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Afghanistan veteran channels his demons — but also joy — through music

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Afghanistan veteran channels his demons — but also joy — through music Empty Afghanistan veteran channels his demons — but also joy — through music

Post by BinRat Tue 18 Feb 2020, 20:46

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/west-island-gazette/afghanistan-veteran-channels-his-demons-but-also-joy-through-music



Ryan Carey and fellow vet Michael Terry will perform at the Royal Montreal Regiment. Says Carey: "I'm scared as hell, but I'm doing it anyway."
Kathryn Greenaway, Montreal Gazette
Updated: February 18, 2020

Military veteran Ryan Carey is not one to sidestep difficulty.

With the CFL, he played in the Grey Cup. Then he joined the military and was sent to Afghanistan. He returned from the brutal tour with PTSD. At first he hid his symptoms, feeling isolated and ashamed, until a colleague twigged to the panic attacks and urged Carey to seek help.

As his therapy moved forward, Carey turned to music, and soon playing guitar and writing songs took a prominent place on his journey toward better mental health. He wanted to help others discover the healing nature of music, so he began to teach guitar to veterans at the Ste-Anne Hospital in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, as part of the Guitar for Vets program.

Carey wrote songs about combat, pain and anger, and then dug deep into his surplus of courage to perform at open-mic nights and at the last Hudson Porchfest.

At the urging of a fellow vet, Carey is taking his music one big step farther, with an evening of original and cover songs, called Coming Home to You: What It’s Like to Go to War, at the Royal Montreal Regiment, Saturday.



“I’m scared as hell, but I’m doing it anyway,” Carey said. “Every day I write in my journal: ‘As I create and listen, I will be led.’ My songs are about the dark side of the human psyche. Being stuck in grief is really hard. You can lose yourself, going down that rabbit hole.”

Carey will share the stage with fellow veteran Michael Terry, who launched Dispatches, a cross-Canada motorcycle ride, in 2018 to talk to first responders and veterans about his story and how it is crucial to seek help.

“(Michael) is very honest and open about his PTSD,” Carey said.

Carey has fashioned his two-part program after the funeral-procession traditions of New Orleans. A funeral’s “first line” is sombre — with family members and the hearse leading the way. Its “second line” is a celebration — with music, singing and dancing.

“And so the second part of the evening is about love and humour,” Carey said.

The veteran is in a much better place these days, but his recovery is ongoing.

“I think I am more honest and open with the people in my life,” Carey said. “I no longer let depression or anxiety ruin my life. I journal, meditate, exercise, do breathing exercises. I have a healthy mantra, I eat healthy food, I work on healthy relationships. I would say I am in a comfortable place.”

Carey absolutely believes music saved his life and said if his performance helps one other veteran step out of the shadows, he will consider it a success.

Carey is also putting his songwriting skills to the test by submitting songs to the Golden Pick Songwriting Competition, organized by the A Song Is Forever Foundation. The ASIFF is an outreach organization that encourages vets and first responders dealing with operational stress injuries to engage in creative expression through music. Winners get to work with a professional songwriter and possibly record.

Carey appears in the Isabelle Raynault documentary De la musique pour la cerveau. The film looks at the latest in research into the neurological healing effects of music and is playing at the Cinéma du musée.
AT A GLANCE

Coming Home to You: What It’s Like to Go to War is at the Royal Montreal Regiment, 4625 Ste-Catherine St. W., Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but a donation to the Guitar for Vets would be appreciated. Used guitars are also being collected. To reserve free tickets, visit www.eventbrite.ca.

kgreenaway@postmedia.com

BinRat
CSAT Member

Number of posts : 271
Location : Komoka
Registration date : 2008-09-18

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