Veterans Find Fun and Peace on Lake Michigan

The goal of the aquatic adventure is to help provide Veterans experiencing the effects of PTSD, anxiety, and depression a reprieve as well as finding new ways to enjoy life with new activities.

“Introducing Veterans to leisurely activities is important because a lot of them that come through our program aren’t engaged in leisure and are very isolative, so a big thing we work on is expanding their engagement and creating a better quality of life,” said Heather Fleming, Battle Creek VA Medical Center, PTSD Recreation Therapist. “With West Michigan Sail, they are able to engage with sailing for free and we help make it something accessible and to be able to bring back home with them even after they’ve been discharged.”

Research dating back to 2019, led by Dr. William Marchand, a VA Salt Lake City psychiatrist, began with 25 Veterans with mental health conditions or substance use disorder, is showing to have a positive affect with patients. The act of being engaged in sailing is a practice of mindfulness, which involves focusing on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. 

People with PTSD can have several distressing and persistent symptoms, including re-experiencing trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, and emotional numbness. They can also have sleep problems, difficulties in relationships, sudden anger, and drug and alcohol misuse.

“One thing that I’ve noticed with the last few trips that we’ve done is that Veterans always talk about how calm they are after they get off the water and how they could spend all day out there because it’s decompressing and relaxing,” said Fleming.

For Army Veteran Brandon Akerman, who recently participated in a session of sailing, the effect was felt very quickly and clearly.

“It’s a nice opportunity to relax your brain and decrease the stress because our lives are so busy, and we’ve been trying to compensate for whatever’s going on that this lets us relax and remember that there’s other things out there to do and enjoy life with and take a break,” said Akerman.

The event that Akerman was part of, involved a diverse group of five other Veterans. During their time on the 30 ft. sailboat, they were given hands-on training with line-handling, nautical terminology, and were each given an opportunity to take the helm to steer the boat.

“It was awesome and interesting to try and figure out how the wind is working with the boat and how to navigate those pieces because it’s technical so trying to learn those points to make the boat move is interesting because some of it is counter intuitive,” said Akerman.

For many Veterans, getting together outside of a clinical environment as a group also offers a chance for conversation and comradery with others with similar experiences. This can also lend to recovery efforts that Recreation Therapy aims to deliver.

“I think it’s a big deal a lot of these Veterans because it’s not always easy to get out of our houses and with all of the responsibilities we have, so I think it’s a huge deal for us to get out and connect with other Veterans and talk with other people that have some of the same issues that are troubling our lives,” said Akerman.

Recreational therapy is part of VA’s broad rehabilitation program and can be found at VA facilities across the country, offering Veterans an opportunity to learn adaptive sports and recreational activities. Programs like this can also include surfing, adaptive fitness, kayaking, cycling, yoga and meditation in addition to sailing.

“This is a really good opportunity for any Veteran so they can reach out to the West Michigan SAIL program as they offer this free for any Veteran whether they are out-patient, or enrolled with our VA but simply have an interest you can reach to them, and they will be happy to help and passionate to give back to Veterans,” said Fleming.

More information about Battle Creek VA Medical Center’s Recreation Therapy can be found under the drop-down menu for Recreation and creative arts therapy.