“To live a joyful, fulfilling life”

Healing from illness, injury, grief, or trauma is tricky business. The road can be long and winding. And sometimes, the road is blocked altogether by a landslide.

Michelle Collins knows the grief and trauma road intimately. She’s walked it with others through her work as a compassionate yoga therapist and wellness coach. But she has also walked the road of grief and trauma herself. She’s felt the heat of the asphalt, seen the depths of the potholes, and climbed over barriers in the way. Initially she walked the road alone. But then she found support for the journey.

Michelle married her second husband, Glen, in 2014. They met on a blind date. “The minute I saw his goofy grin and felt his intensity and joy I fell for him,” Michelle revealed.

Glen was a retired Navy SEAL who worked for Homeland Security. Michelle didn’t know much about the military before meeting Glen. But she was always fascinated to learn about his experiences and work.

They were married and shared a life together. Then, Glen died by suicide.

After Glen’s death, Michelle experienced deep grief. But she also started experiencing something more frightening. Michelle began experiencing her thoughts being completely disconnected from her actions.

“The first one was triggered when I was just walking through a parking lot.” As Michelle was leaving a grocery store, the parking lot activated in her mind the moments following Glen’s death.

“I lost time, I dissociated. I didn’t know where I was. The next thing I knew… I was sitting in the front seat of my car just sobbing and not knowing what happened.”

Michelle knew about grief, loss, and anxiety. But she had never experienced her mind being closed off from her actions in this way.

Then it happened again. The next time while Michelle was driving. “Thank goodness, I didn’t get in an accident. But when I came to… I was so frightened. I was literally afraid to do anything.”

Four months after Glen’s death, Michelle felt like the road ahead was completely blocked.

For starters, Michelle didn’t know what support she needed or how to pay for that support. “I didn’t even know if I had health insurance after Glen died.”

The second challenge was confidentiality. Michelle worried that seeking help for her trauma would negatively impact her ability to get a job.

Deep down Michelle knew that her health status was confidential from employers, but she was still terrified to make a choice she’d regret. “I was still full of fear and shame. I had no idea how it was going to hurt me in the future.”

When Michelle started experiencing disconnection between her body and mind (called dissociation) it was her family therapist who helped Michelle identify that she needed treatment for trauma. Her family therapist connected Michelle to the right support through the Returning Veterans Project.

But like many roads, the path forward wasn’t straight or narrow. Filled with shame and grief, Michelle wasn’t ready to share her story with someone she didn’t know.

Months later, Michelle was ready for support. She picked up the phone and called RVP. And that moment changed everything.

“The acceptance! This was the first time I felt like somebody has my back. Even though it was a phone call, I felt like they had put their arm around me.”

Michelle quickly connected with a highly trained RVP trauma therapist. She no longer had to carry her grief and trauma alone. Someone walked the road with her.

Instead of facing endless phone calls to verify benefits or the number of visits covered by insurance, the therapy Michelle received came without any strings attached.

It was free, confidential, and available to her whenever she needed. No insurance. No restrictions. No hassle.

Michelle suddenly had access to the support she needed right near her home. And because she could access that care for as long as she needed, her health transformed. “It was probably the first time I took a long slow, deep breath since he died.”

After working with her RVP therapist, Michelle never experienced dissociation again. She began moving through the world with less fear.

Over time, Michelle started to get her life back. She learned tools to manage her fears and practiced accessing those tools in her toughest moments.

Finally, the roadblocks that once existed for Michelle were no longer there. With her own health restored, Michelle was able to refocus on her work as a yoga therapist and wellness coach.

Today, Michelle uses her experience and talents to help others who are looking for support to heal from grief.

If you meet Michelle, you’ll feel her energy. She inspires others and helps them find joy and fulfillment in life.

And she stands by her motto: “You have to feel it to heal it.” To find and ask for support. To move through the healing process. To get unstuck. She did that for herself and it has paved the way for her to help others do the same.

Michelle got the support she needed thanks to people like you. Your gifts to RVP connect people like Michelle to free, critical health services they can’t find anywhere else. Thank you for generously supporting the health and healing of our veterans and military community.

About Michelle Ann Collins

Michelle is the founder of Inhabit Joy – a business promoting mindful healing from grief, trauma, injury or illness. Michelle partners with individuals who have suffered grief, injury, or other types of loss as they recover, reclaim their wholeness, and build resilience for life’s inevitable challenges.

Deeply connected with the healing powers of nature, Michelle spends her leisure time hiking among the trees or paddling on the rivers near her home in Portland, Oregon.

Michelle is the author of several bestselling books aimed at helping others transform from barely surviving to joyful thriving. Her most recent books are Surviving Spouse or Partner Suicide Loss and Supporting a Survivor of Spouse or Partner Suicide Loss.