Soldier’s Heart: Welcome Home

Welcome to soldiersheart.org

An Open Letter to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan

What is Soldier’s Heart?
Why Soldier’s Heart?
How can I help?
Who is soldiersheart.org?

What is Soldier’s Heart?

Today, we call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Before that, troops came home with Vietnam Syndrome.
Three wars earlier, we had Battle Fatigue or Shell Shock.
But in more poetic times, there was Soldier’s Heart.

In the era of the United States Civil War, the most barbaric modern conflict up to that time, veterans returning home were often said to have “soldier’s heart”. Unstable emotions, frequently spurred by guilt, led to withdrawal from their families and from life. Their concerned loved ones needed a way to frame this condition that changed the men they knew before the war. Somehow, the expression “soldier’s heart” became commonplace. As with the Twentieth Century ailment of tennis elbow, soldier’s heart is a condition that comes from over-exertion. In this case, emotional over-exertion.

Then, as now, returning warriors lived with a combination of horror, guilt, fear, and ingrained survival instinct that would not go away. For many, the only relief to be found was in a bottle. For others, solace could only be found in death. Suicide. Terminal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Soldier’s Heart.

Over the years, with changing societal views of war, of warriors, and of psychiatry, the name given to soldier’s heart has changed as well. During World War I, with its trench warfare, advanced field artillery and the introduction of tanks as weapons, “Shell Shock” seemed the appropriate name to describe the soldier and his “thousand yard stare”. World War II saw protracted campaigns with troops commonly serving through years of one battle after another: day after day of killing and dying from one island to another, or one hilltop to the next, leading many to suffer from “Battle Fatigue”. It wasn’t until several years after the Vietnam War that the military, the Veterans Administration, the medical community and society saw that whenever people endure any trauma (this is not limited to combat), physical and mental residue is left behind after the trauma is gone. Thus, today we have “"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”.

Whatever the name, and whatever the conflict, combat-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects a large number of military veterans. From the current US conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is estimated that as many as 35% of the 1.2 million US servicemembers who have cycled through the region are already exhibiting strong signs of PTSD, an illness known for its tendency to lay dormant for years or decades.

Why “Soldier’s Heart”?

This website, soldiersheart.org, started out to promote an evening of staged reading performance titled, Performing Wellness VII, Soldier’s Heart: Stories of the Aftermath of War, produced by The Well Arts Institute at Portland, Oregon in April, 2005.

Following the Performing Wellness process, seven veterans and one wife of a Korean War veteran started with weekly writing workshops in September, 2004, which led the group to writing of their experiences and lives in December and January. Finally, in February, 2005, professional actors were brought in to work with the writers and the director to transform the work of the writers into performance pieces for the stage. As with any production, one priority was to name it, and to give it a name which would express what the artists envisioned as well as draw in an audience. Inspired by the words of his teenage daughters, one of the writers suggested “Soldier’s Heart”, an antiquated term from a more poetic time. The team of writers worked and massaged it until they came up with the final title.

Performing Wellness VII, Soldier’s Heart: Stories of the Aftermath of War was set to open on April 10, 2005.

One of the writers wanted to put up a website to promote the show, so he registered the name soldiersheart.org as soon as the group had decided on the name in February. While working on the promotional website, it made sense to include information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the thing that brought this group of writers together almost five months earlier. While researching PTSD online, it became clear that not only was information disparate, and difficult to find, but that there was no one source that pulled together medical and psychiatric information together with information on resources to deal with the disorder. In itself, this dearth created a new mission for the website originally founded merely to promote an independant stage production.

“Soldier’s Heart” premiered at Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall to remarkably positive public response. All four scheduled performances sold out, and when a matinee was announced for April 16, it sold out in less than a day. Along with the success of the stage production, the website saw a great deal of traffic, especially on the Information and Resources pages.

People had been sending the links around to friends and acquaintances whom they thought could benefit from what was made available at soldiersheart.org. By the end of the production run, it was decided that the website should continue on along this tangential line, and now soldiersheart.org is filling a void with the goal of being the most complete single point of information for education, support, and health for combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on the Web.

Additionally, in keeping with the philosophy of “Wellness through the Arts” that is the guiding force of The Well Arts Institute, soldiersheart.org now includes a gallery of artwork created by military veterans.

How can I help?

Reach out

If you know a veteran, welcome him or her home. Even if your friend came home 30 years ago, and you’ve only known each other for two years, say it out loud: “Welcome back. Welcome Home.” Too many veterans have never heard those words.

If you know a veteran who appears to be having trouble, let him know that you are there to listen. And if he or she does start to talk, listen. LISTEN. Really listen. You don’t have to solve anyone’s problems, but merely through the act of listening, you can help.

Spread the word

Help us out

Who is soldiersheart.org?

soldiersheart.org is a project of Sean T Lewis, a disabled veteran of the First Persian Gulf War (Desert Storm). Sean goes through life as a single parent, network technician, activist, writer, lover, friend, and all-around good egg. Occasionally, he will work as a theatre tech, actor, or model, and he is moving toward including more creative work in his life. Sean can be reached via e-mail sent to ’seantlewis at soldiersheart.org’.f

Some would call soldiersheart.org a one-man show, but the reality is that Sean has been helped by many people to make this site a reality. Foremost, much of the credit for this website goes to the good people at The Well Arts Institute, and the writers and actors of Performing Wellness VII, Soldier’s Heart: Stories of the Aftermath of War. Kate Hawkes, Artistic Director of The Well Arts Institute, has been a particular inspiration.

Special thanks also needs to be extended to Eric Jaakkola, whose photograph entitled “Regret” expresses this webmaster’s feelings related to PTSD so well that it inspired the thematic mood of the soldiersheart.org website. When asked for permission to use his photograph to promote Performing Wellness VII and the website, Eric’s answer was a quick “Yes.” Thank you, Eric!

Finally, and too numerous to name, are the family, friends and supporters of this work. When asked for ideas, they have come forth. When asked for art, they have obliged. When asked for money for materials, outreach promotion, or webspace, they have given. With gifts as small as $3, and as large as $25, these generous people have opened their hearts as well as their wallets, expressing their personal values, and showing their support for veterans.