I've been transparent about it elsewhere online, but I'll say it again here: my last career left me with a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (you can drop the 'D' from that if it troubles you, I get it) diagnosis. I spent years, crippled by depression, flashbacks and alcoholism before finding the strength to reach out for help. Thanks to counseling, a few gnarly prescriptions and the support of a strong partner, I've been able to crawl back from the edge. It wasn't easy.
After entering counseling, I worked to be more open about my issues. Doing so caused me to lose a gig that I'd had for years, even though they were cool with my performance up until then. It left me feeling more alienated and alone than I had in years. But, a few years later, I'm now in a better head space than I have been in close to two decades. So, saying that, causes that promote awareness and understanding of Post Traumatic Stress and battlefield injuries are close to my heart.
This is one of those.
As a veteran of the Royal Marines, Tim Crockett's seen his share of combat and knows more than a few soldiers who have been kissed by Post Traumatic Stress during the course of their duties. This year, he'll be rowing a 20-foot long boat across the Atlantic Ocean to help raise awareness, understanding and helping those of us with PTS(D) to get the help we need. It's a 3,000 nautical mile trek that'll start in the Canary Islands and end in Antigua. Crockett will be doing the heavy lifting on this one, and he's got the support of a number of veteran's advocacy groups here in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom. But he's asking for your help on the financial end of things.
Crockett's GoFundMe is currently accepting donations, in any amount to help support him in his journey. If you can afford to throw some cash at his quest, you can rest easy in the knowledge that it's going towards a tremendous cause.
For more information on Crockett's nautical endeavor, you can hit up his homepage or check in theunseenwounds.org
Image: Tim Crockett, used with permission.
