Combating the stigma of mental health problems
Combating the stigma of mental health problems
The legacy of our founders
By the end of the First World War, more than 80,000 cases of what was then known as ‘shell shock’ had been recorded by British Army medical staff, with 20,000 still suffering. And those were just the cases they knew of.
Many soldiers tried their best to conceal their trauma, frightened of being stigmatised and shunned by their comrades.
Mental health conditions, at the time, were viewed as a weakness of character and masculinity. There was an incredible lack of compassion for those who had been exposed to the unprecedented horrors of the war.
County mental asylums, private mental institutions and disused spas had been taken over during the war and designated as hospitals for ‘mental diseases’.
By 1918 there were more than 20 such hospitals in the UK.
Servicemen returning home displaying symptoms of shell shock faced being sent to these hospitals or locked away in asylums, far from loved ones, with no right to appeal. So it’s unsurprising that many chose to suffer in silence at home.
Helping end the stigma
Towards the end of the war, a group of remarkable women decided to take a stand against the stigma that surrounded shell shock. They believed that with the right support, veterans could be helped to cope with their trauma through rehabilitation. A few months later, in 1919, Combat Stress was founded.
This pioneering group of women put the wheels in motion to ensure veterans could get the mental health support they needed and were treated with the respect and dignity they deserved.
They did this despite the odds being stacked against them – at the time, men held the influence and connections needed to set up a charity such as ours.
Yet they defied societal expectation to help veterans who were in desperate need, and deeply deserving, of support. Without their courage and determination our work simply would not have come to be.
The charity began fundraising to provide recuperative residential homes where veterans could live and work, helping them rebuild their lives.
Combat Stress today
Over time Combat Stress developed its services, evolving to meet the changing needs of veterans.
Today, we provide treatment and support to veterans from every service and conflict, focusing on those with complex mental health issues. These arise when someone has several severe mental health conditions resulting from military service, which often hugely impact their lives.
Without the right help, their lives can become desperate. Anxiety, anger, depression, isolation and, in some cases, suicide can tear families apart, destroy relationships and devastate lives.
To continue meeting the needs of veterans and their families, we’re developing and improving our intensive treatment for PTSD to enable more veterans with complex mental health needs to benefit from our specialist, cutting-edge support.
Continuing their legacy and making progress
We’ve seen a positive change in society's attitudes towards mental health problems over recent years, but stigma still exists and that results in many veteran’s still suffering in silence.
It takes 14 years, on average, for a veteran to seek our help after leaving the military, which often means mental health problems have become severe and complex. It’s vital that those with a mental health problem receive the appropriate support.
Following on from the work of our founders, we’re dedicated to eradicating the stigma surrounding mental health difficulties and ensuring that every veteran affected by even the most complex mental health problems can leave the battlefield behind and find hope again.
To this day, over 100 years later, we continue our founders’ legacy to end the stigma and support our servicemen and women, who have given so much to defend this nation.
If you would like to make a life-changing difference to more veterans affected by military-related trauma, such as PTSD, please consider making a donation today at www.combatstress.org.uk/donate Every gift, no matter the size, can help veterans to leave the battlefield behind and start living again.
Combat Stress 100
Unfiltered, unguarded and profoundly moving
An insight into the impact of military trauma
In November 2020, in honour of our 100th birthday, we released the Combat Stress 100 project – a true insight into the impact of living with military trauma.
Unfiltered, unguarded and profoundly moving accounts from UK veterans, the project highlights the agony of living with PTSD and the toll this, and other complex mental health conditions, can have on veterans and their families.
Through the Combat Stress 100 project, we aim to educate the public and continue our founders’ mission.