Former rising star Jason Kander wins the battle against PTSD, but he never returns to politics in a hurry

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Jason Kander said, "I'm pretty good if his new book" INVISIBLE STORM: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD "was present at the end of hismilitary service. I think I got help. Shortly after returning from Afghanistan. "

However, Kander was on a four-month tour as an army intelligence officer in thewar in Afghanistan in February 2007. Later, anger, fear, and insomnia he fought secretly.

"There are actually few public examples of people who have experienced trauma, treated, treated, and helped, and have transitioned to post-traumatic growth." Said in an interview with Fox News before his book was released to the public on Tuesday. 

Kander's struggle remained hidden when hisparty career in Missouri blossomed.He won elections and reelections on behalf of the state before he took the position of state-wide as Secretary of State. In addition, Democratic Kander was trying to upset the incumbent Republican Senator Roy Blunt in 2016, turning it into an increasingly dark red.

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Then Kander Established the voting group Let America Vote. He has made more than 12 trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the White House elections, with the potential to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. rice field.

Despite the continued rise in stars, he Encouraged by many of the top Democrats, including former President Barack Obama— he abandoned the potential White House run in June 2018, changed course, and Kansas Started running for the mayor of the city. 

Jason Kander drops out of politics to seek treatment for PTSD

But much more important and personal A few months after several announcements. In early October 2018, Kander ended the mayoral campaign from his job as a campaign advocate to seek treatment fordepression and post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). Said to leave.

Kander details his inner demon as his political career soars, highlighting the importance of treatment in his candid new memoirs.

"Honestly, I was ashamed of myself about all of this," Kander wrote in his book. "For me, nothing I experienced was counted as" trauma. " For one thing, I had never participated in a shootout.

"I wasn't stupid. I knew something was wrong. I knew it for a while. Ordinary people weren't afraid to sleep. They Did not hang around the house every night; they did not forbid their spouse to answer the door if they were not at home, "Kander wrote. "And the most embarrassing and frustrating thing was that I knew thatshould be happy. I won my political competition. I won. It has begun to attract national media attention. 

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Kander expressed self-loathing, saying, "The higher my star, the more cruel I was to myself. As soon as someone told me how much I inspired them. , I mentally refuted their remarks and I was to leave my wife and son behind so I could travel. I abandoned them as I did not come back from Afghanistan.

Kander points to his book and tells Fox News, "It's very straightforward and unlike other politician memoirs ... I'm always a hero." I didn't think about myself sometimes, so there are a lot of things that aren't reflected well. "

American troops with PTSD and veterans have a chance to fight to heal Has

Mr. Kander said he hopes his book will help others suffering from mental illness.

"[Treatment] is an option, so I wanted to write a book that I needed many years ago but didn't exist," he explained. .. It doesn't have to end your life or your career. You can treat it like any other injury and enjoy your life.

Kander shared that he has been in a healthy place lately. He hasn't done enough for his country, or feels like he has something to prove to himself, "he said.

Kander is currently leading a national expansion in the veterans community. A project to provide services and housing to those who have served this country. He is also a board member of the Let America Vote board and a board member of Giffords, a group founded by former MP Gabrielle Giffords to advocate solutions to stop gun violence. I also served as Kander. He is the 2020 Platform Committee of the Democratic State Commissionon behalf of President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.

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Asked about his own political future When Kander replied, "I'm like someone else right now. I have a job I like and live in a place I really like."

"At some point There may be a desire to run again for something, such as the mayor or the president. "I don't have it now. I may get it back. But now I am myself. I like what I'm doing. "

Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.