Washington, DC—On Feb. 23, 2023, the U.S. Army Medical Command hosted a Resilient Leader Webinar. The webinars share the wisdom and advice of professionals to help promote resilience and readiness. This webinar featured Annette T. Hill, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) certified therapist, and a certified clinical trauma professional. EMDR is an integrative psychotherapy approach used by mental health professionals to address causes of trauma.
Hill was accompanied by retired Command Sgt. Maj. Greg Birch, who served as the 75th Ranger regimental command sergeant major. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after 30 years of service in a variety of Special Operations units. They discussed why it is important to have a plan during the transition from active duty to retired military and how the brain is part the individual’s “emotional safety” during that transition.
Hill is the former clinical director and program author for Warriors Heart, a residential treatment center in Texas. Warriors Heart treats Veterans and first responders who are struggling with substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder, grief and loss, and moral Injury.
Hill, a Gold Star Mother, has more than fifteen years of experience working as a dual-diagnosis therapist in residential treatment settings. She specializes in the treatment of trauma.
Hill gave an overview of the brain and why what it does is important. The singular mission of your brain, she said, is your physical and emotional safety. Physically safety seems obvious, but emotional safety is just as important, she said. The brain makes meaning of everything because it is a “pattern seeing and predicting machine.” Also, she said, we view every moment through the filters of our experiences and our beliefs about those experiences.
Birch discussed his experiences during the transition to civilian life. Birch said he had been very focused because of his career in a regimented environment but was burned out by the time he left the military. He then moved 16 times, had 12 jobs, and was divorced twice. He said, “I did not have a plan.” He found his purpose when he went to the police academy and became a deputy.
Hill asked the audience, “Do you have a plan for after you retire?”
When you leave the military, whether it is one rotation or a full career, without a plan, things can become unhealthy.
For men, especially, she said, their identity is tied up in what they do, after retirement they often have anxiety, depression, or illnesses.
The military, Hill said, does something to develop youth that is unique on the planet. Our parents raise us to be independent and autonomous. The miliary strips away independence and autonomy and makes the individual more dependent. They build competence, but to serve the purpose of the military, there is a need to have people function as a unit of one.
Hill noted that some who expected a long military career sometimes had it derailed, e.g., by injury. They no longer felt they were part of something.
“Expectations and reality sometimes disconnect,” she said.
This can occur during the transition to civilian life.
Birch used a quote from Magnus Johnson, a former Green Beret who served in combat for 36 months—"Expectations are front loaded resentments.”
Civilian life did not meet Birch’s expectations, so his expectations changed. He moved on and found other things to do, including becoming a law enforcement officer. “That was my comfort zone,” he said. “I had to figure out how to serve without wearing the (military) uniform to meet my expectations.”
Hill suggested keeping a “gratitude journal” to avoid negative thinking and gave these instructions. Keep a notebook by a bedside table, she said. At the end of each day write down five things you are grateful for (that are specific to that day, and not general things such as good health), and if you forget one day, write down 10 the next.
The change using the journal can take time. For Hill, she said it took 135 days following the death of her son. You spend all day looking for the five positive things for that book. Because you start to look for positive things to be grateful for, you focus away from negative or destructive thoughts.
“The brain is exquisite,” Hill said, “and we need to see it and manipulate it in a way so it can do what it is wired to do, which is to heal. Its job is to keep you safe.”
Hill concluded with this message to leaders: “Please do everything in your power to reach out to your employees and make sure they are all OK.”
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