For direct online access to VA benefits and resources, create an account here.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly referred to as PTSD, has the potential to afflict someone if they’ve been through an event where they believed either their life, or someone else’s life, was in grave danger. This condition can affect any American but, due to the ugly and violent realities of combat, it afflicts many current and former military members.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reported that 11 to 20 out of every 100 Iraq War veterans and 12 out of every 100 Gulf War veterans suffer from PTSD in a given year.

While there are many options available to vets through the VA (they can be found by clicking here) there’s one unique tool that exists in the form of computer code.

That’s because it’s an app — for your smartphone.

It’s called “Mindfulness Coach.”

The practice of mindfulness is rooted in grounding oneself in the present, rather than the past, or even what’s to come in the future. Doing so has been proven to lower stress, thus making it easier to cope and eschew unpleasant thoughts and emotions. The program itself contains strategies, information and even exercises.

To learn more about the app, and to download it, click here.