Tug Morkel
D.R.E.A.M.S.
From Special Forces to Special Focus: Master Your Mental Wellbeing with D.R.E.A.M.S.
“I have walked through war zones and personal battles — and I know how to rebuild a life from the inside out. Your mind can be your greatest ally.”
Start Your D.R.E.A.M.S. Journey
Why I Believe in Talking to a Professional
I have seen the shadows of war and the silence of stigma. For too many years, men like me carried our wounds in silence, believing that resilience meant never speaking about them. It nearly broke me.
The truth is simple: resilience is not silence. Strength is not denial. Healing begins when you sit across from someone trained to listen, to challenge, and to guide. That’s what a professional can do.
My memoir, Tug’s Trek: A Memoir of Moral Injury, tells the story of carrying hidden scars from Rhodesia, Special Forces, and beyond. My D.R.E.A.M.S. framework was born from that struggle — diet, routine, exercise, alcohol control, medication/meditation, and sleep — but even these pillars need support from a trained ear.
I believe in therapy because I’ve lived the alternative. I know the cost of bottling it up. And I know the relief of finally breaking that silence.
This is why I have chosen to align with leading online therapy providers in the United States. It means you don’t have to wait, or travel, or sit in a waiting room. You can talk to a professional — discreetly, securely, and in your own time.
If you’ve ever thought “I will carry this alone,” let me be blunt: you don’t have to. The first step is simply reaching out.
Read the Chapters That Started It All
A soldier’s story. A man’s reckoning. A new beginning.
I didn’t set out to write a book.
I set out to make sense of what war does to a man’s mind — and how to find the road home again.
Tug’s Trek: A Memoir of Moral Injury is my true account of service, trauma, and recovery — a journey from the battlefield to the mindfield.
These free chapters are where it all began. It’s raw, unvarnished, and honest — not written for sympathy, but for truth.
If you’ve ever faced the dark night of the soul and wondered if healing is possible — start here.
This is where D.R.E.A.M.S. was born.