Nate Banks, Strategic Director for Concerned Veterans for America in Colorado and US Navy Veteran, about his journey after service to receive healthcare and his experience with the VA Healthcare System. As an advocate for veterans, Nate pursues his passion for accountability and responsibility through the mission at the Concerned Veterans of America to advocate for policies that will preserve the freedom and prosperity that we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend. Learn mo...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Suzi talks with Josh Wheeldon about his journey to service, time during the military, his duty as a military police officer and his continued commitment to serve his fellow brothers and sisters. Josh's Bio Joined the Army as a Military Police Officer in December 2004 shortly after I traveled to Korea 2005. In 2006 came to Fort Lewis where I deployed to the Anbar Province of Iraq for 15 months living embedded in an Iraq Police Station with Marines. Upon returning it was time to get out of the Arm...
Jan 23, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Broken Promises ~ Compromised Mental Health Care, Counselor Burnout & Retaliation at VA Our Veterans are not numbers! Suzi is joined by Ted Blickwedel, Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, combat veteran and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, about compromised mental health care and counsel burnout in VA Vet Centers. Ted's journey from clinical social worker employed by the VA to today has been quite a road of discovery, hardship and disappointment in the VA system. Ted's expectation of qu...
Jan 16, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Completing the mission is the target. Using your techniques, skills, and resources learned in the military to complete the mission should be no different when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. Complete your mission in finding the best ways to live the life you so deserve by completing the mission for your mental health well being. Suzi has the honor of taking with Retired 1SG U.S. Army Tom Cruz about his journey recovering from attempted suicide while still in service and rebuilding his l...
Jan 09, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Andi has arrived! Having traveled through life's challenges from being raised in a cult, sexual molestation, coping with alcohol and drugs, military sexual trauma and coming out on the other side with strength and perseverance, Andi is a story of resilience and survival. Join Suzi in this episode to hear more about Andi's story and how even though life gives you a crappy stack of cards you can still find the inner strength to build your foundation. Find your superpowers from the trauma and live ...
Jan 02, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 42
As we are celebrating our annual holiday traditions many incorporate various practices and behaviors that we often find the norm. But are they truly celebratory by everyone? Do they truly have a joyful resonating effect for everyone attending? Suzi talks about behaviors and practices that often come with overly celebrating during the holidays. Alcohol can sometimes be part of that celebration but as the alcohol flows so does tempers and bad behavior. The holidays are times of celebration from ol...
Dec 25, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Send us a Text Message. Suzi talks with Jason Jarman, US Army Veteran and Program Manager for MVP Seattle about childhood trauma, service and creating his own wellness practices for healing. Jason's Bio I was raised in a very chaotic household. My Dad left when I was 7 y/o, leaving my Mom to raise 4 boys on her own. I am the youngest of those 4. Looking back, I realized that I attached to anyone that gave me attention, which made me very vulnerable to childhood sexual abuse. I was molested by tw...
Dec 19, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 40
The Wonder Women of the Military Suzi talks with U.S. Army Sergeant Major Evelyn Azzaria about service and family. Evelyn was part of the Cultural Support Team (CST) and has been in service for 20+ years. Her skills, knowledge and resilience has propelled her into a journey of exploration, perseverance and creating a path of accomplishment. Evelyn talks about being part of the team, motherhood and her plans once she hangs up the uniform. Evelyn Mayoral( Eve) was born and raised in Los Angeles, C...
Dec 12, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 39
What are your traditions? What are you grateful for in your life? Holidays can be tough and many experience the anxiety of expectations. In this episode, Suzi talks about creating your own traditions to help ease the anxiety and the expectations of giving, working and connecting with family. Suzi created her new tradition of connection with those around her and makes it her mission to honor those that matter the most to her through gratitude. Music credit to Kalvin Love for the podcast’s theme s...
Nov 28, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Suzi talks with Lt.. Col. Brian Slade, Apache Pilot and author of "Cleared Hot", about his seven principles and leadership skills that helped build his foundation to manage PTSD and trauma. Be resilient when facing your storms and work towards seeing obstacles as opportunities. Check out Brian’s book “Cleared Hot with Lt. Col. Brian Slade.” Find it on on Amazon or at https://www.clearedhot.info/ LEARN HOW TO: Grow a Healthy Perspective Practice Chair Flying Value a Higher Cause Build Healthy Sup...
Nov 21, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Discrimination builds barriers to opportunities for those with brilliant minds to flourish. Today Suzi is joined by USSF Lt Col. Bree Fram, Astronautical Engineer, Author, D&I Speaker, to talk about the importance of sharing the stories of the LGBTQ military community and working towards social change. Additionally, Bree is the president of SPARTA which supports, educates and advocates on behalf of those service members within the LGBTQ military community. In this episode, Bree talks about h...
Nov 14, 2022•34 sec•Season 1Ep. 36
Words Matter! Language teaching starts from childhood and develops the definition of what meaning is attached to a particular word. In this episode, Suzi talks about how words can be developed into a totally different meaning depending on your environment and how you were nurtured by those around you. How we think and feel about ourselves comes from what was told or done to us from childhood. For example, if you are not treated well as a child and this mistreatment was attached to the word "love...
Nov 07, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Working it out! ~ Setting Boundaries and Figuring It Out Looking for your tribe and figuring out your path despite the cards you have been dealt. Suzi talks about meeting Rick and Lauren Monroe, founders of Raven Drum Foundation and Rick's journey in figuring out his path despite a horrific accident in order to be able to help veterans and others struggling with their own adversities. Suzi talks about professional athletes and combat veterans working through their trauma at Merging Vets and Play...
Oct 24, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 34
When is it too much trauma? Do we move towards what we see as familiar? Sometimes we gravitate towards what we know and sometimes that might be chaos. In today's episode, Suzi has the honor of speaking with Amber Roads, USAF EOD Veteran about her journey of healing and the wellness practices she uses to heal the trauma in her life. Amber shares her family life growing up, her decision to join the military, marriage, children and experiencing the trauma of a chaotic relationship to discover her p...
Oct 17, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 33
It is never too late to unload your rucksack! Suzi has the honor of speaking with Scott Baker, Air Force Vietnam Veteran about his journey before, during and after his service and the importance of facing your storms head on. Returning home from Vietnam as a service member was often not received with open arms and took a terrible toll on our Vietnam Veterans in seeking the help they so deserved. Scott finally found refuge to unpack his rucksack of emotions in a safe environment of men and women ...
Oct 10, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Connecting with people to help, heal, and serve the world Suzi has the pleasure of chatting with Bruce Kittle, Life & Performance Coach and Community Outreach & Co-Host of Hidden Pearls Podcast. Bruce works 1-on-1 with veterans, athletes, and others to help them mindfully discover and express their authentic self through meditation, mindfulness, breath work, yoga, affirmations, visualization and variable identities. As co-host of The Hidden Pearls Podcas t, Bruce connects with people to ...
Oct 03, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Are you a human being or a human doing? What are your principles? Suzi talks about basing decisions on principles and not thoughts and feelings. If it doesn't support your principles don't do it. Our most hurtful betrayal is not what we do to others, it's what we do to ourselves when we abandon our principles and the person we deserve to be. Don't cheat yourself out of being the best you. Write down your principles. Don't portray yourself. Make sure that every decision you make, every word that ...
Sep 26, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Grief, Guilt and Multi Generational Transmission of Trauma Suzi talks about grief, guilt and multi-generational transmission of trauma to create a different way to move through the pain. Suzi talks about regret and how it can play into guilt and grief. Sometimes guilt shames us to the point of inaction or can push us to be ambivalent about living. To change how we face the storms in our lives we must learn how to turn and face the storms instead of running from them. Music credit to Kalvin Love ...
Sep 19, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Suzi continues her Veteran Affairs Healthcare System Series with Dr. Joe Mason, former psychiatrist at the VA CBOC clinic in Charlottesville, Virginia. Suzi and Joe discuss some of the problems within the system such as medication, therapy and tackling the challenges to provide adequate effective care to the veteran community. From these issues they talk about possible solutions that could help to create a better system to give our veteran community the care they deserve. Joseph T. Mason, MD, MS...
Sep 12, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Suzi continues her conversation with Retired Colonel Loren Weeks about being your own healthcare advocate and creating the team you will need to move forward in ensuring you are given the care you deserve. Asking questions, seeking truth and understanding how the system works and making it work for you. Music credit to Kalvin Love for the podcast’s theme song “Bee Your Best Self” Tune into our CHW Streaming Radio and the full lineup at cominghomewell.com Download on Apple Play and Google Play On...
Sep 05, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Send us a Text Message. Suzi is joined by Retired Colonel Loren Weeks to talk about some of the issues and possible solutions within the VA Healthcare system. Some of the questions are: Why is the Veterans Affairs Hospital system not mapped out to serve veterans as efficiently as they are served when on active duty? Why is it that when veterans go to a VA hospital no matter where the location, the EMR system cannot retrieve medical records from another VA location? Why does a veteran have to enr...
Aug 29, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Send us a Text Message. Suzi reconnects with Cathy Turner Murphy, Veteran spouse, daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, a virtual wellness coach, business mentor, caregiver advocate and fulltime RVer, about healthy living and contracting with another non-profit to work with the VA. Finding solutions to help our veteran and veteran caregivers connect, be supported and validated through partnerships and collaborations! We can't do it all and working as a team gives unity, fresh perspectives and renewed e...
Aug 22, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Join Suzi in her series dedicated to a new mission: Creating a new way of “healing” between veterans and the VA. We are going to dig into new ways the VA staff and veterans can create true wellness teams. The moment clinician and veteran meet, connection is the most important aspect of creating an effective and respectful wellness team. As clinicians, we must listen to those we serve. Veterans are their SME. They are the leader of their team and their new MOS is Wellness Team Leader. A mental he...
Aug 12, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Suzi follows up with Janelle Marina Méndez, a Marine veteran and human rights CEO of the Military Sexual Trauma Movement, founder of MSTM a Facebook support group for survivors of MST created in 2018 and human rights leader, about her Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) treatment. After 30+ years of layered trauma, Janelle has found a solution and way to manage and move forward in conquering her PTSD. Join Suzi in today's podcast as she highlights Janelle's journey to BE Crazy Well. Learn more about J...
Aug 08, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 23
How are you doing differently? Are you being or are you doing? Suzi ponders on the effectiveness of veteran resources and whether they are truly helping people to be well or are the numbers more important than the quality. Is peer to peer support more effective? When a person can relate to others who have been there and clearly understand the struggle, is this form of therapy more effective? Music credit to Kalvin Love for the podcast’s theme song “Bee Your Best Self” Tune into our CHW Streaming...
Aug 01, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Today Suzi is joined by friend, People Operations at Merging Vets and Players and military spouse, Lisa Parameter to talk about being your own person and creating the life you deserve. As a military spouse for more than 20 years, Lisa utilized every skill in her playbook to navigate the many adventures and wide array of cultures living in numerous locations across the country and overseas. Her relentless drive to contribute at both her work and in her community required her to continually upskil...
Jul 25, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 21
The ancient Masters didn’t try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know. When they think that they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don’t know, people can find their own way. ~ Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell Suzi dives deeper into being a know-it-all and letting go of having to always have the answers. The one size fits all diagnosis, and treatment is not helpful to those struggling. Everyone is different in their recovery an...
Jul 18, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Staying connected. Staying Engaged. Staying Together. In todays' episode Suzi reconnects with James Ferguson, Marine Veteran and founder of Warrior Reunion Foundation, to talk about the importance of wellness practices and staying connected. James talks about his time in service, his leadership and those that served alongside him. James reflects on how the importance of supporting each other led him to recreate the Warrior Reunion Foundation. The Warrior Reunion Foundation mission is to ensure e...
Jul 11, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Are you independent? Co-dependent? Or Interdependent? In today's episode, Suzi explains the difference between independence, codependency and interdependence within a family or relationship. Being dependent is when a party is reliant on another party for survival. In contrast interdependence is when two or more parties are reliant on each other for survival. Interdependence relies on those within the party. Each person has power, each person has value. You have made a pact! "Symbiosis is a relat...
Jul 04, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Continuing the conversation of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and what we can all do as a society to do better. Suzi talks with Janelle Marina Méndez, a Marine veteran and human rights CEO of the Military Sexual Trauma Movement, founder of MSTM a Facebook support group for survivors of MST created in 2018 and human rights leader. Suzi and Janelle discuss her time in the military, history of military sexual trauma, movements in helping survivors as well as, deciding to undergo Stellate Ganglion Blo...
Jun 27, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 17
