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Snug As A Bugz

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22 Veterans a day take their own lives due to triggers associated with post traumatic stress. Thats over 8000 veteran suicides a year.... 


Chelsea changed my life and I'm proud to share my story. From the first time I put a weighted blanket on I felt relaxed and comforted. I slept so hard and for long periods of time. I couldn't believe how well it worked!

                  I served 13 years in the
military as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician. I spent 3+ years on 5 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. My mission? To disarm all the road side improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hunt down the emplacers, and support every Coalition Force who didn't have an explosive expert. I have been embedded with Seal Teams, US Special Forces, USMC Recon Teams, British Royal Marines, Polish Special Forces, etc. To sum it up I have seen a fair share of war. This all came with a price. I'm now a disabled veteran who suffers like many veterans with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. I've tried every form of therapy and it doesn't seem to help. I can't sleep longer than a few hours and I wake up with night terrors and panic attacks. It effects me so much that I'm afraid to go to sleep. I stay awake until I pass out. I resorted to lifting weights as my therapy. I met Chelsea through a friend who I work out with. I called her one day asking for help because I knew she was an OT. She knew I was in the military and asked if I ever used a weighted blanket as therapy. I didn't know what she was talking about. She continued and said the blanket helped one of her other friends with PTSD and she had been researching its effects for the past few years. I opened up a little to her to tell a part of my story and she gladly offered her blanket for me to try. 
             When I am in the blanket I feel all my stress go away. When my anxiety is high or I feel anxious I wrap myself in the blanket and it takes away the worry. The blanket helps me concentrate too. I lose focus easily and if I need to pay attention I cover myself in the blanket and do my work. I have yet to experience anything that can calm me when I have night terrors; the weighted blanket does it in minutes. I can't believe there is such little information and research of the uses of a weighted blanket with adults. If you know a vet or anyone who suffers from any or all these conditions and want to help this is what you can do. FIRST give them a hug, they really do calm a person who is having a problem. Second, take a second out of your busy life and SUPPORT this amazing cause to make these life saving blankets. She is doing it purely to help loved ones. It is a life changing experience and weighted blankets are worth their weight in gold.” 

~Andrew J. Petrulis, MSgt, USAF
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician


WHO AM I? 
My name is Chelsea Carisio, I am not a veteran, I am an occupational therapist and founder of Snug as a Bugz organization. I have dedicated my life to helping others find their highest quality of life and overcome any challenge they may have. During my time as an OT I have utilized many therapeutic approaches to work with individuals of all ages, but no matter what the challenge, diagnosis, and there personal goal I kept finding myself come back to the use of weighted materials. Over and over I have seen the benefits of using weighted blankets, vests, wraps etc. But I have also been saddened by the blank stares of so many when I start to make them aware of this amazing object that no one has introduced them too. 

What Is Snug as a Bugz?
Snug as a Bugz Organization has been formed to help provide compression blankets and education to those in need. With your support we will be able to make and distribute these blankets along with the much needed education to promote a decrease in the severe symptoms those individuals live with every day and increase there quality of life.

How Does it work? 
Stop and think about your loved ones, your friends, neighbors, and so on. That everyday are living with 
Depression, Anxiety, Aggression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or  Bipolar Disorder. No matter what the cause all of them are affected by a severe decrease of a brain chemical called serotonin. If you could give these individuals a tight hug for 3-8 hours a day you would be able to relieve their symptoms by at least 50%. 

"Through the deep pressure touch of a weighted item receptors become stimulated similar to swaddling an infant. This helps the body to relax, feel more grounded and safe. Clinical studies suggest that when these pressure points are triggered, the brain releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is known as “the calming chemical.” It also has other useful benefits, such as maintaining memory as well as have been proven to  assist an array of conditions such as severe anxiety, bipolar, neurological problems, PTSD, ADHD, sleep disorders, TBI and OCD .When humans receive the feeling of deep pressure to their skin and joints it naturally calms and relaxes the body, promoting sleep and stress relief and overall a decrease of anxiety and increase of quality of life. "(Occupational Therapy, 2008) 

How Your Donation helps?
All of the donations made through the gofundme to Snug as a Bugz Organization are being utilized to get all needed materials to make additional blankets for individuals in need. All of the blankets that are made with these funds will be donated at no cost with both recognition to the Snug as a Bugz Organization donations and an educational excerpt for them to share with others to continue to spread the word so together we can all  increase the quality of life of these individuals daily suffering. 

Thank you all for your support!





First image: Andrew J. Petrulis, MSgt, USAF
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician
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Donations 

  • Alice Opare
    • $50 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Chelsea Elizabeth
Organizer
West Hartford, CT

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