In this episode of Exit Buddy: Veteran Stories to Guide You, Kathleen sits down with Army veteran and former 82nd Airborne paratrooper Patience Ulsted, who went from ballet shoes to jump boots to holistic health entrepreneur. Patience shares how chronic pain, daily migraines, and living at “10 out of 10” readiness pushed her to explore yoga, massage, chiropractic care, Reiki, acupuncture, and Ayurveda—and how those tools helped her reset her nervous system without losing her edge. Her story is a powerful reminder that you’ve already done the hard thing, you deserve your VA benefits, and part of transition is learning how to shift from combat ready to calm within.

Chapters

01:23 – From Restaurant Grind to “I’m Joining the Army”
03:16 – “You Can’t Go Airborne, You’re a Chick”
06:06 – Transition Injuries: Feeling 27 Going on 70
06:50 – The Yoga Class That Ended the Migraines
08:53 – Massage, Chiropractic, Reiki, Acupuncture & Ayurveda
11:57 – From Underpaid Spa Work to Entrepreneurship
14:00 – “I Can Do Anything”: What Airborne Service Taught Her
16:30 – Learning to Ask for Help & Be Coachable
19:10 – Always at a 10: Military vs. Civilian Nervous Systems
23:47 – Get Your VA Benefits & Don’t Live at 10 Forever

Key Takeaways

You’ve Already Done the Hard Thing: Use your service—especially high‑demand roles like Airborne—as proof you can handle big transitions and entrepreneurship.
Holistic Health Is Nervous System Work, Not Woo‑Woo: Yoga and other modalities helped Patience move from constant hypervigilance to a healthier baseline while keeping the ability to “flip the switch” when needed.
Ask for Help and Be Coachable: Getting coaching and stepping outside her comfort zone helped Patience double her business and expand her impact.
Document Injuries & Use Your VA Benefits: You earned them—beyond medical care, there are career and entrepreneurship resources many veterans never tap into.
Don’t Stay at 10 Out of 10 Forever: Living on adrenaline will eventually catch up with you. Learning to access “2 out of 10” is key for long‑term health and relationships.

Follow us for more real veteran stories to guide your transition, and share this episode with someone who’s still living at a 10—they may just need permission to finally reset.

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