Shownotes Transcript
In this episode we meet Kylie James....founder of Veterans Retreat just minutes out of Gympie on the Fraser Coast, South East Queensland. Growing up in outback South Australia Kylie was drawn to the Army by the allure of watching a helicopter-fly-by in "The Army, The Edge" advertising campaigns. Kylie shares her experience serving a 20 year career as a "Yardie" in RAAOC, how a posting as a Recruit Instructor allowed her to find her own style and growth in a predominantly male culture. Moving armies on deployment is a complex and difficult task, where the threat of death, exposure to direct, third-party trauma and internal base dangers constantly at the doorstep are very real (even in the rear-echelons)PTSD can be caused by many different types of trauma. In addition to the threats on deployment, what happens domestically at home can also be a massive stressor and this along with an unresolved trauma in the first year of her career, was the trigger for PTSD whilst on operations. Luckily for her, she had a battle buddy and amazing medical staff who implemented a self-care plan that enabled her to complete the mission.From one tour to another, Kylie barely had time to repatriate with her family before being deployed again for the Gold Coast, Commonwealth Games...a catalyst for family breakdown this was the straw that broke the camels back. Officially broken sheexplains how the in-action, lack of empathy from her direct command and horrendous discharge process stripped her of "IDENTITY" further sinking her into the deep dark hole.Immediate support has been pivotal in her continual road to recovery, the gifting of a flock of sheep and a stay at "Diggers Rest" respite location was the inspiration she needed to build a similar space of her own which has now become "Veterans Retreat". Kylie has now a new found purpose as the "Crazy Farmer Chick" for her own self-care and pays it forward with the retreat being a space available for the benefit of veterans, first-responders and their immediate support/carers.She is an advocate for meaningful engagement, equine/animal therapy along with collaborations with other external service organisations who's goals and mission align with her own.Contact - Kylie JamesFB Messenger - @veteransretreatESO - https://www.facebook.com/Veterans-Retreat-2303020373149319/)Website - https://www.veteransretreat.org.au)Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/veteransretreat/)Invisible Injuries ESO Showcase - Veterans Retreat)"RESPECT, NO POLITICS, WE'RE VOLUNTEERS"Disclaimer: The accounts and stories are "Real lived experiences" of our guests some of the content may trigger Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms in some of our audience. Feedback regarding other organisations, courses and initiatives remains largely unsensored. Whether its good or bad they remain the OPINION of our guests and their experiences it is important in building an accurate statistic on what really happens. During the course of our conversations sometimes sensitive information may be accidentally mentioned, as such, Invisible Injuries respects the law and sensors any information that may breach Operational Security OPSEC
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