SK, Service in, Northern. Ireland

The PTSD counselling I received has been of great help. I hadn't sought any support since leaving the Forces with un-addressed issues from service in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. 'We didn't dig deep into events that I have carried for 25+ years but C's explanations of how the mind works to trick us into overplaying past, or unlikely future events, together with breathing and distraction techniques have given me the ability to control some of those negative emotions. 'C's calm manner in guiding me through moments of breakdown mid-session gave some immediate success in mastering those emotions. 'Traumatic events outside those experienced in the Forces include a near-fatal motorbike crash, a stabbing and watching my mother die. The techniques I learnt during those (the therapy) sessions helped me address all of them. 'Shortly before starting the 6 counselling sessions I also had a return to Faith. C gave encouragement with that including useful visual techniques for times of prayer. 'Despite experiencing one of the lowest periods of my life to date, December 2015 is the first month in over 25 years that I haven't harbored thoughts of suicide. 'I know I'm not out of the woods yet, but I'm sure by combining my faith with the techniques and lessons from C that the dark days will be less and less. In short here is a summary of time before and after therapy/drugs (anti-depressants). I finally broke down on 17/11/2015, where upon I spoke to a knowledgeable friend who put me in touch with PTSD Resolution. At this point I was drinking to excess in order to sleep, then not sleeping anyway. I had no attention span to speak of. My behavior was a nightmare for my wife to live with as I was snappy, jumpy and never getting anything done. My days were spent rushing round at ninety hoping for the day to end, only to find myself dreading going to bed as sleep, when it came was full of dreams/flashbacks which would wake me up, and so it went on. Therapy gave me a standpoint from where I could observe myself and my behaviors, analyse them and reduce the bad ones. This directly affected my day to day actions and improved my relationships. I was approachable and conversational as opposed to challenging and neurotic beforehand. Therapy and/or drugs now enable me to sleep well and wake up to enjoy each day, not argue and clash with everything as previously. There are always challenges in my day to day life, be it at home or at work. Now however the little things which would wind me up and spoil my day or shift or create an explosion are now dealt with, with no negative consequences. As time goes by my coping method works faster and faster and sometimes without notice. This is a massive benefit. I have experienced 2 spells of waking very early (uncharacteristically) but only by waking up early, no nightmares or flashbacks involved and these have had a positive affect on my life, not detrimental at all. The conversations from my therapy were at the forefront of my psyche, but are now becoming part of my sub-conscious, and are working very well for me. My therapist has been a massive help to me, my wife and career by way of her expertise in sorting out a mess that I thought was unfathomable. So from me and my family a big, big thank you to my therapist, PTSD Resolution and my friend who put me in touch.