Janice R. Andrews
A Kent resident who served in the Iraq War has described his terrifying experience dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), saying that he almost lost everything before getting treatment. Former Canterbury soldier Simon Stanley credits Combat Stress, a veterans’ charity that has experienced a sharp increase in the number of people seeking mental health treatment, with helping him rehabilitate.
During his eighteen years in the army, Stanley was stationed in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, and most famously, Iraq in 2003. His experiences in Iraq were what really influenced him. “Seeing civilians who had been hurt, injured, or in distress and not being able to do anything about it bothered me the most,” he added, reflecting on his time in the military.
Stanley’s deployment’s psychological cost lasted him even after he was discharged from the service. Even after leaving the military, he didn’t seek assistance for almost ten years. He remembered, “It was all just confrontational.” “I was angry about everything, I would lose my temper at the slightest thing.”
When a close buddy questioned him about his actions, it was the tipping point. “You need to get help,” one of my closest friends told me. You have to visit someone. You’re never content; you’re always irate and annoyed. It is not what you want to be among people. Stanley recalled, “You’re not the Simon I knew five or six years ago.” He was awakened to the possibility of losing his loved ones and all he treasured in the event that he neglected to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.
Combat Stress’s Robert Marsh emphasized the difficult journey many veterans must take before getting assistance. “It takes veterans on average 13 years to seek help for conditions such as PTSD,” he said. “Fighting operations stopped in Iraq and Afghanistan over a decade ago, and we are seeing the rump of those veterans coming through to seek support now.”
Combat Stress has noted a 44% rise in veterans seeking help for mental health concerns since 2021. For veterans like Stanley, who believes the foundation helped him take back control of his life, it is essential in giving the required support.
Stanley’s tale serves as a powerful reminder of the value of mental health services for veterans and the vital role that groups like Combat Stress play in their rehabilitation. His story, which takes him from the verge of losing everything to finding support and hope, is an inspiration and a reminder of the struggles that veterans of the armed forces still face today.
