Real Warriors Know When To Get Help

Real warriors know when to get help

By Heather M. Owens, Carolina Living editor

Sgt. Josh Hopper is a real warrior.

After two tours in Iraq, he started noticing how negative thoughts and behaviors had crept into his life. He was drinking too much, had mood swing and struggled to sleep.

“I just walked up to my (commanding officer) saying, ‘Sir, I’ve had all I can take. I need help,’” said Hopper in a public service announcement on the Web site realwarriors.net.

That action helped him get his life back.

“It seemed like from that day on I would go to my treatment and go to classes, stuff like that, things started getting better,” he said.

Hopper’s bravery in seeking and accepting help for his post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury earned his former commander’s admiration.

“Returning to full health and clearances and everything else, I actually respect him and trust him more now,” said Lt. Col. Charles Ehlert. “Because he had a problem, he had an issue, and he brought it to me. Together we figured it out, we fixed it, and he’s as good or better of a Marine now and into the future.”

A project of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, founded in November 2007, realwarriors.net collects real-world stories, such as Hopper’s, in order to break down the stigma among military members about seeking mental health treatment.

Army Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton, M.D., the highest ranking psychiatrist in the U.S. Army, is the director of DCoE.

“At the core, this is a health and readiness issue,” she said of the importance of warriors maintaining optimal mental health. “The Real Warriors Campaign is part of that overall (Department of Defense) effort to enhance psychological fitness.”

Sutton noted in a recent series of Mental Health Advisory Team surveys, warriors from all services consistently voiced concerns seeking psychological treatment would negatively impact their military career, make them look weak and cause them to lose the trust and respect of their command.

DCoE and the Real Warriors Campaign seek to dispel those commonly held beliefs among service members.

“You maintain your weapon or your vehicle not because it is broken, but because you need it. You need it to work at maximum capacity. It’s the same with your psychological health,” she said. “Seeking treatment for a psychological health concern is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of maintaining mission readiness physically and mentally.”

Hopper is just one of the service members who not only sought treatment but also told his story on realwarriors.net.

“It takes real strength to swallow your pride and say, ‘I need help.’ And to go actually get that help,” he said.

Advertisement