Sara and Chad's Story - VETS, Inc.

Sara Wilkinson shares the story of her husband Chad Wilkinson, who served for 21 years as a US Navy SEAL. She shares Chad's experience in SEAL teams, and about the challenges he experienced as the years progressed. Tragically, Chad took his own life in 2018, and now Sara is committed to doing whatever it takes to end the veteran suicide epidemic.
Listen to Sara and Chad's story, and find out how VETS, Inc., is helping Special Forces veterans get the healing they and their families so desperately need.
Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit working to transform veteran healthcare by finding meaningful alternative solutions for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), post-traumatic stress (PTS). VETS, Inc. provides resources, research, and advocacy for U.S. Special Operations combat veterans seeking psychedelic-assisted treatment alternatives.
“I’ve listened to them talk about the ways that they’ve changed. I’ve heard spouses say that this saved his life. He’s a totally different person.”
Learn more and find out how you can help at www.vetsolutions.org.

[@cjapao8058]

PTSD / DEPRESSION is torture. Inner Demons that crush your self confidence. And a sadness that wears out your friends & family. A little bit of kindness & compassion SAVES LIVES.

[@walkingaspractice]

Sara...you know, I had moved from Quantico down to Camp Lejeune before freshman year; never had the chance to know Chad, but I was grateful to live nextdoor to you for a couple of years and reconnect for senior year. What an incredibly strong woman you are. Thinking of you and your precious kiddos and sending you love and respect from Austin, TX.

[@jake-5326]

Epitome of a silent professional. One of the most humble, talented dude’s I’ve ever met. So missed. Thanks to VETS for all you’re doing for so many.

[@andrabook8758]

if you know his widow, tell her to stop blaming herself (point 1) and to stop trying to figure out what happened looking backwards (point 2). There are a lot of assumptions being made in this video. There is also a fundamental misunderstanding of neur--sciences which you pretty much all seem to suffer from, and should be rectifying. I don't know if this is real or you're just a troll, but i do my best...

[@connorhall8463]

@@andrabook8758dude what are you even talking about

[@andrabook8758]

@@connorhall8463 well clearly I was having a conversation with a comment which no longer exists...so apparently it was a troll, afterall. What's your question exactly?

[@mc9805]

True Warriors - such as sad story....Always remembered

[@nothingleft3473]

Rest in Peace heroes. Every hour a vet commits suicide. It's extremely tough especially if you're alone.

[@williamb.2167]

The PTSD these guys have to deal with is terribly painful. When I watch a video of a WW2 vet talk about how bad d day was and then break out into an uncontrollable cry, can barely speak because of the tears. And that happened 75 years ago. But the memories are always in their head. I’m sure Chad saw things most of us would not dare to imagine. He didn’t take his own life, the war took away any chance at a normal life for him. RIP Chad Wilkinson. Ty for your service

[@amiralcookie3221]

When I was in mali with the French army I will always remember the time I shot a jihadist in the leg and captured him and seeing his wife and kids screaming and yelling so much. It broke me and now when I here someone screaming or crying I just keep thinking about that scene and this makes me want to kill myself. And it's not like I never shot a jihadist or arrested one, but this was the first time seeing his family and such fear, sadness. And one day because I live with my friend of 16 years (we can't afford a house on our own), I know she can be here for me, and she was. And this was in December of last year, she has friends over, I go to bed early. And I'm thinking about how exact scene, keep thinking and thinking and thinking. And I think about how I'm a 21 years old (at that time) young dude, got out of the army due to injury because I was hit by a rpg. And I think I have my 3 sisters and their families, I have my best friend, I can't let her down. But that scene was just too much I wrote a goodbye letter, placed it on the couch and then took a knife. Luckily for me I went to grab my phone and call an emergency hotline, told me to go see my friend in her room and then she took care of me, and also her friends that were with her were just super supportive. And it got better but I still think about it everyday and I just keep telling myself how fortunate am I to not be in France or the Pacific during ww2 and ww1. But yeah that's my little story and this is the memory i will always have in my head. RIP Chad Wilkinson, he will be remembered and is a legend.

[@andrabook8758]

the momories are still in his head bc he is not purging them out of his head. and same goes for the rest of you. talking about it helps you purge the sh*t. No one can take from you what you don't want to give up. The war cannot take a ''normal life" away from you unless it kills you. The rest is all about how you deal with the effects of the war. But you gotta stop telling yourselves and eachother, that you're permanently broken due to your life experiences. It doesn't matter if it's war, family abuse (any other kind of abuse), car crashes, etc. etc. etc. Your mind can help you achieve wonders, beyond what you think is possible right now...but NOT if you short-circuit yourself with garbage, defeatist mentality.

[@williamb.2167]

@@andrabook8758 I disagree. Sometimes the situation overtakes the person to the point of no return. Their mind is in too much pain and they need to end it. And none of us can imagine what this legend witnessed. So don’t be so fast to judge.

[@andrabook8758]

@@williamb.2167 it's not about judgement. it's about you being willing to accept that defeatism you just wrote, and me knowing better. You can say that about anyone: "none of us can know their pain." Yeah, you're right, you're never going to know their pain from inside their own head bc you're not them. That applies to everyone, and to every ''pain threshold". So, now what? You see how you just rationalized yourself into a dead end?

[@andrabook8758]

@@williamb.2167 you can't be so afraid of judgement all the time...

[@genepanasenkostraightunfiltere]

Rest in Peace, Hero! God Bless His Family!!

[@CureInsomnia]

This is heart breaking. You can't be a soldier and think it will not affect you, under the best of circumstances.

[@KingFlowDG]

FACTs…💔💔

[@garretdozier9596]

Honor and respect to you and your family. A true warrior and hero, never forgotten!

[@clymom]

RIP 😭 My cousin, a vet of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom killed himself a year ago. The PTSD is real and my heart aches for our silent heroes. 😭😭😭

[@tonybells131]

So sorry for yours and your family’s loss. RIP Chad .

[@biancasmith760]

Chad is so HANDSOME❤💔

[@johngg25]

God bless our American Patriots who serve this nation so selflessly. My heart breaks at Chad’s story. PTSD is a painful reality for our hero’s. Spreading the message like Chad’s, and programs like VETS, will help save our brave warriors once they’re home. 🙏

[@survivaldoggy]

God bless you ma'am. I'm so sorry this happened to your family.

[@AmericanMisfitt]

His story is known. The lessons will be taught. The line will not only be held but the bar raised. For Chad. For. Them. This is the way.

[@m.s.3519]

So sad. Much strength and courage for the family. Thanks for your service, Chad. RIP Greets from Germany Michael

[@angelapursley2811]

I am so very sorry for the loss of your husband...I am writing this through my tears...How I pray that someday the VA will ACTUALLY CARE for ALL of us Veterans no matter our rank or career field. This is beyond heartbreaking...so many od us are struggling to just make it through the day....

[@vetsolutionsorg]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@ucfkid67]

Just watched her on cleared hot. Very touching and moving. Thankyou

[@johnnyakutagawa72]

Thank you very much for sharing this story a real true American hero. Will always be remembered and never forgotten.

[@KingFlowDG]

Rest in peace my dear Brother! Your fight is over… 💔💔💔💔💔 and thanks so much for what you do and continue to do for us Navy veterans!! Veterans overall actually.. may God always bless you and your family! This had me in tears…

[@bendaves77]

Vets seems like a wonderful thing... I'm not a vet but I was physically abused until the age of 16.. I received many blows to the head which caused seizures starting at 18 until 31 or so.. the seizures delivered more head blows or trauma to my brain and my body.. I haven't had a seizure in 13 years which is awesome.. however I began noticing that I was always a happy person until about 4 or so years ago when I would go into these depressed states that would last for a day or so and go away.. the last 2 years of my life have been hell.. I'm in a depressed state most of the time and prefer to be alone.. I have a wife and 2 great kids... they really changed me for the better back around the age of 30 when I settled down... I quit drinking alcohol years ago but was prescribed narcotic pain meds for the chronic pain I have from the grand Mal seizures.. I was on them for 10 years or so.. I've been off them for over 2 years now.. the pain sucks for sure but this darkness that surrounds my mind is the worst... I would have never imagined that I would end up wanting to die rather than live.. I've been close to ending it but don't want to cause any trauma to the kids.. they're 13 and 12 and I pray that I can stick it out until they're raised.. I refuse to take a pharmaceutical for mental health after what I experienced with the pain medication... thanks to any veteran who might read this... you have went above and beyond to protect our great country... God bless

[@KingFlowDG]

This has been here for 6 months and I just noticed no one has reached out…. Hopefully u can read this. I don’t know you and that’s ok, but I’ll be keeping you in my prayers!! Hopefully you can read this message… and know you have One more Veteran. That served with honor and have lived what we had to live, so that YOU and your family can be here today!! Gosh bless you Ben, and I have faith things will get better!! I shouldn’t be here today writing this, but by gods Grace, I AM. And that’s why, I’m writing u today!!!🙏🏼🫂

[@peppersalt5335]

Beautiful family.

[@nev6250]

Beautiful green eyes.. RIP

[@nicknick8350]

Legendary and the history of fighters always repeat itself 🙏😞🇺🇲🇺🇸 rest in peace 🕊️with the gods. only the dead have seen the end of the war.

[@brittdriver4453]

God Bless this Family!❤

[@GG-tw1qw]

I'm really sorry this happened. It's different what this guy's have ... They are warriors . They might be husbands and fathers and uncles and brothers and sons but what they ultimately are is warriors . And I keep thinking how hard it is on them to settle for this comfortable life they have back home and to overcome the felling that they should be over there , fighting. We on our modern days are so detached from this mindset , from this spirit that we do not know how to deal with it.

[@10Cnote]

What a life to lose, Men will always hold things inside and will continue to do because no one ever gets it. Men are taught this and will always be taught this because there are dangers to us and we protect ourselves by hiding our pain and emotional distress.

[@Samokopecky]

0:34 Does anyone have a link to this song? Or is it made by the creator of the video? I know my comment is not very propriate to this video context but I really like the song, its Hazy - dreamer with guitar remix, but I can't find it.

[@RonnieWalker-rq4tn]

Seal and Seabe We Family always will be

[@Troy428492]

I feel sad Chad's wife and his two children they are gonna grew up without a father it's so sad 😢

[@andrabook8758]

If you are contemplating any type of self-damaging behaviour: your mind is in "freak out mode". Do nothing. Unless you think primal screaming in a forest or building a cabin would be a good idea :)... I do encourage people to try any kind of non-damaging behaviours to help them problem solve their way out of ''freak out mode". Otherwise: try to disconnect your actions from your thoughts. And focus on problem solving. I strongly suggest that you start with doing 1 thing which you find interesting per day. Interesting means: build something, design something, etc. Whatever sparks your interest and requires focus and active engagement. Something NEW, which you have not done before. Your brain cannot stay in ''freak out" mode. Literally, it runs out of chemicals eventually. It just doesn't run out of them immediately and on your command. (Bc...nothing works that way ever). Thus you must simply navigate your way through the mind storm. And then you get past it. You do get past it. It requires patience and time. All wounds heal eventually. But it requires you giving yourselves that time to heal. The above ''exercises" will help your mind to get past the tough times faster and without collateral damage to yourselves or your relationships. You don't need to wait for anyone to approve it for you. You don't need anyone to prescribe it for you. You can do it all on your own. It just requires you to understand how your brain works and what to do when it;s not working as well anymore. And to not freak out in the mean time. Yes, you're still in freak out mode even if you can hide it from your wife. Don't make the people who care about you, fight you, in order to help you. It is not fair.

[@bb0930]

Sit tibi terra levis Mr. Wilkinson

[@farmbear1231]

Sean Ryan told a story how Chad whooped his ass a couple times because Sean was outa line. That's how I first heard of him

[@cron1165]

Holy shit I remember that story from Shaun's channel. That was Chad??? Damn man.

[@fer27s7]

Do you remember which video was it?

[@cron1165]

@@fer27s7 I believe it was this one, he talks about Chad in his story m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3SZdGWobpipm6s

[@fer27s7]

@@cron1165 Thanks!

[@cron1165]

@@fer27s7 No problem!

[@andrabook8758]

what should really be mandated is better training (in terms of PTSD related topics), than what is happening right now. The main topic which keeps coming up in all these videos is that neither the Seals nor anyone around them really understood what was happening to them in terms of PTSD. If you don't understand what is happening, you cannot see your way out of the fog, and that is usually when things go awry. And your family(spouses) cannot help you, if you don;t know what you need and you cannot communicate that to them and you just shut down. I hope this makes sense. The "numbness" is normal. The withdrawl is normal (usually it's you trying to figure out what is happening and your brain trying to process -- people withdraw, as a way to try to work out on their own what is happening). The spikes of emotions are normal (it;s a response to stress levels...I just saw a couple dudes in traffic ''emotionally spiking" the other day...just bc you're able to withstand a ton more stress before you reach that ''spiking" point, doesn't mean you won't act the same way when you do reach it). What is needed is for people to stop freaking out about all these stages and work through them. You are still human. If someone cuts you, you bleed. It is not helpful or logical for you all to assume that physical damage cannot occur to you (and your brain) when exposed to war. You might as well be pretending that bc your's a SEAL, you don't bleed...that is factually incorrect and impossible. You see what I mean, yes? You do need to accept reality and start working on real solutions. Sometimes those solutions involve combat training to stay away from knives coming your way, and some times they involve other types of training to understand how to deal with PTSD. You need to have situational awareness of your situation. And the solution is never to off yourself. It;s to put in the work to have that situational awareness and know how to get past those dangers. I did my best to explain this in combat terms. I hope it helps.

[@charr007]

It's a limit ,mentally speaking if you pass this limit then you have suicidal thoughts in the Army as a veteran I can see the reality nowadays its hard for the ex soldiers out there so to speak ask for help try different therapy you can find support

[@thegreatnessoftheraiders4948]

2:54 10,000 yard stare

[@craftpaint1644]

People who are self destructive cannot be saved with appeals to accept a normalcy that they believe they no longer fit into, or that think that everyone around them would be better off if suicide stops the pain they feel at fault for. Even heaven and hell seem both to be mirror images of the situation they despise. So they have nothing and believe nothing is where they belong. If you are struggling right now, I want you to redirect your attention to things that are new and beautiful. If you do that, you can gift yourself a new life that has left the old one behind. It's like what Jesus said about being born again for your old self has been killed exactly as you wanted it to be. That's the best input I have, take care and love again 🙋🇺🇲🛠️🇷🇺

[@sillygoose3456]

🇺🇲

[@miker72794]

The evil that rules this world would have us believe that our burdens are too heavy to overcome, and that Jesus cannot and will not save us. Don’t believe the enemy. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus will remove your heavy burden of guilt and hopelessness and give you true rest in Him.“

[@KyleATW]

Psilocybin mushrooms can save so many soldiers’ lives.

[@josel8311]

I would love to die side to side with these people...

[@Bluecharger55]

I just hate this story. It should be required by the VA that every combat veteran have a brain ct once per year. I believe blast concussion effects the brain in many. We can prove it by the football players years later after retiring. But I’m no doctor or do I know anything. Just spit balling what I think. He was an American hero.