JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Imagine what life would be like if you had no control over your emotions. Imagine how uncomfortable life would be if you started sobbing uncontrollably in the middle of the grocery store, or laughing uncontrollably during a funeral.
An Army veteran is learning to live with a mental condition that robs him of control over his emotions.
At first glance, Tyler Smith seems like anyone else, but he suffered a stroke while serving in Afghanistan with the Army's 82nd Airborne in 2012. The result was a neurological disorder called Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA).
"What that does is if I have an emotion, any emotion, whether it's happy or sad it's amplified like 20 times," said Smith, "I can start laughing or crying all at inappropriate times usually."
Smith said his condition is made worse when people try to console him.
"That just exacerbates the issue and I can't really tell them that because I'm breaking down crying and I can't control it really," said Smith.
In a quest to find help, Smith found the Bastion Community of Resilience. Supported by the Wounded Warrior Project, Bastion is a five-acre facility in New Orleans that provides occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation.
"We promote active neighboring in order for people to help meet the needs of their neighbors," said Bastion Clinical Director Rachel Schwenk.
Oftentimes, the Wounded Warrior Project is seen as an organization that rehabilitates veterans with physical injuries or assists veterans with job placement. But in January, the Wounded Warrior Project invested $100 million in evidence-based care for veteran mental health and brain injuries.
Some of that money helps veterans like Smith at Bastion learn ways to control their emotions.
"I like art, doing video games, I like to be outside," said Smith, "I can't run anymore, but I like to go on walks."
Schwenk is Smith's occupational therapist and said Bastion has wraparound care that teaches resiliency, self-reliance and socialization.
"We're learning a lot about brain health," said Schwenk, "we have to be very finesse in how we approach people and the interventions that we choose to support these people."
"To be able to get the help I needed, it got me out of that dark place and I was able to start doing what I needed to take care of myself and get to a better mental spot," said Smith, "I've been able to get my mental health in a good place to where I'm actually functioning in the community and not being in this dark mental place."
Next month, Smith will transition out of Bastion and move to Pensacola, Florida to live independently in his own home.
Bastion Community of Resilience serves both the military and civilians, more information about their community and their services can be found here.
Wounded Warrior Project is a national organization that is headquartered in Jacksonville, more information about the services they provide to veterans can be found on their website.