A resource to equip heroes to identify + heal PTSD & Moral Injury

Help us provide resources for our heroes.

Buy one for you = it funds one (plus training resources) for them.

‼️ Something is going on inside of them, but they’re unsure how to label it— they just know that the work they do creates an internal burden they’re not certain how to carry.

‼️ They’re extremely efficient and effective at their tasks. They “fix” things and provide solutions for emergencies and other problems. But always being “on” makes them tired— and it’s not just a physical exhaustion.

‼️ They sometimes feel like they’re the only one… everyone else seems to “have it together” (but underneath the surface they’re scrambling to keep up).

‼️ They recognize that emotional health and soul hurts are issues they actually need to address— for themselves.

‼️ They’re not even sure where to go for help AND may be nervous to talk about it— but they would love a resource that can help them understand.

In the same way a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, we’re only as healthy as the least healthy part of us.

Whereas we routinely pay attention to physical health (as well as other areas), we need to address emotional health, too.

Most of us aren’t diagnosable for a mental or emotional health concern any more than we’re— for example— diagnosable for being overweight.

At the same time, in the same way most of us would benefit from a physical health routine— one that includes eating better, getting sufficient rest, and even moving more— most of us will benefit from paying attention to this area, too.

Whereas “Big Traumatic” events garner most attention, “little traumas” can add up, too— especially over time.

Instead minimizing the issues we face, we need to just deal with them— big or small…

(… in large part, because of the next fact!)

When we encounter stressful situations, most of us bring past hurt(s) to the new experience. The pain layers up.

If we don’t off-load and heal the hurts we have, we continue “living out” of those unhealed hurts. This affects how we act and react in the future.

Most people have heard of PTSD— a “fight or flight” response to an external stimulus that reminds us of something hurtful in our past. When “triggered,” we automatically brace in order to protect ourselves.

But even more people are affected by a different soul hurt, Moral Injury. Marked by guilt and shame, Moral Injury occurs when we do something that violates our core convictions (even if unavoidable) OR when we fail to do something that might be helpful (i.e., survivor’s guilt, unable to help someone, etc).

It’s easy to differentiate the body from the soul & spirit. But, “separating” the other two is more difficult.

It’s important to understand the difference between injuring the soul (PTSD) and the spirit / conscience (Moral Injury), though, for two reasons.

#1 = If you treat the wrong hurt, it won’t heal.

#2 = If it doesn’t heal, you’ll only get frustrated AND, most likely, find that the hurt gets bigger.

Others have made progress in the area of soul and spiritual health. You will, too.

However, most of the time “healing” doesn’t occur in an instant. It most often happens over time— as we “walk it out.”

In the same way physical health is a process, so also is— most of the time— soul health and spiritual wholeness.

Crosswinds Foundation for Faith & Culture  (a 501c3) was created to assist people engage in meaningful and positive dialogues about the issues that matter most.

Crosswinds was founded in early 2008 by our president, Bob Waldrep, and a group of cultural visionaries who sought to create a resource center for individuals and organizations impacted by emerging cultural trends.

Early on, the leadership team recognized the potential of film to share ideas.

Decades ago, most of the cultural conversations occurred on in people’s home, from porch to porch. Today, film is a primary “front porch” where conversations take place.

Crosswinds developed Front Porch Media in 2010 to better utilize film as a means of sharing ideas and creating conversations. 

The first full-length documentary, Invisible Scars, focused on helping military personnel who were suffering mental and emotional trauma such as PTSD as a result of their deployment, combat experience, or separation from family members who had been deployed.

We released the film in 2014— well before the term PTSD was widely used and discussed in everyday life.

Rather than selling the film to fund future projects, the board recognized they needed to give the resource away and serve as many people as possible.

During the first film, the team learned of a second “invisible scar,” Moral Injury, which was receiving very little attention and is often misdiagnosed as PTSD. Whereas PTSD is a response to external threats, Moral Injury focuses on internal threats— guilt and shame.

The team addressed Moral Injury in our second documentary (2017), and— as a result of the relationships which resulted— began developing training resources to empower veterans (and their families) to overcome the hurts of invisible scars.

Films created the conversations (like a front porch), which gave rise to the need for the curriculum.

Centers of Hope, the Freedom Tour, the Warrior Hope podcast, and the resources to assist families to overcome hurts related to military service and are the results of a Crosswinds’ Invisible Scars and Honoring the Code film projects.

Our most recent documentary, Trauma Comes Home, is the third in our trilogy and addresses the family specifically, for the trauma of the warrior becomes the trauma of the family.

For several years we’ve dreamed of creating a practical resource for all of our heroes— firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics & emergency personnel, security guards, warriors & veterans, other first responders— to equip them to—

⭐️ Understand the basics of PTSD & Moral Injury

⭐️ Realize PTSD & Moral Injury are the natural results of the high-level work they do— on behalf of serving us

⭐️ Recognize the common signs, so they can get they help they need

⭐️ Have a reference tool to review as needed

GY6 / Got Your Six

⛑️ Hardback design

📐6”x9” (slightly bigger than a Moleskine journal)

👉 160 pages

🎨 Fully illustrated

💨 Fast-reading

⚙️ Extremely applicable

7 super-simple & pleasantly practical lessons

... all in an elegant, hardback, journal-style book. 

Fast-reading, fully illustrated content (b/c a picture is worth SO MANY words).

👉 Each lesson contains a clear summary statement of what you'll learn, followed by a clear outline you can review.

Application / action steps to help you implement what you learn

The goal = to put into practice the information that’s learned.

The mission of this book (and the course + audio) isn’t to simply provide more content but to ALSO facilitate change and healing by outlining strategies to navigate traumatic situations.

👉 Each lesson features a 4-5 point application summary to help readers implement what they’ve just learned.

Stories from others

It’s easy to feel as if “I’m the only one.”

Fact = the details of our stories are all different, but they follow similar patterns. Many times we see in others the possibilities for ourselves.

👉 Each lesson includes 4-5 testimonials from other heroes, illustrating how they faced the soul hurts outlined in the chapter as well as how they found healing.

Resources that will help you on your journey of emotional & spiritual wholeness and— in the process— fund tools we can supply to heroes.

📙 GY6 / Got Your Six hardback book-- available in quantity

📱 Audiobook 

🖥️ On-demand video course

🧢 Cap (Big Accessories Performance Perforated)

👕 T-shirt (Next Level Tri-Blend)