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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Taboo Of The Military’s ‘Ticking Time Bomb’

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Taboo Of The Military’s ‘Ticking Time Bomb’

A former SAS solider says troops are 'fried'.

Anonymous

Anonymous

In 2015, a year after the end of the conflict in Afghanistan, it was claimed an average of six military veterans per day were coming forward with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mental health issues had also risen by 26 percent compared to the previous year.

PTSD is a growing concern in the armed forces. Away from the horror, bloodshed and hell of a warzone, this is a condition which goes largely unspoken. However, it is causing almost as much harm on an alarming level.

It's a psychiatric disorder that can occur after witnessing extremely distressing events - like military combat - and can cause significant distress across a variety of symptoms, including flashbacks, emotional numbing, nightmares, outbursts of anger, depression and anxiety.

Now, speaking exclusively to TheLADbible, a former SAS veteran has broken cover to warn that the mental health challenge facing soldiers today is a 'ticking time bomb' which could have serious implications.

The ex SAS officer, whose identity TheLADbible cannot reveal, believes that it's how the armed forces are being used today that's largely responsible.

SAS PTSD
SAS PTSD

Credit: PA Images

"The tempo of war in Afghanistan was a massive factor when you look at the increased rates of PTSD we're seeing today," he says passionately. "If you're always fighting, then you become fried and you just never quite recover. There is no conscious decompression, no time to come to terms with loss of comrades or difficult incidents.

"I knew a couple of snipers in Afghanistan that ended up being fried. They had everything thrown at them and no respite, so subsequently they just had nothing left. You could see it in their eyes, and I don't think they would have ever been the same again. Add that to the type of wars we're fighting - long, drawn out, political affairs with no real end game or victory - and the mental toll is enormous. We're talking long-term damage to fighting spirit and morale."

But the soldier's knowledge of PTSD and other mental health issues extends back much further than Afghanistan - and is also much more personal. In 1982, after joining the army, he was deployed to the Falklands having turned just 20 years old. It was an experience that would forever change him.

"Going to war was a major event in my life and had a profound effect on me," he explains. "I didn't realise it at the time but high levels of fear and anxiety kicked in, and I was in a bad way after that war. Straight afterwards, not knowing or understanding what I was going through, I just ploughed on with my job. Then I collapsed one day and developed cardiac arrhythmias. At night, I couldn't switch the light off for fear of the dark. But I hid all of this, and suppressed it all with sheer willpower. I didn't know what else to do back then."

SAS PTSD
SAS PTSD

Credit: PA Images

In spite of his secret mental state, and unaware of a better course of action, he then joined the world-famous SAS. It was perhaps an attempt to focus his mind on something else.

"I joined Special Forces and served with them for 16 years," he remembers. "To some extent, I suffered with my mental illness the entire time. In the military, and especially with men, mental health issues are very taboo. We'd resort to black humour, make light of things and not really talk about it or take it too seriously."

Today, medical science and brave sufferers have helped to change attitudes towards mental health. But according to our former SAS man, there's still a long way to go.

"I knew a guy who was haunted by his time in the military," he reveals. "When he left, he became a priest. I suppose it was his attempt to make things right in his head. But he just couldn't and in the end, he took his own life. You can often ask yourself in those situations, did we do enough to help, and I guess in that case you have to say that no, we didn't

SAS PTSD
SAS PTSD

Credit: PA Images

Over the last decade, the Ministry of Defence has incorporated information about mental health issues on many of the armed forces websites. Awareness, diagnosis and treatment rates have all significantly increased, too. Currently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, alongside Prince Harry, are also working with Heads Together in a bid to further remove the stigma surrounding mental health and get people talking about it.

It's clear that more is being done to treat issues like PTSD, but the ex-SAS member we spoke to believes it's about prevention, not cure. To this day his condition remains with him.

"It still has a significant effect on me," he says bravely. "I get flashbacks and bad dreams. But luckily I've mostly learned to control it. Some people might say going into the SAS might have made my PTSD worse, but I'll never know. And let's not forget, these things are taboo. Many men don't want to talk about this stuff, and just joke about it instead. But it's a very serious issue. It's all about support. Without that, it could be the end for you. Time helps but unless you get proper treatment, it can all unravel quite quickly."

Words: Mark Tattersall

'U OK M8?' is an initiative from TheLADbible in partnership with a range of mental health charities which will feature a series of films and stories to raise awareness of mental health.

Explore more here and don't suffer in silence. Reach out. It's the brave thing to do.

MIND: 0300 123 3393.

Samaritans: 116 123.

CALM: Outside London 0808 802 5858, inside London 0800 58 58 58.

Mental Health Foundation

Featured Image Credit: Main illustration by danwilson1982