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VeteranWithAnEar
1 6,086
L Helper 9
5 star rating
Rating
Number of ratings5 Number of reviews5 Listens toOver 18 LanguagesEnglish Listener sinceNov 16, 2025 Last activein last 6 months GenderMale PathStep 40 People helped44 Chats90 Group support chats0 Listener group chats0 Forum posts6 Forum upvotes19
Bio

I’m a veteran who has faced my own mental-health challenges, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and dissociative tendencies. I’ve also experienced the pain of losing friends and fellow veterans, and those losses have shaped my commitment to being someone others can rely on in moments of need.

Through seeking help and working on my own healing, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of how important it is to have someone who truly listens. Being here for others is meaningful and fulfilling to me. If I can help even one person feel less alone or make it through a difficult moment, then that matters to me and makes a real difference in the world.



I’m here to offer support, understanding, and a nonjudgmental space for anyone who needs someone to talk to.

Recent forum posts
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The Weight of Living
Poetry / by VeteranWithAnEar
Last post
 November 27th, 2025
...See more The Weight of Living By VeteranWithAnEar I wake up with your names on my lips Familiar sounds, now hollow. I carry your faces, But your voices are fading, Like a radio signal slowly lost to static. You never got the chance to grow old, To laugh at the jokes we never told, To feel the weight of time settle in. Instead, you’re forever frozen, In that moment, the one I’m stuck in, The one I can't outrun. Some days I wake up and forget you’re gone, And I think I can still hear you, Calling my name across the barracks, Or shouting from that shallow ditch. But then I remember, And the air feels colder, Like I’m holding my breath, waiting for a punch That never comes. I look in the mirror, And it’s not my reflection I see It’s theirs, staring back at me. I’m still here, still breathing, But they’re not. What did I do to deserve this? To be the one who made it back When they didn’t? The question doesn’t have an answer, Only the weight of it, Like a backpack filled with sand, That never quite lets up. I wonder, on nights when the silence is too loud, If it would have been easier To switch places To have them here, To give them the chance to feel the sun again, To hug their kids, To stand beside their brothers and sisters, To live. I’d take the burden of their absence If it meant they could come back. But I can’t change it. I can’t bring them back. So I keep walking. One foot in front of the other, Even when it feels like I’m dragging the weight of them, Like I’m carrying them inside of me, Everywhere I go. Some days, I wonder how much longer I can keep walking How much longer I can carry this Without breaking. But then I hear them, in my mind The ones who would have kept going, The ones who never stopped, Even when the world around them fell apart. They'd want me to keep going too. So I keep walking. One step. And then another. Because if I stop, I’ll be left with the silence. And the silence, That’s where I’ll lose them for good.
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The Walk
Poetry / by VeteranWithAnEar
Last post
 November 18th, 2025
...See more The Walk By VeteranWithanEar   We saw each other like we always did, Laughing in the middle of the madness, Exchanging jokes between mission team rotations. Brothers in that hot, sweaty sandbox, Just trying to make it through.   And then the darkness came. We had just gotten back for chow We sat smoking and joking taking our minds off it all The *** we just endured The *** you would soon face Connelly walked back to the tents. His face was cold We didn’t need to hear a word. We saw it in his eyes. Something broke. And in that moment, Everything slowed.   It was only a hundred feet, But it felt like miles. The space between us and the truth Stretched out in silence, Our hearts dropped, All of us waiting for the news we already knew. He didn’t have to speak. We could feel it. You weren’t coming back to us. And the world felt heavier. It wasn’t the first time we lost one of us, But this time it hit different. This time, the laughter stopped. And all we had left Was the weight of knowing You wouldn’t be coming back.
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Three Days too Many
Poetry / by VeteranWithAnEar
Last post
 November 18th, 2025
...See more Three Days Too Many  by VetranWithanEar You asked me to stay. "Just three more days," you laughed, said it was nothing. “Don’t be a chicken.” You made a joke of it, like it was the easiest thing in the world. But I didn’t stay. I went back. Told myself it was my foot, the one I hurt early in the mission. That’s what I told you. But deep down, I know it was fear, a coward’s excuse wrapped in a limp. You stayed. Three more days. And then you were gone. I’m here. Still breathing. Still walking. Still carrying this weight. I hear your voice even now — the jokes, the teasing, the way you made everything lighter even in the darkest places. We met up on Day 5. First team finally off the line, laughing, telling stories of the *** we’d seen, of the things we’d survived. And then you asked me again. Just three more days. “Don’t be a chicken.” Three days. Three days too many. And I wasn’t there when it mattered. I think about that moment, the one when I chose to walk away. Three more days. That’s all it would have been. I wasn’t there — not to have your back, not to keep you safe. I wasn’t there when that blast hit, when everything we thought we had left was taken away. And now you’re gone. Still breathing, but the air is heavy with questions I’ll never answer. What if I stayed? Would it have made a difference? Would you still be here? Would we still be laughing? I’ll never know. But I carry that "what if" for as long as I live. Because I walked away. I chose safety. And you didn’t. And now you’re gone. I look in the mirror and see your face. Not mine. Your grin, your joke about me being a chicken, staring back at me. And it’s like I carry you with every step I take. You never got to grow old. Never got to come back. And I’m here — alive — but carrying you. Carrying your absence. Carrying the weight of my choice. Some days, it feels too heavy. Some days, the guilt threatens to drown me. But then I hear you, telling me to stop whining, telling me to stop carrying this burden that isn’t mine. Telling me to keep going. That I didn’t fail you. You would have kept going, even if you were the one who stayed behind. So I keep walking. One step. Then another. Because you would want me to. Because I’m still here. And you’re not. And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough. That’s the strength I need to keep walking. For both of us.
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Welcome all new Members
Newbie Hub / by VeteranWithAnEar
Last post
 November 18th, 2025
...See more Good morning, Everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all how happy I am that you're here with us. i hope you find 7cups to be the place of help and support you want and deserve.
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Feedback & Reviews
Good listener with kind words. Helped to lift my down mood.
Profoundly disarming and empathetic, actually listened and responded to concerns instead of parroting them back to you with no input. Lovely human :)
Thank you he is so kind
Good at trying to get to root cause of issues
He has been a very patient listener. Always calm and respectful. He tries to repeat some things to make sure he understands properly, and I think that is great. Thank you!
Categories
Depression
Work Stress
Bullying
Panic Attacks
Anxiety
Self-Harm
Breakups
Alcohol/Drug Abuse
Family Stress
Chronic Pain
Forgiveness
Grief
Social Anxiety
Loneliness
PTSD
Disabilities
Relationship Stress
Self-Esteem
Addiction
Recovery
Sexual Health
Men's Issues
Dissociative Disorders
Adoption/Foster Care
Badges & Awards
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