Laying the Foundation for Healing | Clay Adams
Clay Adams is a US military veteran and one of the military’s foremost experts on Afghanistan and the surrounding region. Adams served in the military for 12 years before becoming a civilian employee of the Department of Defense and an advisor on the political and military situation in Central and South Asia.
While Clay’s career was taking off, he was hiding a lot of trauma from his multiple tours and civilian trips to Afghanistan during the war. The compounding stress of the lifestyle he was living affected his mental health and day-to-day life. Like many veterans, Clay knew he was probably experiencing some PTSD but was not inclined to seek help or share his struggles with his loved ones. “I got to a point where my mental health was suffering, and I was becoming jaded and bitter about the entire conflict and the decisions being made. I started to feel like I was the only voice of sanity and felt I was being ignored; this was morally shattering.”
Then in 2013, something unexpected happened. Clay’s family decided to lease a horse for his kids to ride. Being around horses forced Clay to learn or relearn a set of relational skills he had neglected. He needed to become aware of his internal state because the horses could sense his feelings, and he had to regulate his emotions to avoid making the horses feel threatened. Slowly, Clay began to co-regulate his emotions with the horses and developed deep trust with the animals, which had a healing effect on his brain. It would be years before Clay really understood what was happening and the healing that was taking place. Working with the horses helped Adams heal from past trauma, and the ability to regulate his emotions allowed him to better relate with his loved ones.
“When a person is affected by trauma, it causes a structural change in the brain. That part of the brain is the same part that is responsible for complex inter-relational skills.”
Today, Clay wants to share what he has learned from his healing journey with other veterans. HGY6, Horse Got Your Six, is Clay's vision for creating enlightened communities where civilians can support and uplift veterans throughout their healing process in much the same way the horses supported him.
Can you describe your project and what you hope to achieve from it?
“I want to raise awareness and help educate civilians to relate and connect with veterans in ways that support them. Provide civilians the tools to connect, support, ask questions and just talk to veterans to create an opening.”
Clay is particularly excited to leverage the coaching sessions that accompany a Let’s Choose Love Grant, as he feels professional coaching will really help him establish HGY6 and take the business to the next level.
Why is this project important to you?
“I work with many veterans and active duty military, and we all have stories to tell. Veterans will tell their same stories over and over again.” Clay wants to help communities create space for veterans to share their stories because “sharing what you have experienced is a therapeutic exercise that will be healing for our veterans and society as a whole.” The more people understand what veterans have been through, the more civilians can relate to and support veterans in their community.
What impact do you expect this project to have?
Clay feels that creating opportunities for civilians and veterans to come together can be healing for the entire community. “We live in a free society where everyone benefits from what our volunteer military has done. Yet we rarely give them a chance to share.” Many cultures, including indigenous peoples of the Americas, had rituals for returning warriors to honor, recognize, and release the warriors from the harm and damage they had done. Clay hopes his project can be a modern-day way to honor and release our veterans. “This is a systemic problem, and I think that on a grassroots level, within our communities, we can positively impact the lives of our veterans.”
What are your plans for the project/your journey in the future?
Clay hopes to become a full-time consultant, coach, and public speaker, spreading his message and knocking down the walls that divide veterans and non-veterans. “I hope to get veterans and civilians talking to each other in a way that binds our society and helps these veterans to heal. Healing veterans is my cause, but it’s not just about the veterans; it’s about all the divides that exist in our society (LGBTQ, racial, generational). I hope to help build the capacity to bridge divides and encourage people to share their stories.”
