Making a difference to Falklands Post Traumatic Stress

Here are some chilling figures on the Battle of the Falklands, which took place 25 years ago.

• 30,000 service personnel took part
• 255 were killed in Combat
• Over 300 Falklands veterans have committed suicide since the end of the war
• 2,700 are likely to develop late onset, complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, flashbacks, emotional shutdown, hyper-arousal and avoidance behaviour.
• Relationships fail; self medicating with drugs and alcohol causes unemployment and homeless or imprisoned and many use suicide for relief.

Take it down to the level of the individual, and it becomes even more chilling.

Doug P. doesn't claim to be a war hero. He served in the Falklands war but doesn't have any medal for gallantry.

Doug joined the British Army in 1976 and trained as a combat medical technician. In 1982 he was serving with 55 Field Surgical Team attached to the 2nd Field Hospital in the Falklands.

He was an army medic onboard Sir Galahad when an Argentinean bomb exploded amongst the Welsh Guards waiting to be disembarked. Doug's actions in the horror of the burning tank deck saved many lives.

But the lives he couldn't save have haunted him for 25 years. To the point where he was self medicating with alcohol and drugs, his relationships all ended in failure and he attempted suicide four times.

On returning home from the Falklands his marriage started to fail and he was divorced by 1988. His drinking increased dramatically after the Falklands and he left the Army in 1989.

After the Army, he drifted between various jobs and transient relationships. The failure of the relationship involving his daughter - pushed him to the point of his first suicide attempt in 1999. At this time he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Since then Doug had three more suicide attempts and many years using alcohol to self medicate his condition. The limited support provided by the NHS did little to alleviate his symptoms.

The man who made the difference

David Walters, of Workplace Stress, a specialist in undoing workplace stress, heard about the problem of military veterans suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). And the fact that both the NHS and the Army seemed to be doing very little to help the sufferers.

He decided to do something to help, so he created the PTSD resilience training course. In the pilot programme over 70% of trainees were symptom free and able to self manage their symptoms after only 28 days.

David did the work unpaid.

The leading charity P3, has now offered their services to deliver David's revolutionary PTSD resilience training programme to all veterans with PTSD across the UK. This, sadly, will begin to include combatants from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Happily, Doug P. has recently completed the PTSD resilience training, and has now finished his journey back from the horror of the past twenty five years.

www.AfterTheFalklands.com