How Cannabis Saved One Veteran From Taking His Own Life | Opinions | NowThis скачать в хорошем качестве

How Cannabis Saved One Veteran From Taking His Own Life | Opinions | NowThis

Veteran Mike Whiter felt lost and broken after being medically discharged from the Marines after 11 years of service — here’s how cannabis saved him from taking his own life (warning: distressing themes) » Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_Subscribe » Sign up for our newsletter KnowThis to get the biggest stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox: https://go.nowth.is/KnowThis MIKE WHITER: Cannabis saved my life. I realize that statement sounds like hyperbole, but I promise you it isn’t. If I hadn’t started using cannabis regularly back in 2012, I wouldn’t be here right now. Flash back to 2006. I’d just been medically discharged from the Marine Corps after 11 years and two combat tours, knowing nothing but being in the military. I had no job prospects and absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I wasn’t expecting to be out of the Marines so soon, and I was having a really hard time dealing with the transition. On top of the tough time I was having adjusting, I was taking handfuls of VA-prescribed pills every day that were further reducing my ability — and my will — to cope with the changes. 2006 was the first time I attempted to kill myself. There had been warning signs before, unintentional overdoses, cries for help, but 2006 was the first time I ever took harmful measures and to bed hoping that I wouldn’t wake up the next morning. It’s a strange feeling, knowing I’m deliberately doing something that might cause me to die, but also knowing that dying can’t be any worse than the torture my mind is putting me through. I felt like I was a burden on everyone in my life, and in my mind, ending my life would, in turn, end the burden on them. I would wind up attempting suicide two more times after that over the following 5 years. I was in and out of the inpatient psych unit at the VA, and every single time I left, I came out with a new prescription; a new tool to numb myself with — and potentially overdose on — the next time shit gets rough. My will to live came in the form of a couple of things: A 2012 Discovery Channel show called ‘Weed Wars,’ that highlighted veterans who used cannabis in one of its episodes, and my therapist feeding me a dose of reality at a pivotal moment. ‘Weed Wars’ got me to pick up cannabis and retake control of my mind. Cannabis allowed me to think critically in an introspective manner. In really examining what was going on with me, I was able to discern the difference between my thoughts about what was happening and what was actually happening. Getting past negative thinking is key. It helped me re-engage in therapy and start really working to process what was happening. My therapist, who I’d been seeing since 2010, knows me very well and knows how I respond. One day in therapy, after I’d already started using cannabis and thinking for myself again, I was talking about how I was having a hard time leaving the house because I don’t feel safe. She looked at me with a straight face and said, ‘Well, what if someone firebombs your house with you in it?’ Now while this wouldn’t work for everyone - it really did for me. That was the day I realized that I don’t have the ability to control anything that happens to me, I only have the ability to decide how I will respond to what happens. From that moment, I decided I didn’t want to end my life. What I had been through, and all I’d lost, wasn’t who I was, but up to that point, I was letting define me. I didn’t have to be a veteran broken by the system - I could be whatever I wanted to be. I joined a community cannabis activists in my hometown of Philadelphia, and together we did a ton of work that culminated in Philadelphia becoming the largest city in the United States to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis. One of the reasons I was suicidal was because I was lost. I wasn’t sure who I was anymore if I wasn’t a Marine. Becoming an activist and being part of that community and effecting change the way we did further changed my life because it gave me a purpose I thought I’d lost when I got out of the Marines. #Weed #Cannabis #Veteran #News #NowThis #NowThisNews If you or someone you know is struggling, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 Connect with NowThis » Like us on Facebook: http://go.nowth.is/News_Facebook » Tweet us on Twitter: http://go.nowth.is/News_Twitter » Follow us on Instagram: http://go.nowth.is/News_Instagram » Find us on Snapchat Discover: http://go.nowth.is/News_Snapchat NowThis is your premier news outlet providing you with all the videos you need to stay up to date on all the latest in trending news. From entertainment to politics, to viral videos and breaking news stories, we’re delivering all you need to know straight to your social feeds. We live where you live.    / nowthisnews   @nowthisnews