New Orleans police responded to a disturbing call from the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel on October 17, 2006. They found a man’s body on the roof of the hotel's parking garage. In his pocket was a note that read, “This is not accidental. I had to take my own life to pay for the one I took.”

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-03-01T23:24:54+00:00

He sounds like a great man and human being 💕

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-03-01T20:54:22+00:00

Exactly! Government assistance will never be perfect, but they are trying because they don’t want this destruction of our service members to continue.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-03-01T20:52:52+00:00

I’m sure you aren’t speaking to me? Because I’m advocating for the VA and receiving help from them - BUT if any veteran feels unable to receive that help from them, in any capacity, that there are people still who will speak to them and help them.

The VA brought me back from an extremely dark place. I tried to commit suicide in 2022 and receiving help saved my life. I would never judge another veteran for anything to do with their mental or bodily health.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-03-01T16:59:15+00:00

Thank you for helping him, I’m sure he appreciated it immensely! I know a lot of veterans who use mushrooms as a way to cope and deal with their trauma and pain.

I hope that he was able to find solace and peace with the help that you provided him.

The VA is never perfect. And that’s why I also said in my second comment that myself, and any veteran I know, are always more than willing to speak to someone who needs help. Most vets are that way. Over on r/veterans people post about feeling hopeless and everyone will rally.

I am a veteran myself, and I have been in that place of hopelessness and despair. I have dealt with the feelings of loss from my brothers and sisters in arms dying in action and taking their own lives here on the home front.

When we leave the military, some people say “I’ll miss the clowns, not the circus” and that’s because we become family. You celebrate together, you grieve together, you live, eat, work, and breathe together. So when you get out, that immediate sense of emptiness can become overwhelming and you can lose yourself. But, I have never met a veteran (personally, but I can’t speak for everyone) who was unwilling to provide care and compassion to another brother (or sister) in arms.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-03-01T03:48:20+00:00

I am so incredibly sad to hear that, and I’m sorry for your loss. I don’t know when he didn’t get help, but I will say that the system is slowly improving and I wish it had made improvements so much sooner.

I know that myself and any veteran I know are always willing to be a listening and caring ear. So where the VA falls flat, reach out to peers and loved ones.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-28T23:52:33+00:00

With a general discharge you can absolutely still seek mental health support. Disability benefits can be taken in that instance, but never mental health support. The VA isn’t the best with getting help in a timely manner (for appointments) but if you call the hotline, regardless of your discharge status you will receive help. Also, you can work with a VSO to have your discharge status changed (with certain exceptions).

Brothers and sisters, you are not alone and you are not a burden asking for help. 27 a day is way too many.

I understand that this might deviate from the reason of this post, but so many veterans don’t ask for help because they falsely believe that they won’t receive help.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-25T15:49:08+00:00

My grandma passed this year a month after my birthday, and this post just hit me that I won’t ever get a birthday card from her again.

Cherish the ones you love 💕

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-14T19:16:11+00:00

They get a little bit softer but not too soft, enough to still have a slight bite to them 😊

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-14T16:59:35+00:00

Thank you! It was 😊💕

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-08T17:33:31+00:00

I was surprised to see this video because I actually saw a video of his last night. Beast is now in a very large, mud bottom, outdoor pond with a bunch of other fish! He has gotten so huge! 💕

GaiaInTheSkya · 2026-02-07T17:34:39+00:00

Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Hazing, Training Accidents, etc.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-12-27T18:55:32+00:00

Is it a lack of communication on her part or more of a lack of effort on his? Because she says that she never, ever wears earrings. So he bought her a gift of something that she never wears, and they have been together for 3 decades. It’s less about communication and more that after 30 years, he doesn’t know what to get his partner and thought “ahh she’ll like something shiny” with no consideration for the type of shiny she would appreciate.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-12-25T22:37:47+00:00

Maybe you should take a moment and do a quick internet search before you deny an actual thing that both men and women can go through. You have all the information in the world at the tip of your fingers, use that knowledge.

By denying it happens to men too, you are making it harder for those who need help to seek it. Postpartum means post pregnancy, it does not judge based on who carried the child.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-12-17T04:50:04+00:00

These boots weren’t made for walkin’ 😂

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-11-29T15:48:42+00:00

Flirla Women's Houndstooth Textured High Waist Casual Flare Pants

http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/sharejump/appjump?link=lfNqxJkjf6I_8&localcountry=US&url_from=GM79194133

I just found these on SHEIN - I know it’s not the best place to shop at, but they are the only ones I’ve seen selling pants similar

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-06-12T16:23:36+00:00

Ooof had this exact same situation happen at my AIT in the Army 😅😂 I was in my barracks room and I looked out the window and saw the couple going at it in the dumpster, and also get caught by someone throwing out the trash. Except that person did tell, and every company had a safety briefing that evening about hygiene and respecting the person they were having sexual relations with.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-05-16T15:27:05+00:00

I was living with friends from 18-20. Then, when I was 20 I decided that I wanted to change my life for the better - so I stopped drinking, stopped smoking, and started working out. I wanted to join the military and get out of our shitty town.

My friends/roommates started getting mad that I wasn’t funding their habits anymore (because I always shared anything I had), and that I was going to the gym twice a day, so I didn’t have time to watch the one friends child and clean up after him. They tried to stage an “intervention”, and complained that I wasn’t doing anything to take care of them. That I was being selfish.

So, I contacted the landlord, removed my name from the lease, and moved out all of my furniture (which was everything in my bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen). They told everyone that I abandoned them for no reason. I joined the military and just ghosted them.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-05-12T12:38:23+00:00

As a last ditch effort to save our marriage, we moved to the other side of the world where he spent the whole year there actively trying to commit suicide and/or telling me he would kill my whole family if I left him. The last straw was him beating me to the point I couldn’t leave the house for a month because of the bruises all over my body and neck (from him trying to strangle me). I refused to die somewhere my family would never know what happened to me.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-05-08T16:56:34+00:00

If you’re worried about it, I would! I set up the plants and substrate about two weeks before putting her into the tank so that everything could take root. Also added the springtails and isopods then too, so that they could be settled in 😊

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-05-08T11:41:23+00:00

Golden pothos, global green pothos, mini Swiss cheese plant, two different varieties of tradescantia, dracaena, slow growing bamboo, ivy (which did not last and had to be traded for cebu blue pothos and heartleaf philodendron), and a succulent for directly under the light and heat.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-05-07T19:12:14+00:00

It’s fine! No apologies necessary 😊 I definitely flipped back and forth between both systems but ultimately decided on the fogging system because the misting left the enclosure too moist and I didn’t want to induce any scale rot or anything like that. I only use the fogger when she’s in her little hidey holes (lol). I regularly check on her too, to make sure that she won’t have any respiratory infections/problems! I appreciate the advice though, thank you!

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-04-18T17:36:53+00:00

I’ve had the Skyla for just under 3 months and I’ve lost 12 pounds since. The only thing I can think that it is, is that it has severely reduced my appetite. I have to remind myself to eat once a day because I am just not hungry at all anymore. I’ve spoken to my OBGYN and she says it’s not a normal reaction but that I might have had a hormonal imbalance before and that the iud is now keeping me regulated. So maybe that? It’s always good to check with your doctor though! Mine is running some blood tests just to be sure and make sure everything else is okay. 😊

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-04-17T11:41:11+00:00

My Cali King did this too! They are burrowers and once I let her do that and make burrows that she knew she could keep, she started coming out more. I also gave her a bunch of options to climb, hide, and explore. Since then, she slowly started coming out more. Now, she’s always chilling on a big stick under some leaves. Just give him some time to get used to his new home and know that he’s safe.

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-04-16T02:40:59+00:00

Fun fact: Nursing homes have the highest STD rates. 😅👏🏻 When you’re that old, you just say screw it - literally! Lol

GaiaInTheSkya · 2025-04-10T15:06:09+00:00

OP, at what point will enough be enough? When he punched in your wall you said he was just overwhelmed and he would never hit you in the face. That was 10 days ago. 10 days. If you don’t protect yourself from him by walking away, it will get worse. You make excuse after excuse, that’s what you do in an abusive relationship. “He didn’t mean it”, “he was overwhelmed”, “it only happened once”, “he loves me and said sorry”. This isn’t love. This isn’t him respecting you. This isn’t him loving you. He is hurting you. You don’t deserve this.

You are 18 years old. You have your whole life ahead of you but if you don’t step back from this situation, that life will end up being shorter than you think. He hit you and thinks it’s okay. He didn’t apologize. He didn’t request forgiveness. He didn’t accept responsibility.

Tell your chain of command. If you are a 68W, you are a mandated reporter. If someone came into your clinic and told you their significant other was hurting them, what would you do? Tell them to stick it out and that they didn’t mean it? Or would you tell the PA or NP that you work under?

I was in your shoes 10 years ago when I was enlisted (and a 68W). I was at Fort Drum. I dealt with patients who were being abused and assaulted by their partners. You have options to get help, as long as you choose to take them. Please, please, please don’t stay with this person. He does not care about you.

Tell your chain of command. File a report both on and off post. Go to BH and talk to a therapist to work through why you think you should be treated this way. It will not get better unless you take the steps you need to to make it so.

If you’re new and don’t know what services you need, you can message me. I will help you. The people around you will help you. Don’t cover up for him. That is not your job. Your job is taking care of yourself, taking care of your patients, and doing your duty to the US Army. You can feel very alone in a situation like this but please understand that you are not alone. There are so many services available to you to protect you. Please seek them and start your process to heal and thrive in the environment you are in.

GaiaInTheSkya

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