JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the biggest challenges veterans have always faced is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD.
Women are becoming the fastest-growing demographic of the veteran population and are struggling to find the resources they need to deal with the invisible wounds of PTSD.
Rebecca Stephens, an E4 specialist in the Army, served from March 2007 to March 2011 and was deployed to Iraq for a year. Her mental struggles after she returned home eventually led her to seek help, which she found in the form of a four-legged companion.
“I definitely wouldn’t be here without her,” Stephens said emotionally as she looked at her service dog, Bobbi.
‘Not everything is OK’
Stephens said her time in Iraq was surreal.
“You minimize everything that happened over there. You know the rocket attacks that happened? Well, they never hit me, so therefore it wasn’t that big of a deal,” she said.
Stephens said when she returned to the United States she was physically put together, so it was easy to push everything down.
“It’s hard to verbalize and understand that not everything is OK,” she said. “When I came home, I was so tired of making everything seem like it was OK. I was so exhausted that I kind of gave up.”
That struggle with her mental health began some of the darkest moments of her life.
“With my PTSD diagnosis, I started to self-medicate. So I quickly became an addict,” she explained. “Honestly, when I gave up, I was extremely suicidal, and I feel like I gave the reins over to my addiction, and I let the addiction take control of my life.”
All too common
Stephens’ experience is unfortunately not unique.
According to the 2023 Annual Warrior Survey conducted by the Wounded Warrior Project, nearly 73% of women veterans reported living with PTSD.
Up to 84% experience other service-related health issues, including stress and depression, and over 75% of women warriors reported experiencing Military Sexual Trauma.
Feelings of isolation are also more common among women veterans —nearly 78% report lacking companionship, compared to 69% of their male counterparts.
K9s to the rescue
Like many veterans who return physically healthy from war, Stephens said she felt she didn’t deserve help.
But when she forced herself into rehab in June of 2018, she knew things were about to change.
In August of that same year, she was on the road to recovery and wanted to find another way to heal that didn’t have to involve more therapy or medication.
She said her extensive research led her to K9s For Warriors, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to veterans with disabilities. The organization’s mission is to help veterans regain independence and end veteran suicide.
“I found that K9s, their mission is, ‘We rescue a dog to rescue a veteran.’ And I loved that,” Stephens said. “At the time, I couldn’t care for myself. I had no routine, and I was extremely motivated to be the best person that I could be for a dog that was going to work so hard for me.”
Bobbi and “Becca” have both worked so hard for each other.
Bobbi is always by Becca Stephens’ side, from when she wakes up to when she goes to bed.
Stephens said Bobbi has given her purpose, kept her focused on her recovery and most of all made her a better person, even mending her broken relationship with her parents.
‘You deserve it’
Stephens now has a great job with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office that is also helping her stay the course of her recovery.
She shared an important message for her fellow servicewomen.
“We are taught to put everyone before us as soldiers and then to take care of ourselves, but out here, the very best way you can take care of other people is by taking care of yourself, because we don’t realize how much our life impacts everyone around us,” Stephens said.
She said she always thought she was only hurting herself. But she realizes now that was wrong.
“I did not know I was hurting other people and my family,” Stephens said. “The people who I love right now are doing so good because I am. The best way you can take care of your friends and family and loved ones is to take care of yourself.
“It’s OK to get help, and it’s OK to know that you deserve it.”
