Writing Enables You to Help Yourself and Others

Trusted by Ty Andrews
Lincoln, Nebraska

Veterans, you have a unique opportunity to join a supportive community and embark on a journey of creative writing at your local VA Medical Center. This VA-sanctioned Recreation Therapy program, held periodically at most VA hospitals, is more than just a writing session. It’s a safe space where you can share your stories, engage in ‘classroom’ exercises, and feel a sense of belonging under the guidance of an experienced volunteer facilitator.

Seize Opportunities

For example, every Thursday, I seize the opportunity to bring in my short stories, essays and portions of longer works. I share my experiences with my fellow vets, allowing them to glimpse the struggles I’ve faced and the demons dwelling inside my mind. Writing has become a powerful therapeutic outlet for me, a beacon of hope that keeps my mind focused on something other than the disturbances that brought me to the VA. It’s a relief, both for me as a writer and for the reader, to escape the grip of trauma through the power of words.

Keeping My Brain Busy

One of the symptoms of PTSD is the same activity as one of the coping skills used to deal with PTSD. Keeping my brain busy is a PTSD symptom when the activity is undertaken to avoid dealing with the diagnosis or prescribed treatment. Alternatively, keeping my brain busy is also a coping skill if done as part of an overall treatment program and is done constructively.

Understanding Breadth and Depth of Emotions

With the guidance of VA counselors, social workers and medical professionals, I’ve learned to explore the full spectrum of human emotions. As an alpha male, I am well-versed in anger and humor, but it was through the treatment at the VA I truly understood the depth of other emotions. Writing became my tool for self-expression, a way to convey these emotions in a way the reader can ‘feel’ themselves what I felt in similar situations. It’s a journey of self-discovery and growth that I hope will inspire you to embark on your own.

Benefits of Creative Writing

Creative writing also prepares veterans to seek treatment in VA Exposure Therapy programs. These emphasize re-living traumatic memories, feelings and situations until they learn that trauma-related memories and cues are not necessarily dangerous and need not be avoided.

Another benefit for veterans engaged in creative writing is the opportunity to participate in the annual National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. This prestigious event, held at a different location each year, showcases the artistic talents of veterans from across the country. Each year, the staff at most VA Rec Centers distributes applications for a creative writing contest that might get the author a ticket to the festival. Survivors of the review process go on to the nationals. I have won seven national-level medals including two golds for first place.

Military Writers Society

I am also on the board of directors of the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA), an organization with a mission to help veterans, military and their families tell their stories. We have been conducting veteran writing workshops since 2015 in conjunction with our annual conferences and in various locations across the country. As a nonprofit, our all-volunteer team instructs and facilitates groups of writers ranging from first-time writers to published authors in what we now call our Write Your Story workshops. We have reached hundreds of veterans over the years and heard many stories of how the pen to paper helped them unlock thoughts previously buried deep inside.

I hope I have enticed you to take the first step in penning your thoughts and learning skills that can help you help yourself and others. Perhaps you will find yourself being recognized for excellence in creative writing. Maybe we will witness the launch of a new writing career by someone who took their first steps one morning at their local VA Medical Center or by attending an MWSA Write Your Story workshop. I will be there. Will you?

Jim Tritten retired after 44 years with the Defense Department, including duty as a carrier-based naval aviator. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Southern California and formerly served as a faculty member and National Security Affairs department chair at the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Tritten’s publications have won him 72 writing awards. He has published 13 books, and his work has been translated into Russian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. He lives in Corrales, N.M.