Veterans

There was a time I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t focus. Couldn’t feel joy.

After returning from deployment, something inside me had changed. I wasn’t the man who had left – at least not entirely. I tried to tough it out, bury it, distract myself with work or numbing routines. But the nightmares persisted. The anger came quickly. The sadness stayed longer than it should have. And even in moments meant to be happy – like the birth of my daughter – I felt like I was watching from far away.

Eventually, I tried therapy. Medication. A group program. Some of it helped. But I still felt stuck.

Then someone mentioned brain training – neurofeedback. I didn’t know much about it, but at that point, I was open to anything that might quiet my mind. What I didn’t expect was how quickly I’d feel the shift. Not dramatic. Not like flipping a switch. But subtle, powerful changes that added up.

I started sleeping through the night. I stopped clenching my jaw all the time. I laughed – really laughed – for the first time in months. And the biggest shift? I wanted to live again. Not just get by, but live.

I’m not the only one. A Canadian neurofeedback study shared by the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families found that 60% of participants receiving neurofeedback no longer met diagnostic criteria for PTSD by the end of the trial. It also helped with sleep, anxiety, and emotional regulation. I can confirm all of that – and more.