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My name is Anita and this is my story.  I retired after 20 years of active duty military service with the United States Air Force due to the continuing decline of my mental & physical health after the diagnosis of severe/chronic PTSD and other medical issues. Losing my flight, my troops, and my responsibilities after the diagnosis was terrible and left me without a purpose and job, so I did the only thing I felt that I could…I retired.

When I was receiving treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in 2012, I found that creating beaded items keep a lot of the symptoms at bay. I had never tried beading and yet this tedious task allowed me to find an escape from the battle within. After I retired it was the only thing that helped ground me, especially since I stopped all medications and counseling. Now I craft and create in order to help me heal and to share the items with any and all. This allows me to share my story as well as bring awareness to PTSD and all the things that come with it. My goal is to show people that anyone with PTSD or mental illnesses are still viable and can thrive within their safe zones.  Not all of us can be out in the world advocating for care but we can bring awareness to Veterans & Military members who battle with mental illness.

I am an Air Force Veteran and truly proud of my service, but I am also a wife to an amazing man, mother of three wonderful kids and grandmother to an amazing young boy. While they are the reasons I keep going, the creating is what drives me.

Thank you all for visiting my web page, please follow me on social media for up to date information on where I am and what I am doing.

Anita Herrada-Johnson,
MSgt, USAF Retired