SWIHA Blog

Ingrid Huffman is tackling the major issue of PTSD among military veterans... and she’s using tools she learned at SWIHA to help.

While the health issues facing returning military personnel are many, few present such a unique set of challenges as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a military nurse who served in the Navy–and later with the Army Nurse Corps in Iraq—Ingrid is committed to creating a world without PTSD—and a world without the suicide and homelessness rates among veterans and their families to which it contributes.

Ingrid is intimately familiar with the toll this disorder takes. After graduating from the University of Colorado, she spent four years with the Navy Nurse Corps and another nine as a civilian nurse. When the United States invaded Iraq, she joined the Army Nurse Corps—a decision which profoundly shaped her life and her understanding of the world around her.

We pass hundreds—even thousands—of people on the street every day, usually without a second look. Yet, that’s not quite the case for Ann Marie Rubertone, who possesses the gift of “seeing” energy. "I can see and feel the frequences that others radiate, so I understand 'energetically' what they are thinking," she explains. 

This powerful form of seeing and empathizing perhaps evolved from Ann Marie's difficult and diverse background, which includes overcoming domestic violence, abuse, infertility, multiple sclerosis, and drug addiction. Although Ann Marie once felt that she was never good enough and that she would never fit in, her journey of recovery has been inspiring.

For Tammy Coin, wellness is not a destination; it’s a magical adventure through a hall of mirrors hidden behind locked doors. Tammy also believes that the key to unlocking those doors and understanding the confusing reflections in that hall lies in developing a conscious awareness of our own life stories.

Tammy's story begins with a history of childhood trauma and abuse and complex PTSD, factors which created a strong sense of separation from other people within her... something which other survivors of trauma can certainly relate to and understand. "We often have feelings of not being enough, being empty, unseen, unheard, invisible and like nobody gets us,” Tammy articulates. “Naturally, I attract clients with similar histories. There is no greater gift than to feel seen and heard... to feel that somebody ‘gets it.’”

Breaking points are sometimes seen as negative events that stem from—or even represent—a failure in someone’s life. Yet for SWIHA Life Coaching graduate Laura Richer, hitting a breaking point is a golden opportunity— a valuable tool she attempts to pass on to her clients.

When people consider what it means to be a life coach, they might dream up an external support system who offers solutions to their clients’ struggles and acts as a “rescuer.” Yet, Eric Casaccio—a life coach who specializes in addressing narcissistic situations and their aftermath— knows the truth: for a life coach, allowing clients to discover their own answers is critical for success.

For Bridgett Zehnder, finding her niche as a life coach came as an extension of the challenges she faced and overcame in her own life. “Like most of us that work in the Healing Arts field, we have developed our message from our mess,” she confides. Bridgett’s “mess” wound up looking like co-dependency, alcoholism, dysfunctional relationships, divorce, and loss— roadblocks which stemmed from childhood trauma and which were keeping her from leading a healthy life.

“Because of the strain this put on me emotionally, I developed debilitating pain through fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue,” she explains. “I did not find any relief from the traditional medical field, yet I fought hard to find a path of healing.” After joining a 12-step program, implementing significant dietary changes, picking up a meditation practice, and engaging with other holistic therapies, like hypnotherapy, Bridgett finally found her hope returning. It was ultimately these triumphs over suffering that would shape her as a life coach and offer a blueprint for her clients facing obstacles in their own careers and lives.