In this powerful Veterans Day episode, Kate sits down with her husband, Phillip, a 20-year Army veteran and nearly four years sober, for an unfiltered conversation about PTSD, moral injury, institutional betrayal, and healing through recovery.

Together, they unpack what really happens inside the brain and body after trauma, how hypervigilance, anxiety, and moral conflict can take root long after the uniform or scrubs come off, and why alcohol often becomes the coping tool of choice for soldiers, nurses, and first responders alike.

Blending lived experience with neuroscience, Kate and Phillip explore what healing looks like for both veterans and civilians: self-compassion, connection, movement, and sobriety. This episode is both a love letter to those who serve and a reminder that trauma recovery isn’t about being broken, it’s about learning to rewire your nervous system and reclaim your life.

In this episode, they talk about:

• What PTSD really is (and what it isn’t)
• The concept of moral injury and why it hits soldiers, nurses, and first responders so deeply
• How trauma rewires the brain and how sobriety helps rewire it back
• The reality of institutional betrayal in military and healthcare systems
• The connection between trauma, alcohol, and survival mechanisms
• How they each healed through therapy, connection, and movement
• Why sobriety is the foundation of their recovery and marriage

Referenced in this episode:

• The Mankind Project (for men’s emotional healing and connection): mankindproject.org

Whether you’ve served, supported someone who has, or just know what it’s like to live with unhealed trauma, this episode offers compassion, education, and hope.

Connect with Phillip:

https://www.instagram.com/a13photography/

SMART Recovery Meeting Finder

https://smartrecovery.org/meeting

Access the AB Process Course

You can find Kate on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rewiredsober/

Work with Kate: https://linktr.ee/KateVitela

Email Podcast: team@katevitelacoaching.com 

Mentioned in this episode:

Rewired Sober Group Coaching Program

https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/rewired-sober-coaching-program