S2:E4 From Pain to Purpose with Sara & Kira Schaffer

One of the toughest jobs we ever have in life is not as being a member of the military and the challenges of being in the service, but rather, our job as a parent. When one of our children gets sick, we try to “fix” the issue. What happens though when the “illness” relates to mental health for our children? The how and what we do to help things are not quite so easy to navigate. Sara and Kira Schaffer join the From Pain to Purpose Radio Show today to share their journey in mental health. Sara (mom) and Kira (teenager) share some insights in Kira’s mental health challenges since she was a young child. She had some challenges in middle school with peer bullying especially which led to self harm. Changing schools from public to private helped some because private school saw her as an individual but it didn’t solve the “problem”. The years of struggle had taken a toll. Sara and her husband found a treatment home in East Texas that provided a welcoming long term place where Kira could get the residential help that she needed to help her grow to where she is today. Alas, both Sara and Kira are positive and hopeful that Kira is in a much better state of mind than where she was. The realization is that the problem was the problem and that neither Sara or Kira own that they “caused” anything but what they have is a journey to heal and can do it in a supportive manner. Kira’s parents remain engaged in guiding Kira as she moves into adulthood and find her way and her purpose in life. Thank you both for sharing your story, being vulnerable, removing the mental health stigma, and helping the veteran family with some parallels in moral injury, healing, and recovery. #veteranpodcast #VeteranVoices #VeteranAuthor #mentalhealth #teenmentalhealth #Veterans