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Following on from the thread about the case of DCAS, Talk Wrench has asked me to start a separate thread about the impact MH has had on our own lives, and how it was dealt with.
Being a humble ex-stacker, I know I haven't been immune from the effects of stress, anxiety and self-doubt. In my case, it was triggered by a 5-year long involuntary separated tour which all but destroyed my marriage. Fortunately, I was posted to a station where I could resume living with the wife and kids, but there was no making up of the five years I missed of the children growing up. The admin side of the air force was totally impervious to my requests for a posting nearer to home - to quote the asshole on the trade desk at Innsworth "It's you that's in the air force , not your family" - something which nearly drove me over the edge.
The hard part was admitting I had a problem and going to the doc. I was referred for counselling at another station's med centre which was established with psychiatric staff. Slowly but surely I was able to get my life in order and learned how to recognise and, more importantly, deal with the symptoms before they got to severe. I've had need to seek counselling a couple of times since I left the RAF and being a veteran, was queue jumped by my GP.
All that said, other events trigger memories of bad times and one in particular stands out is from the days when sympathetic treatment was limited to "Pull yourself together and get back to work".
I was based at 16MU when the Hixon train crash occurred and was sent out as part of the station's response. It was the first time I had ever seen the contents of a human body. I was standing beside the transformer which the train had struck on the level crossing when some wreckage was moved and a red mass slithered down the side of the transformer. it was identified as female due to the clothing. It was unrecognisable as a human being. I spent two days on-site picking up "bits and pieces". After getting back to the station, no counselling given, no asking if I was alright, just "get back to work" . The sights from those two days haunted me for a long time.
Many years later, when I was going to a counselling session, news of the Great Heck train crash came through and those awful memories from Hixon were re-ignited. By the time I got to the counselling session I was in tears. Fortunately, the counsellor was able to calm me down and get me to talk; my planned one hour session lasted three.
It appears to me, that the RAF has moved on in dealing with MH cases, but I'm sure there's still a way to go. If someone feels they are suffering from a MH issue, then the hardest part of dealing with it is to recognise it and ask for help. There shouldn't be a stigma attached to asking for help - after all it may just save a life.
Being a humble ex-stacker, I know I haven't been immune from the effects of stress, anxiety and self-doubt. In my case, it was triggered by a 5-year long involuntary separated tour which all but destroyed my marriage. Fortunately, I was posted to a station where I could resume living with the wife and kids, but there was no making up of the five years I missed of the children growing up. The admin side of the air force was totally impervious to my requests for a posting nearer to home - to quote the asshole on the trade desk at Innsworth "It's you that's in the air force , not your family" - something which nearly drove me over the edge.
The hard part was admitting I had a problem and going to the doc. I was referred for counselling at another station's med centre which was established with psychiatric staff. Slowly but surely I was able to get my life in order and learned how to recognise and, more importantly, deal with the symptoms before they got to severe. I've had need to seek counselling a couple of times since I left the RAF and being a veteran, was queue jumped by my GP.
All that said, other events trigger memories of bad times and one in particular stands out is from the days when sympathetic treatment was limited to "Pull yourself together and get back to work".
I was based at 16MU when the Hixon train crash occurred and was sent out as part of the station's response. It was the first time I had ever seen the contents of a human body. I was standing beside the transformer which the train had struck on the level crossing when some wreckage was moved and a red mass slithered down the side of the transformer. it was identified as female due to the clothing. It was unrecognisable as a human being. I spent two days on-site picking up "bits and pieces". After getting back to the station, no counselling given, no asking if I was alright, just "get back to work" . The sights from those two days haunted me for a long time.
Many years later, when I was going to a counselling session, news of the Great Heck train crash came through and those awful memories from Hixon were re-ignited. By the time I got to the counselling session I was in tears. Fortunately, the counsellor was able to calm me down and get me to talk; my planned one hour session lasted three.
It appears to me, that the RAF has moved on in dealing with MH cases, but I'm sure there's still a way to go. If someone feels they are suffering from a MH issue, then the hardest part of dealing with it is to recognise it and ask for help. There shouldn't be a stigma attached to asking for help - after all it may just save a life.
