About

Transitions in life are rarely easy. They require us to change. They throw us off balance and by their nature force us to adapt. Coming home from war is among the most difficult transitions one can face.

My name is Mike Ergo. I served as a Marine rifleman with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines from 2001-2005 and deployed to Iraq twice. Coming home from combat was rough. My body returned, but my mind and spirit were still in the city of Fallujah for many years.

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After flying home from Iraq and being honorably discharged, my real struggles began. I found myself anxious, confused, angry, grief-stricken, and generally out of place. Many times, my body felt as if something dangerous and bad was about to happen even though my mind knew I was home. I drank and used cannabis to excess. These were great at first. They brought quick relief to that agony. As time went on, though, the bad outweighed the good and I was stuck in my addictions. I hurt others close to me, especially my wife. In July of 2012, my path of destruction hit the breaking point. My wife made it clear I had to choose her or the drugs and alcohol. I made that hard choice and left the chemicals behind.

What followed was a tsunami of overdue emotions and the feeling un-processed trauma. Step by step, I made peace with my demons. I walked willingly into my deepest fears and let them guide me to my heart’s desires. Through meditation and endurance sports, I found comfort in discomfort.

I started to feel safe in my body and at peace in full sobriety.

This blog is for all of us who have answered our nation’s call to service and returned home looking to transition from the battlefield. In triathlon, one must be able to quickly change from swimming to cycling and again from cycling to running. The successful athlete can make this change in a fluid manner and be ready for the next challenge.

This blog is to inspire all of us to dare to dream big and crush the limits we have set for ourselves.

Triathlon, trail running, and endurance challenges like GORUCK  have help me to overcome the sadness, anger, fear, and anxiety that are a part of PTSD and moral injury.

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During the week, I work as a readjustment counselor and help fellow combat veterans make positive changes in their own lives. But this blog is not about therapy or any “one-size-fits-all” prescription for others to copy. It is simply my own experience and the wisdom I’ve gained from running into the same brick wall over and over again. Sometimes I even have the sense to listen to another person to avoid the crash. Either way, I hope you, the reader, will keep what works and throw away what doesn’t.

I am not a professional athlete. I am not the fastest competitor out there. I am a combat veteran balancing a job and a family, striving for excellence and pushing myself to the next level.

Come join me.

Ready to begin? Here are a couple articles to get you started:

To contact Mike, please email: mike@transitionsfromwar.com


9 thoughts on “About

  1. Pingback: Good Stuff: Best Research Around the Web August 2016 • A Living Laboratory

  2. Pingback: Former Marine Overcomes Addiction Following Deaths of 29 'Brothers' in Iraq by Competing in Ironman

  3. Pingback: Former Marine Overcomes Addiction Following Deaths of 29 ‘Brothers’ in Iraq - SoberInfo

  4. Mike,

    Now that you have been introduced to Grace through her first full-length album, you might want to watch this video posted last night of Grace at the Music Billboard Awards Show where she won the Rising Star” Award.

  5. Pingback: A Marine who worked on ‘Six Days in Fallujah’ in 2009 helped us see why it exists – DLSServe

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