Combat Stress

For many former service personnel with mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the sights, sounds and smells of fireworks can potentially trigger difficult memories of frontline combat. With one week to go until Bonfire Night, we wanted to share some key tips to help veterans and their families prepare. You can read more about support for veterans during fireworks, including information about how you can help those affected, and our ask of the UK government here: https://ow.ly/vmSK50TVbXG Please remember that you’re never alone, and support is available. If you’re a veteran and struggling with your mental health, please call our free 24-hour Helpline on 0800 138 1619 for confidential advice and support.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Honour & Craft, who will be generously donating a portion of every sale they make to Combat Stress. Support such as theirs ensures we can continue to provide our specialist, life-changing treatment to veterans with complex mental health conditions. Click here to find out more: https://ow.ly/aNjt50TVcos

At Combat Stress, we’re committed to sharing our expertise with organisations and individuals involved in the provision of veteran healthcare and helping to improve support for former service personnel. We know from our own and others’ research that there is a lack of awareness of the unique experiences and needs of women veterans in the UK. This is why we’re sharing our ENHANCE+ project, an online programme comprised of three free courses that aims to build knowledge around the needs and experiences of women veterans - in particular military sexual trauma - and help shape better access to services. All information in the programme is based on current academic and evidence-based research. The programme includes: A 15-minute, self-guided introduction to women veterans' experiences and needs, and is suitable for anyone who works alongside or comes into contact with women veterans. This could be employers and non-specialist services as well as those in the veteran sector.  Also included is a free, live online advanced understanding workshop, which provides recommendations on how services can better meet women veterans’ needs. We also offer funded training places in CPT for suitably qualified mental healthcare professionals. Click here to view the courses, and register today: https://veterans.training #veteranscharity #onlinecourse #womenveterans

In November, Maia will emBARK on her #WaggyTrails challenge for Combat Stress. She’ll be 17 in 2025 and is still making the most of every day! 🐾 It's not too late to sign up and join us - get your paws muddy andraise vital funds for veterans’ mental health. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eDgGjsZc #veteran #veterans #mentalhealth #mentalfitness #charity #fundrasing #community #support

Can you believe it’s been a whole week since our Soldiering On Awards Night! In case you missed it, here are the 2024 winners 👇 🏆 The Employee Champion Award, in partnership with Landmarc Solutions - Andrew White  🏆 Animal Partnership Award, supported by Pets at Home - Jaime Garner  🏆 Inspiration Award, in partnership with NatWest Business - Hari Budha Magar MBE FRGS  🏆 Working Together Award, in partnership with Forces in Mind Trust - Sunderland City Council Armed Forces Partnership  🏆 Healthcare & Rehabilitation Award, in partnership with Redwood Technologies - Combat Stress VICTOR Intensive Treatment Service  🏆 The Education, Training and Development Award, supported by Reed in Partnership - CAPSLOCK  🏆 Business Start-Up Award, in partnership with GKN Aerospace - Phillip Jones  🏆 Business Scale-Up Award, in partnership with LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) - Nick Orde-Powlett  🏆 Business Community Impact Award, in partnership with Cisco -  Brendan Williams  🏆 Defence Inclusivity Award, in partnership with Barclays UK - Maj.Dal Singh Virdee MBE  🏆 Family Values Award, in partnership with ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions - The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation  🏆 Lifetime Achievement Award, in partnership with Oracle - Tony Wright Once again we want to wish all of our winners a huge congratulations and thank you to our partners for the support. Check out why our winners deserved their award!  https://lnkd.in/dQ7K_ywz #ICYMI #Solideringonawards #InspirationalWinners #ArmedForcesCommunity 

If you're a veteran and you meet the described criteria, consider participating in this research study which is being supervised by Professor Dominic Murphy, Head of Research at Combat Stress.

During his seven years in the Army, Andy trained as a sniper and was deployed to Iraq and to Afghanistan. It was in Iraq that he experienced multiple traumas that would resurface later on. A decade after leaving the Army, Andy started to experience graphic nightmares, extreme anger and hallucinations. He went into “self-destruct mode” and started drinking heavily to cope. On the advice of a friend he called our Helpline and was diagnosed with PTSD. Andy went on to receive our specialist mental health treatment including 1:1 trauma focused therapy, which helped him to open up to his wife and get his life back. “Veterans should contact Combat Stress, 100%,” he says. “They were the one for me.” Click here to read more about Andy’s story: https://ow.ly/Q4cF50TRzz5

We’re joining Fighting with Pride to call on the government to provide suitable financial reparations for those affected by the historic Armed Forces ban, fully reflecting the cruelty and abuse they endured. From our experience of treating LGBT+ veterans, we sadly know all too well how, for many, their mental health has been devastatingly impacted by sexual abuse and violence, bullying and institutional discrimination, living in fear and distress, and being expelled from the military. We stand in solidarity with all LGBT+ veterans and are committed to providing the highest standards of support to them and their families.

At Combat Stress, we use our knowledge, research and veteran feedback to inform the services we deliver to veterans. Click here to read about some of our latest innovations: https://ow.ly/Ii7h50TQT3k #compassion #compassionfocusedtherapy #veteranscharity

2024 marks 110 years since the start of the First World War, which was the catalyst for the creation of Combat Stress. By the end of the war, millions had given their lives and thousands had returned with life-changing injuries, not all of which were physical. On the frontline, the constant sound of heavy artillery, lack of sleep and exposure to injury and death had led large numbers of soldiers to develop shell shock, or what we now refer to as PTSD. The servicemen who came home traumatised received little sympathy from the public, with some locked away in war hospitals and asylums, and others suffering in silence at home. The founders of Combat Stress believed that with rehibiliation, veterans could be helped to overcome their trauma, and the charity began fundraising to introduce residential homes where veterans could rebuild their lives. By 1920, we had opened our first recuperative home on Putney Hill in South West London. Since then, our services have evolved to meet the changing needs of former military personnel. Today, we support veterans with some of the most complex mental health challenges. While a lot has changed over the last 110 years, one thing remains the same: how vital our support is to the veteran community. Click here to download the latest edition of our newspaper and read the full article: https://lnkd.in/drrb4En4