New Patient Story

2022 was the worst year of my life: a highly traumatic incident while elk hunting nearly resulted in this lifelong outdoorsman and hunter giving up ever going out into the wilderness. Ever. My already compromised mental state took another massive hit with significant family mental health issues shortly after. My inability to fully grasp and cope with what happened while hunting did not help. I elected to resign from my job at that time and for the first time in my life, really seek out support with an open mind. Much like it is encouraged in any type of addiction treatment, I "surrendered". Unfortunately, that phrasing (surrender) was a 4-letter word to me and had negative connotations like "giving up", "admitting defeat". This fundamental misunderstanding of what "surrender" really means in the context of mental health treatment, delayed me from seeking professional help for trauma. Once I embraced that surrender really means "live to fight another day" and not just "giving up", I was able to start rebuilding my mind, body, and spirit along with helping those that needed me the most. The lesson: humans are social animals. We are all part of one big tribe. Even the strongest amongst us need help sometimes. Seek it out if you need it. There are zero awards in life for suffering in silence. I now walk through life with a deeper understanding of not only myself, but others around me. In the end, "the worst year of my life" became the biggest learning experience and ultimately led to more subsequent growth then I likely would have ever experienced. All it took was a mindset of acceptance, gratitude, and openness. My family is healthy and I am healthy. And the wilderness still calls to me. And I obey. Otherwise, I'd miss on views like this.