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In this preview episode of Survival in the Trenches: Life Beyond Loss, the SITT team—Kelly Chandler, Michael Chandler, and JJ Kirkpatrick—introduces listeners to the mission behind their impactful new show. They share how their work provides a safe space for people to share their stories of profound loss and resilience, offering a variety of resources and fostering empathy and awareness around mental health, PTSD, and tragic loss.
Driven by their “AERO” principle—Awareness, Empathy, Resources, and Outcomes—the team is committed to creating real, lasting change for individuals who have faced unimaginable challenges. The conversation highlights their dedication to partnering with non-profits and socially responsible businesses to maximize impact, focusing on purposeful outcomes over profit. By collaborating with organizations like the PTSD Foundation and leveraging both traditional and innovative technologies, they aim to develop proactive solutions that address critical issues before they escalate.
Through inspiring interviews and heartfelt storytelling, Survival in the Trenches brings awareness to invaluable resources and healing techniques, encouraging listeners to support others or find the strength to seek help themselves.
Bound Hat Co. combines style with purpose, crafting premium hats that not only look great but give back to meaningful causes. Every purchase helps support initiatives that make a real impact, so you can wear your values with pride.
If you’re facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, call or text 988.
Caring counselors are there for you. You are not alone.
The EMTs allowed me to go say goodbye to my husband. And when I did, I promised. I thanked him, number one, for our life. I thanked him for the best five years of my life. And I promised him that I would take care of our family and that our baby would be a happy baby and that she would be born into love and light and not tragedy and negativity.
“So we got through the TAPS and, and I remember the doctor said, ‘I’m not here to make anybody feel better. I’m here to make sure you feel.’ So what a lot of people do is they forget to feel. They forget to feel the pain.
“A lot of people are familiar with Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s stages of grief. And a lot of therapists don’t even really like the term stages because it makes it seem like it is this linear path. Like you go through anger, you go through bargaining, you go through depression, you go through acceptance. And you might go through all of those things, you might not. So I like using, like phases or states of grief. This is a state of grief you might be in. Some people don’t go through bargaining, some people don’t go through anger. And that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.”
“Darkness is a breeding ground for creation. In order to see the light, we have to go through the darkness.”
It was 11:02pm. And it was Dale’s phone calling me. It was his friend. She found him in his apartment, and basically told me that he was in really bad shape. He was really hurt. I asked if she could help him, and she said, “No, I can’t.” And I just said, “Help him! Why can’t you help?”
I couldn’t even comprehend what she was trying to tell me. And a police officer got on the phone and confirmed who I was and then confirmed the news that Dale was gone. And so there I was in my hotel room, out of town, by myself.
