Chris Elliot

Moving forward after lifelong trauma: How a non-invasive approach to therapy changes lives

Chris Elliott's inspiring story offers hope to those struggling with PTSD. After decades of silent suffering and failed treatments, he finally found a therapy that worked – PTSD Resolution's innovative, non-invasive approach. 

Focusing on the future rather than reliving the past, Chris felt renewed. He now feels fitter, happier and closer to family than ever before. His uplifting journey from rock bottom to recovery shows that no matter how hopeless things seem, healing is possible. 

When Chris Elliott was growing up he was passionate about the military - and the outdoors - so a career in the Royal Air Force was a dream come true. But even as a ‘motorbike-mad’ teenager in East Sussex in the 1970s, the seeds of future trauma had already been sown.

Chris joined the RAF in 1980 as an aircraft engineer and describes his 22 years of Service as “very rewarding and enjoyable.” Beneath the successful exterior, however, past experiences had left him with a burden he carried silently.

Chris had been groomed and abused by a respected senior riding instructor when he was a young teenager, a betrayal he believes contributed to the Post Traumatic Stress that would eventually “catch up with him.”

While outwardly thriving in the Service, Chris says his “bucket of personal grief” continued to fill as he encountered tragedies in the course of his career. It wasn’t until he had left the RAF that long running tensions began to surface. Friends and family had suggested something might be wrong, and eventually - after repeatedly breaking down in tears at work - he sought medical help. A doctor prescribed high dose antidepressants which Chris says left him “stuck in a rut” for a long time - with “no sense of self-worth.”

The following years saw Chris struggle with alcohol, get divorced three times and distance himself from his family. He describes himself as “frightened” of his own children, afraid of how they must have seen him. Increasingly desperate, he was self-harming regularly and even planned his own "escape." 

At this point Chris was not reluctant about seeking help. He just couldn’t get any. He approached various specialists, mental health professionals and even some “big charities that are supposed to help Veterans” - but none were able to make him feel better about himself or his life. It wasn’t until Chris was introduced to PTSD Resolution through a Veterans’ networking event that things began to improve.

“PTSD Resolution therapy is non-invasive,” he explains. “You can give out as much information as you want, or as little - or none at all,” Relieved that he was not required to discuss the specifics of his trauma, Chris was able to fully engage with therapy - and turn his life around.

“The fact that you don’t have to relive it, you don’t have to tell the counsellor exactly what’s gone on - is massive,” he says. Chris was finally able to focus on the future - and he discovered that there were many things he could “fill his head with,” other than the “grief, pain and sadness of the past.”

Today Chris feels like a different person. He still remembers his past, he says, but he has learned to deal with it and live with it - rather than just existing. He acknowledges that his past is unchangeable, but he has been able to move forward and make something of his present and future - thanks to the therapy provided by PTSD Resolution.

Family relationships have improved enormously, Chris says, with more quality time and better communication. In fact, Chris even completed the Great North Run in 2022 with two of his daughters, while the rest of his family cheered them on - a feat that would have been unthinkable just a few years before. He is "fitter, healthier and more contented” than ever, running his own successful van courier business - and - recently trained to be a St Johns First Aider.

“I am a fully trained Mental Health First Aider,” Chris explains. “Today I passed my graduation assessment to be a full time Emergency Dispatch Assistant with the South Central Ambulance Service. A complete and huge change in my life direction and none of this would have been possible without the amazing help and support of PTSD Resolution.”

Chris's story highlights how important it is for Veterans - and the people close to them - to find the right kind of therapy. The non-invasive approach used my PTSD Resolution therapists was the key to Chris’s recovery - it enabled him to relax and, finally, address his trauma and move forward.

When asked if there is anything else he would like to add, Chris pauses - and then says, “Just that I’m happy.”

For Chris and many others, PTSD Resolution has provided a lifeline out of trauma. His story gives reason to keep trying, reach out, and have faith better days lie ahead. There is light even in the darkest hours.