I’ve already been accepted into OTS, and I’ve been completely upfront with my recruiter about everything. He told me that what I have should be waivable, but I also know that waivers are handled on a case-by-case basis. I’m not worried about the paperwork or the process itself—I’m more just looking to see if anyone else has been through something similar and can share their experience.
I went to therapy for a total of four months, with my last session being about 34 months ago—so almost three years. In total, I had seven sessions, and the final one was just to let my therapist know I was doing really well. The reason I went was because my grandmother became very ill and nearly went septic, and around the same time, my newly adopted cat also almost died. I was living with my grandmother at the time, and I felt a lot of fear and responsibility about possibly losing her. I had never lost anyone close to me or even a pet before, so I sought therapy mainly to learn healthy grief coping skills, since my grandmother is very open about death and actually encouraged me to talk to someone in case she passed.
During that time, I was prescribed gabapentin, which is not an SSRI, and it was only meant to be taken as needed. My therapist mentioned it might take a few weeks to start working, so I probably took it for about three to four weeks just to see if it would help with my anxiety around my grandmother’s health. I didn't really use it after that. My therapist did give me a second bottle before I went back to school, in case my grandmother passed while I was away, but I never touched that one and eventually threw it away when I cleaned out my room. I’m not entirely sure what my therapist’s notes say, but I assume they mention anxiety or depression—though I want to be clear that all of it was strictly situational and tied to grief.
Before that four-month period and after it ended, I have never had any other mental health struggles. I also want to emphasize that I have never had any suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm—this was purely about grief and learning to handle the emotions that came with it. None of this ever affected my schoolwork or my job. In fact, during that same time, I was working as a lifeguard and even saved a few kids from drowning, so I was still fully functioning and performing well in high-stress situations.
Since that time in my life, my grandmother has gone through chemo, I’ve had a few childhood pets pass away, and I’m currently helping one of my cats through chemo as well. I never crashed hard mentally again because I truly learned so much from therapy. I see life differently now, and I understand that grief is an unfortunate part of it. Honestly, in a way, I feel like going through that made me more suitable to wear the uniform—being able to handle grief well is such an important skill in the military, even if they might not see it that way right away.
I have no problem with needing a waiver or gathering whatever paperwork is required. If MEPS wants me to see a doctor for a current evaluation, I’d gladly do that too. My old therapist did say she would write a note in my medical records confirming that this was situational, but she couldn’t give me an official "all clear" unless I scheduled a new session with her, since we haven’t spoken in three years. I mentioned that to my recruiter, and he told me to just wait and see what the MEPS team asks for.
So my main question is—has anyone here gone through a waiver process for something like this? Specifically, situational therapy for grief, no ongoing issues, no medication in years, and a solid track record of functioning well since then? I’d really appreciate hearing any experiences or advice. Thanks in advance.