SALUTE TO SERVICE
ONE FLOAT AT A TIME The Chris Jones Story: Helping Veterans Battle PTSD using Float Therapy Story by Jeanette Wages | Brought to you by Defense Credit Union Council
Though he served for 26 years in the Military, Chris Jones never expected the Veterans Affairs Administration to give him an 80% disability rating for PTSD. “I’d never thought about what PTSD was. I’d heard of it, but I had never thought about the symptoms -- and that I definitely had it. My fight or flight response never truly turned off”. Chris originally enlisted in the Army, then decided to go to college through the Air Force ROTC program. He served as an Air Force officer for six years before laterally transferring to the Navy, where he spent the rest of his career until he retired in March 2016.
- his eyes were always scanning, brain always on alert. As he talked about this sensation with fellow hikers, one discussed with him the concept of floatation tanks as a way to reset and reconnect with oneself. Upon his return home, Chris decided to investigate the concept further.
Chris joined the military as a way to serve and give back to his country. Additionally, the military gave him the opportunity to travel the world and have a life he never thought he would experience. Upon retirement, Chris became a government contractor as the civilian version of his last assignment with the Navy. Rather than begin his new job immediately, his employer wanted him to use his terminal leave to take some personal time off. Though not his original plan, Chris is happy that he did.
One day, after a long day of work at the Pentagon, Chris took a detour on his way home to a Bethesda, MD floatation center — one of the only in the area. He noticed how tense he was sitting in traffic and thought there was no way he would be able to enjoy the float experience but he went anyway. With his very first float, he noticed a positive difference in his blood pressure and general outlook. He pursued the experience twice more at other flotations centers and noticed how his attitude was positively altered and his PTSD responses became less severe. Convinced of the therapeutic value of flotation, he bought a flotation tank for his home. Slowly, as his brain reset during his morning floats, he felt the universe push him to open his own center as a way to give back to his community.
During his time off, Chris decided to take a trip to Peru to hike the Inca Trail. While in the Peruvian wilderness hiking and camping along the trail, Chris realized that he was not able to turn off his sense of hypervigilance
To expand on this new endeavor, Chris enrolled in an accelerated night MBA program. When the course work focused on building theoretical business plans, Chris used the knowledge to develop his own business
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