[00:00:00] Scott DeLuzio: Life after the military can sneak up on you, you’re trying to be a solid dad and husband, trying to keep things steady at work, trying to handle the bills at home, and at the same time, you’re carrying years of stuff that you never really got to deal with. You might have had a rough childhood or maybe the stress from your military service, uh, maybe the hits that you took in your marriages or relationships.

[00:00:22] And after enough of these losses or uh, enough late nights staring at the ceiling, those dark thoughts about just checking out start to show up more and more. And eventually, unfortunately, they might start to feel normal. That’s where our guest today, Brandon held lived for a long time. He grew up around chaos, served in the Air Force and the army.

[00:00:44] He fought through multiple divorces, lost day-to-day life with his kids, and he got crushed by job loss and debt in his mid forties. And for years. Whenever life got really hard, his mind went straight to suicide. As the way out. In this [00:01:00] conversation we’re gonna talk about. That headspace that he found himself in, that a lot of people find themselves in.

[00:01:06] Um, and what it’s like to close that chapter in your life and what it actually looks like to pull yourself back and build a life that feels like it’s worth staying for. If you’ve ever had those thoughts and felt ashamed or alone, this one has meant to show you that you can get through. The other side of that darkness.

[00:01:26] Before we get into this episode though, I wanna take a moment to raise awareness for something that’s deeply important to our community. The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. This organization is working to build a permanent national memorial in Washington DC to honor the service members, families, and civilians who are impacted by the global war on terrorism.

[00:01:44] This memorial will serve as both a tribute to those. A way to ensure that their sacrifices are recognized and remembered for generations to, if you’d learn more, find out how you can support their mission. Visit GWOT Memorial Foundation. Now let’s [00:02:00] get into.

[00:02:03]

[00:02:16] Scott DeLuzio: Hey Brandon, welcome to the show. Glad to have you here.

[00:02:21] Brandon Held: Eh, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

[00:02:23] Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. So,

[00:02:25] Tell us a little bit about yourself, kind of your, your background and maybe some military history, things like that. Just for, for the listeners who maybe aren’t familiar with you and, and, and who you are. I know you have you know, a podcast. So there might be some, some folks out there who’ve listened to your podcast and know a little bit about you.

[00:02:40] But for the folks who maybe have just discovered your podcast through, through this episode tell us a little bit about yourself.

[00:02:46] Brandon Held: Yeah, I mean, to try to wrap up a long story short in a brief segment you know, I’m 52 years old. I was in the Air Force for four years. I was in the Army for four years. Done a lot of stuff [00:03:00] in between that, from aerospace to personal training to bartending to, you know, many other things. And you know, I have a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in business administration. And I’ve struggled with mental health and stuff in my...