain eats fat and Cholesterol is fat with a protein attached to it. If your fat is imbalanced the LDL sticks to the walls of your arteries along with any HDL it is carrying with it and it never reaches the brain. Refer to the Step One paragraph as to the result. Balanced fat feeds the brain and increases emotional and rational control. It really is as simple as that. No rocket science, just plain old fashion food selection and preparation. If you want to feed your brain, stop eating out, stop eating prepackaged food and start eating as if it was your doctor prescribing a medication.

Quick Glycemic Load Reference Based on 1 Severing (RAW)

Broccoli 2

Cabbage 17

Celery 1

Cauliflower 2

Green Beans 3

Mushrooms 2

Spinach 0

Tomatoes 1.5

Carrots 1

Plums 1.7

Broth 0

Olives 0

Eggs 0

Apples 3

Cucumber 1

Zucchini 0

Squash 8

Shrimp 0

Lobster 2

Avocados 0

Onion 4

Orange 4

Banana 10

Eggplant 1

Beet Greens 0

Lettuce 0

Peas 8

Brussel Sprouts 3

Safe Fats

Meat fats

Cold Press Olive Oil

Coconut oil

Avocado Oil

Lard

Butter

Ghee

(Cook at low temp)

Bad Fats

Vegetable oil

Margarine (all)

Deep fried fats

Canola

Starches

Bread (all)

Potatoes

Crackers

Pasta

Spaghetti

Cereal

Rice

Oatmeal

Cookies

Muffins

Quinoa

Pancakes

Sugars

There are no safe sugars or safe substitute sugars. The “Diet Sugars” are worse than white sugar for weight gain as they bind as fat in your bloodstream. If you must use a sweetener use a small amount of real maple syrup or a small amount of Natural Honey only.

Strategy

Eat as much good fat as you can. It is balanced and will not increase your bad cholesterol, but in fact will lower it.

Do not eat prepackaged food (anything in a box, a can or a jar as it contains all the foods you can’t afford to eat.) If you don’t believe me read the label.

I started two decades ago, with a push from my doctor to take a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) anti depressant, not because I was depressed, but because it was the standard approach to PTSD, my reaction to the SSRI was off the wall. I had a complete meltdown from the reaction to the SSRI’s. I never wanted to take the medication, mostly because I was never depressed and could not find sound logic to take an anti depressant for anything other than clinical depression (I have a medical background). But I was having severe flash backs in time and place, an uncontrollable rage, and a complete inability to relate to anyone on a personal level or with any person in general. I was so far removed from whom I knew I was that I couldn’t recognize myself or my thought process. I suspect it is what possession would feel like, (insert mental picture from the exorcist here) because that’s as close as I can come to expressing it. I had become a completely different person and was unable to understand why or how it happened. So I agreed to take the drug. Two months later I had no children, wife, career or future and had to have myself admitted into a mental health ward and was facing what would add up to $50,000.00 in legal fees.

Fortunately, my doctor of care was familiar with SSRI’s and their contraindication to PTSD. As I indicated in my last article ‘In From The Cold’ on 14 Jan 2018, he was also an expert on PTSD and knew what Mefloquin Toxicity (now Quinism) was about. He immediately stopped the SSRI and my rapidly accelerated symptoms, went back to my already over the top out of control symptoms. He then placed me on an anticonvulsant which I remained on for the next 12 years. For decades I thanked him, for the stability and self control. I was convinced that this was the answer to my problem. Only problem was there was no exit strategy, and at the time, I wasn’t even aware that I needed an exit strategy. Fast forward 12 years, and the drug interaction from the anticonvulsant caught up to me.

Not only did I have to stop the drug because I was suffering life threatening side effects, but all of my symptoms returned. At the time it was confirmation that I needed the drug, but that was before I spent the next few years adding one drug after another treating the symptoms and never the cause. In a two year period, I had escalated my prescription drug use to the point where I could consume my morning medications as if it was a meal in itself and I had to be saved by my wife from drug interactions and near death. Make no mistake had she not heard my feeble cry for help on one evening she would have awoken to a dead husband in bed with her the next morning. This event became the catalyst to finding an exit strategy, other than death by over prescription.

I started off with a colloidal suspension of 60 minerals, 15 vitamins, 12 amino acids and 3 essential fatty acids at a cost of $600.00 a month, (I eventually reduced that to $400.00) in 3 months, I was off my meds (in a good way), but for several years I remained borderline needing to return to medication, but never giving in or returning to it. Although it took several years through trial and error, in addition to research, I eventually began to realize that if I adjusted my diet, I could get rid of the expense of supplements, and stay off the drugs.

At this juncture in my life, I eat no processed foods, unless I do the processing. I eat virtually no starches, or sugars, I allow myself one cup of caffeine in the morning per day. I can have a single shot of alcohol, a couple times a week and I consume large quantities of fresh green leafy vegetables and healthy fats daily. When I have a starch, (usually a tablespoon or two of oat flour in the am only) it is from organic grouts I purchased locally, and have ground into flour with my own grain grinder. Even yogurt I prefer to make my own and if I could, I would buy a cow and use my own milk. I know how extreme I often appear to people who look at my diet; even my own wife calls me a Food Nazi even though she wouldn’t have me eat any other way because of the consequences. The consequences are no sleep, and a return of symptoms, and I am not alone.

Over the past year I have reconnect with many brothers and sisters from the past, all suffering with the same conditions and problems. All (independent of each other) have found solace in a complete makeover of their diets. Some, unlike me, can’t even have the one coffee or an occasional shot of alcohol, others find they can have caffeine in tea occasionally, but not coffee. I can sometimes get away with too much starch two days in a row, and other days the single tablespoon of flour mixed in with eggs as a crepe in the morning is too much and I’m awake for days or until I fast and clean out my system. At the end of the day my diet and the routine surrounding it keeps my head clear and emotions intact and I can’t help but think, “before we go on a drug, maybe we should be starting our exit strategy of diet and lifestyle changes first”, then medication if needed, but with an end date in sight. Yes a drug allows you to go back to work and to continue as if nothing is wrong. But that is the lie as something is wrong, or you wouldn’t need the drug to function. Despite all the damage to my brain for 7 going on 8 years I have been drug free, engaged with family and society in a positive and productive manor. Had I stayed on medications, I would most likely be dead.

I remember sitting down to an extra large pizza and devouring it by myself. I could pack a plate of pasta to the point of overflow and then go back for seconds. I would think nothing of eating a half gallon of ice cream or more by myself and then having a bag of chips and washing it down with 2 liters of caffeinated pop. Not to mention my consumption of coffee increased dramatically. At the time I was 195lbs, and weightlifting not to mention daily running and training as an airborne paratrooper, so it was easy to burn off the calories. As it turns out, not only is it unhealthy physically in the long term it is also unhealthy mentally, both in the long and short term.

Turns out the brain eats fat, not carbohydrates and sugar. In fact the brain prefers a high fat low carb diet and recent health studies are showing our low fat diets are killing us. So why did I suddenly crave starches and sugars when my brain was having difficulties focusing or while it was in overdrive hyper-vigilance. As it turns out part of the reason is I was eating the North American low fat diet of the 1990’s. When the brain is exhausted and/or starving from not enough fats (both result in the same reaction) it searches for any food that will help it to stay alert the quickest but not necessarily healthiest way. Caffeine, Sugar and Starches (which are easily and quickly converted to sugar), become the food the stressed individual craves. Hence the nick name comfort food I suspect.

Although it gives a quick stimulus, it also creates fatigue. The short rapid highs are followed by deep depressing lows and thus the cycle of needing the next quick fix begins. With every sleepless night and tiring day comes a greater need for the sugars, starches and stimulants. Truth is it’s a very destructive path. Couple the lows with the anxiety and depression associated with mental health issues and in my opinion it is a receipt for self destruction. The best thing you can do for yourself if you are a victim of mental health in particular PTSD is not compensating for fatigue and sleeplessness with poor diet and stimulants. The very first dietary change we should make is to not consume any starches or sugars or as little as possible. And simultaneously increase our good fats exponentially.

The easiest way to increase your good fats is to supplement breakfast, lunch and supper with fish oil tablets (omega 3, 6, & 9). Add whole fats to your diet, that is fat that has never been processed or has very little processing. For example cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil/butter, butter instead of margarine, or lard instead of shorting. Choose fruits and vegetables and other foods high with natural fats and eat them raw such as, avocados, bananas and nuts. A great site I use is http://nutritiondata.self.com/ Just plug in the food, find the way you plan on eating it in the list and then read the nutritional chart complete with glycemic load, fat breakdown and nutrient per 100 grams, cup or other measurement. As a rule the more processed a food is the higher it is in starch and sugars, just check out how your favorite comfort food stacks up when you check it out on the nutritional data site. None of this will magically make your mental health disappear, but you may just find it gets you off some of your medications and has you feeling better than you have by eating your comfort food. For me it has made all the difference in the world as I enjoy clarity of thought and emotional stability.

For decades now I have spent the better part of my day in a ritual that allows me self control. From the time I get up until I close my eyes at night, I engage in an ongoing series of exercises to calm the rage in my mind. For example the first hour of my morning is spent calming my spirit (in fact I stop and do this many times during the day). As a rule I rise before anyone else in the house, and make a coffee (I allow myself one shot of caffeine in the morning), sit and inhale the aroma and allow my body to finish waking from its sleep or many times lack of sleep. On the rare occasion that I don’t have the hour to myself, I find a spot and push out the world if I am able. When I can’t find a place for myself; on these occasions my risk of expressing my rage is greatly increased. I continue with momentary periods of occupying my mind on repetitive simple tasks that allow me to continually calm my mind. For example, most food I eat is non processed and raw when I buy it. So refining my food, gives me time to slow my mind. I grind my own grain into flour; make coffee by grinding the beans and the perculating them in an old fashion perculator and many simpler home processing tricks rather than buying prepared foods. If I could I would buy a cow and milk it as part of my routine to slow the world down so I don’t feel I have to get off of it. It’s not because I can’t organize or handle stressful days, but rather because if I don’t slow the world around me down, I won’t be able to have stressful days and not lose control of the rage. As I’m getting older the probability that I could one day end up in a nursing home scares the shit out of me. I can’t imagine a day without my routines. Who becomes responsible when because of an environment that doesn’t allow me the freedom of my routine (and dictates what my routines will be) disrupts my ability to have self control?

I spent a lot of time on ranges perfecting the art of instinctive battle drills. Responding without thought to given dangers. The fact that I can slow the world down and think before I respond is the only reason I am still alive. The Desmond family of Nova Scotia brings to mind the ugly truth of what I refer to as the flip side of the suicide coin. Behavior that is so outwardly driven, that it results in self destruction, but only after you had destroyed what you loved. I suspect I know a little about what you may be thinking if you have read this far into the article. This is some pretty dark reading. Unfortunately I will get a little darker before I return to the light. When someone’s brain is damaged to this point and when all hope of returning to that light is abandoned, (this is where I was 20 years ago when my children were taken from me) this is when they will act out. Knowing this Lionel Desmond asked for help but none was there. To be clear I never acted out in any act of violence, I had always been able to maintain control on the rage, but to this day I still don’t know why I never broke and acted out. Perhaps it was the old men from the Knights of Columbus that showed up and led me by the hand or my family or any number of other intercessory events that kept the breakdown from occurring. I do know that it often felt at the time like it was a deliberate attempt from those involved to create a situation that I could never recover from, so that my children would never have a relationship with me. Every week a new accusation would be leveled against me, and every week I would have to return to court to answer the accusation. The accusations were never justified or proven, just leveled week after week. In the middle of it all my pension would be cancelled and I would have to fight to get it reinstated, which would take months. I even had to have myself admitted to prevent further accusations and to allow an independent Doctor to assess my mental health. Looking back at this I am even more amazed that I didn’t follow in Lionel Desmond’s footsteps. If in fact I was the problem they believed me to be, why after $50,000.00 in court fees, a week long trial that found no evidence and the return of one son did I not break mentally? For this I have no answer, only that all of this occurred throughout the 90’s and began 25 years ago as I write this article. Twenty five years later we are no closer to having a solution to the problem, although we do throw millions at it annually.

So what would have happened to Lionel’s family and my own if instead of being abandoned by our government, society in general and then attacked through the courts; or deigned treatment or a safe place to recover? What if Lionel and I had a safe place to go with others, who understood our rage, and had suffered and survived and learnt how to flourish and stay one step ahead of their rage. Would I have gone as deep and as dark as I did? Would I have lost the relationships I lost? Would my children have been hurt to the extent that they were hurt? I ask the same question of the Desmond Family. Knowing what I know today allows me to grow, thrive and enjoy life, had the two of us been working towards his control on the rage within him would his family and him still be alive and healing while moving toward a fulfilling future? The only way to answer these questions is to change the past which we cannot do. But we can change the future. In the next few weeks several Not For Profits focused on veterans mental health are beginning a conversation. A conversation we hope will end with a step forward in funding and organizing a peer’s support initiative that will accomplish just that.

With the prescription drug, I am not functioning for most of the day. I still have the lack of sleep, but because the drug is still in the system, I also feel drugged and lethargic for the day but after a cup of coffee I can function. Whereas when on occasion I have drank myself to sleep, I awake with lack of sleep and the alcohol still in my system and after a cup of coffee I’m pretty much functioning for the day. I know not much real difference you may say, but I enjoyed the alcohol and I functioned for a day. Not necessarily the best choice by some people’s standard, but try going without sleep week after week with little enjoyment and I am willing to bet you’ll try it too.

And for those who are convinced it’s just not a suitable way to deal with your problems, relax, it is very rare that I over indulge in self medication, the point I am trying to make is that often veterans will chose self medication because they at least get a small amount of enjoyment out of a very torturous experience. If feeling drugged with no enjoyment or feeling drug with a small amount of enjoyment is your only choice; you’re going to choose whatever gives you that slight bit of humanity. The following are excerpts from an online conversation I had with fellow veterans on what we do to encounter a good night’s sleep. I edited it for privacy and to condense their thoughts, but I’m hoping you see the pattern I am moving toward.

Dave Been noticing a lot of veterans been struggling with issues around sleep, I too periodically have this issue. Not as bad as I used to prior to Loreta Neurofeedback. But it still happens…… Especially when I get triggered. So point of post is what works for you, anything other than prescription treatments that work for you. Especially like to hear about alternative health stuff been having a lot of success since departed from conventional doctor and pill treatments. So far my number one method of dealing with insomnia when back allows is hard manual labour, if I don’t fall asleep naturally first day by second or third I am out like a light……

Stephen (Me) I pay attention to what I eat. Had popcorn (high in starch) yesterday for the first time in months, and didn’t sleep last night. This is the second time I had popcorn and didn’t sleep. Got rid of a lot of foods from my diet, (all Starches and Sugars) but still experiment to see what aids or hinders my sleep. As for those sleepless nights, I don’t panic anymore, I just let them happen and get as much rest as I can.

Matthew Neurofeedback calms the mind so much, also IREST meditation, being outside with nature staying away from stressors (SELFCARE). Also medical cannabis, no nightmares, night sweats and I feel so rested. I honestly don’t consider this a prescription since its natural lol

Derrick I do acupuncture as much as possible. A natural herbal medicine I’ve taken is Calm ES. It calms the body and mind. Something to look into as an alternative to traditional western medicine.

Mike Sadly what works for one may not work for another, Neural feedback, EDMR, sensory deprivation list goes on and on. I was plagued with horrific nightmares from my PTSD for more than 28 years. Existing on little more than three hours of sleep a night. Two years ago I discovered the wonders of medical marijuana. Since then I’ve been getting 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted and more importantly, undisturbed sleep. Actual rest.

Cognito Food is a big one. Simple rule eat close to the bone and root. Processed foods are the killer. I haven’t had any form of caffeine 6 years. I’m not an angel I do like my beer (wheat free). If I can’t sleep I’ll go for a walk. Don’t have to wave at anyone everyone is sleeping lol.

Jessica I use Young Living Essential Oils. I put some on my skin but mostly my diffuser is running every night. I change up the smells, but it always includes lavender. The smell triggers sleeps. Also, no books or electronics in the bedroom. If I lay down for 20 minutes and am not asleep, I get up, do something and try again. I forget the name for it but its healthy sleep habits or something. Oh, and electronics need to go off an hour before I go to bed.

Rob Believe it or not. ..Rosehip tea with some loose catnip thrown in. Add a little honey…and off to sleep!

Rob I have a meditation app I listen to

Keep in mind many of these people have dealt with PTSD for decades. Here is the pattern I’ve been observing through many of these conversations, no one wants, enjoys or is searching for a pharmaceutical solution to the problem. All have tried and dismissed it not liking the side effects. All have chosen some form of self alternative medication that offers at least some enjoyment. Now I’m not advocating the bottle solution and in truth, I drink very little as I find it to can also be responsible for long waking periods, and it is very rare that I would consume a large amount. It strikes me the importance of natural remedies over prescription drugs, the importance of routines over the ease of pharmaceuticals; that it is not one opinion, but a collective belief that our routines and overall healthy living are far more important than many care to endure. And that this collective consciousness developed independently of each other over decades of unrest.