Dale's Story

“I’m proud to have been supported by Combat Stress”

“My dad was in the Army and when I left school at 16, I wanted to do something that would help me develop. The Army seemed like a good way to do it, so I joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1989, which later became the Royal Logistics Corps.

“During my 24 years in the Army I did two tours of Bosnia, a tour of the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and Albania and travelled across the world. Looking back, I can see now that it was my time in Bosnia where my mental health issues began. I saw civilians being affected by war or killed, and as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force we weren’t allowed to do anything but watch. As an 18-year-old I just thought ‘oh my God’. The memory of one young girl whose parents were murdered stays with me to this day.

“I was a Warrant Officer One when I left the Army in December 2013. I started to experience negative thoughts after I left the Army bubble though and went to my GP. I was told by both a doctor and a CBT counsellor I’d been referred to that it wasn’t PTSD but ‘leaving the Army blues’. For eight years I carried on thinking that.

“Then in 2021 I attended a mental health course for managers at work and for every symptom they listed, I was thinking ‘I do that’. It was then that I realised I had a serious issue. I spoke to work who said they’d support me in seeking professional help, so nine years after leaving the Army I called the Combat Stress Helpline.

“I was referred to a clinician who after a short time talking to me said I was experiencing moral guilt due to my experiences in Bosnia. He explained it and it was like a lightbulb came on because it made so much sense to me. He knew what to do as we’d identified the problem and I had online sessions with a clinical psychologist.

“The sessions opened up a very big chest of problems and negative thoughts, but also gave me the tools to deal with them. They gave me the ability to want to talk to my wife about it, talk to my friends and even to my son. He’s 12 and in a way, he knew more than me about mental health because they get taught at school. When I’m going through things, he recognises it and understands. Children are way ahead of us oldies with mental health. Combat Stress has brought me to where my son understands, talking is ok.

“Combat Stress has made me feel like I’m connected to my family again - I can talk to them about anything. I can live with them, and they can live with me. It’s given me a lifeline; I have been provided with the foundations and now I can go on to build on them.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Combat Stress for all they’ve done for me. The charity doesn’t get enough praise for what it does and I’m proud to have been supported by Combat Stress”

May 2023