Although Hector Medina, a retired Marine staff sergeant, was no longer on the battlefield, he found himself still "walking his post."

"At night, I walked around my house checking that all the doors and win¬dows were secured and was on the lookout for strange noises," he said. "I got startled by thunder or fireworks - I don't enjoy loud noises anymore."

Medina was experiencing hypervigi¬lance, an enhanced state of increased awareness of the surrounding environ¬ment, as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

During the seasoned veteran's second deployment to Iraq with the Marine Aircraft Group 26, he faced intense warfare.

"My unit was exposed in one degree or another to constant mental duress," said Medina. "Our lives never were the same when we returned home."

Once Medina redeployed, he noticed he was emotionally disconnected, or as he described it, "numb."

"I had a hard time connecting with my loved ones. My social circle practically shrank to zero. I became a recluse," he said. "I just felt a great sense of guilt for leaving, knowing that my fellow Marines were out there in Iraq."

Medina's PTSD didn't stem from a phys¬ical injury, nor was it a result of an iso¬lated incident from his time in Iraq. His psychological health concerns, like many returning veterans, were aftereffects of his entire experience while deployed in a combat setting. Once he noticed that his mood was bordering along violent, he knew he had to seek help.

"My mood changed and I was afraid that my life was spiraling out of control. I was constantly arguing with my wife and lost my temper at the drop of a hat," he said. "I went to the mental health department at Quantico and saw a flyer."

The flyer was for the Specialized Care Program at the Deployment Health Clinical Center (DHCC), a compo¬nent center of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE). The three-week program trains veter¬ans and service members to cope with psychological health concerns after deployment. It consists of group therapy and one-on-one sessions that promote healthy life practices, such as yoga nidra and mind-body relaxation techniques, cognitive therapy and peer support.

Medina signed up.

"Group therapy was a healing experi¬ence because, for once, I did not feel like I was the only one feeling the way I felt. I was able to open up and unload some of the burden I have been carry¬ing with me all this time," Medina said. "The yoga classes were terrific, because they helped me relax and heal myself."

The program taught Medina tools to manage his PTSD, and "understand my symptoms, myself and helped my fam¬ily understand me."

Medina, now a principal administrator for Marine Corps Enterprise Informa¬tion Technology Services Operations Center, attributes the DHCC program, and his proactive approach to treat¬ment, as key factors to his reintegration and successful management of PTSD.

"I worked with a great team. The treat¬ment I had at DHCC has helped in my new environment," he said. "I am glad I took this step. I now realize that it was not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Talking about this helps the healing process and also gives hope to people who are currently dealing with the same issues that I dealt with upon my return from deployment."