Supporting Those Who Serve

Those who serve and protect us, often pay a high price for their devotion to duty. Many suffer physical injuries which are sometimes life-changing  –  and when they are visible most of us feel sympathy and support for the wounded person.

However, many times the wounds are invisible because they take the form of mental trauma. And mental trauma can be as deadly and life-changing as the physical.

They lower the quality of life and can render the sufferer incapable of living what many of us would regard as a normal life. Mental trauma comes in many forms – anxiety, depression, flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, addiction, paranoia and guilt. With self-esteem on the floor it’s often difficult (or impossible) for them to find employment – driving them deeper into despair. The world no longer makes sense. They made their sacrifice and then continue to pay the price for the rest of their lives.  That’s why so many consider suicide as the best option…. not realising (understandably) that they can be helped to recover and then lead a full, reasonably content, settled life.

And its not just the veteran that suffers. His or her family, friends or colleagues are also affected by their loved one’s strange, unreasonable behaviour.

Walking with the Wounded is a military charity dedicated to helping those veterans who have given so much. Their support is free to those who qualify through the effects of service.

I am proud and privileged to work on behalf of this charity as an independent counsellor/ psychotherapist helping military veterans to recover from their invisible wounds.