The Camouflaged Heart

By Susie Guckin

I challenge you to believe that life isnt about suffering; its about growth. Growing from our experiences whether they appear to be good or bad, is all part of living our lives. Consider that maybe our trauma is part of our evolution as a human being, not the breaking down of a human being.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504330329

Susie Guckin

Susie Guckin, a “Warriors At Ease” and McLean Meditation Institute certified meditation teacher and Reiki II practitioner walks you through her personal story of injuries that go far beyond what the eye could ever see. She was injured in two car accidents, but never sustained a single, external scratch from either of them. However, the internal brain injuries left a lasting and confusing impact on her life, creating long term memory loss that has not been recovered. Her journey of recognition, acceptance, education, and development of tools to help her heal from traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress (PTSD), and trauma was divinely guided and inspired through her time volunteering with the wounded and transitioning troops at the local Army base. She has given talks on TBI, PTSD, and meditation at Community Medical Center Hospital, Toms River, NJ and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. She has also participated as an energy work practitioner for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) at the Blue Cliff Monastery: Veterans Mindfulness Retreat in Pine Bush, New York. She is the owner of “Peaceful Warriors” (www.peacefulwarriormeditation.us), where she offers trauma-sensitive meditation and energy work in her hometown at the Jersey Shore. She is a “Warriors At Ease” certified trauma-sensitive meditation teacher with advanced training in military combat stress, trauma, post-traumatic stress, and resiliency. She is also a McLean Meditation Institute, “Simple Easy Every Day (S.E.E.D. ©) certified meditation teacher with training in stress management and stress reduction. She is also a Reiki II practitioner.

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Copyright © 2015 Susie Guckin.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-3031-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3033-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3032-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015904796

Balboa Press rev. date: 04/14/2015

Contents

Dedication

About the Author

Introduction

Preface

Chapter 1 How It All Began

Chapter 2 Early Symptoms and Another Accident

Chapter 3 Less Obvious Symptoms

Chapter 4 Symptom Specifics

Chapter 5 Overcoming Obstacles

Chapter 6 Seeking Help

Chapter 7 My Greatest Teachers

Chapter 8 The Process

Chapter 9 Fear As Fuel

Chapter 10 Dealing With Fears And Changed Relationships

Chapter 11 Experiencing Life Through New Eyes

Chapter 12 A Remarkable Coincidence

Chapter 13 The Camouflaged Heart

Chapter 14 Seeds of Service

Acknowledgements

DEDICATION

To the many brave men and women who have served our country and know the peril of PTSD and TBI.

Thank you for all that you continue to teach each of us about courage and recovery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susie Guckin is a Warriors at Ease certified meditation teacher with advanced training in military combat stress, trauma, post-traumatic stress, and resiliency. She is also a McLean Meditation Institute certified meditation teacher with training in stress reduction and stress management, as well as, a Reiki II practitioner. She is the owner of Peaceful Warriors offering trauma-sensitive meditation and energy work at the Jersey Shore.

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INTRODUCTION

I once met with a military chaplain who was very kind to me. He said, Susie, you have infiltrated a brotherhood that doesn’t trust anyone except each other. You are what we call a wounded healer. A wounded healer is someone who has come through trauma and survived to tell the tale of how they recovered as a means to help others. I didn’t understand the statement he made at the time, but I can clearly see what he meant by it. I have been in the trenches of injury, self-defeat, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the car accidents I experienced. The soldiers I have befriended along my path of recovery from my injuries told me it doesn’t matter whether I have ever been to war or if I have ever served in the military. They weren’t interested in judging my experience or looking at how I got hurt, just that I somehow understood how they were feeling from the inside out. I know trauma and I know PTSD. With that, I have crawled out of the trenches" and am extending my hand to the others who are trying to climb their way out towards recovery too.

If you know someone who suffers from TBI or PTSD, or maybe you are the one suffering from their impact on your life, this story is for you. I challenge you to believe that life isn’t about suffering. It’s about growth. Growing from our experiences whether they appear to be good or bad, is all part of living our lives. Consider that maybe our trauma is part of our evolution as a human being, not the breaking down of a human being.

PREFACE

I come from a family with a history of military service in several branches of the United States military. My father was a drill instructor at Fort Dix during the Vietnam Era. My parents lived on post, where my father was eventually medically retired. My appreciation for the military was modeled by my mother, and my appreciation for the plight of soldiers and other military personnel comes from my own experiences with trauma and post-traumatic stress, as well as nine years of volunteering with soldiers at the same base my parents had lived on. I am the owner of Peaceful Warriors, which offers trauma-sensitive meditation and energy work for the benefit of stress reduction, stress management,