NEWS

Read the latest updates from Walking With The Wounded's 'Walking Home For Christmas' campaign


Carly’s story

By Walking With The Wounded on

Carly joined the Army in June 2012.  When the initial 14-16 weeks of basic training commenced Carly immediately began to experience symptoms of anxiety, feeling panicky.  When the PT session came round Carly recollects standing in the ablutions in floods of tears brought on by the mere thought of the obstacle course. Eventually Carly was discharged from the Army in September 2013, just 15 months after joining. In 2015 Carly suffered a breakdown and sought treatment through her GP. In August 2017 Carly met with an Employment Adviser from Walking With The Wounded who Carly refers to as "brilliant from day one". After initial successes, In January 2018 Carly began to once again experience feelings of anxiety and self-doubt and suffered a further breakdown, Carly's EA encouraged her to go back to her doctor, which helped immensely, with regular therapy sessions and a change of medications Carly began to feel an uplift in her mood. Carly spoke to her previous employer and went back to working for 5 hours at a local petrol station. Carly's EA advised her to take things steady, Carly said that for the first time in her life she took on board the advice given.

Carly's EA helped her to recognise her strengths, such as her caring nature and advised her to think about working in the adult services sector with a suggestion of becoming a job coach with a local supported Employment Service.  During April Carly's WWTW EA approached Enable, within Shropshire Council to see if there were job vacancies and if they would consider Carly for interview and they encouraged Carly's application.  She promptly completed her application, securing an interview and successfully securing employment. Carly flourished at interview and was offered a full time position the day after.  This news gave Carly a huge boost in confidence, she felt happy and felt a sense of security with the prospect of a regular wage that would enable her to plan for the future.

"My whole life has changed after meeting the Employment Advisor from WWTW.  I can now see that I have a bright future thanks to them.  Being employed by a company that understands my mental health issues is really comforting.  The regular supervision with my boss makes me even more convinced this is the right job for me and a job I can thrive in."

Bryn's Story

By Walking With The Wounded on

Bryn served as an Infantryman in the elite 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment (1 PARA), part of the Special Forces Support Group. He was regularly deployed on operations - to Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan – and he was fulfilled by his achievements as a soldier.

After 10 years of active duty however, the physical demands of the role took its toll, and he experienced pain and damage to both his ankles. As he was no longer able to train or go on operations, he accepted that it was time to hang up his Army boots.

Unphased by the transition to civilian life, Bryn quickly transferred his military expertise into a career in private security. He secured contracts to protect senior US government officials as they...

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Kane's Story

By Walking With The Wounded on

After Kane’s military career came to a sudden end, he had no idea what to do next. Without any direction in life, he felt stuck and increasingly disillusioned. Over time, he decided that he was most suited to working outdoors and he focused his energy into achieving his goal. WWTW supported Kane into a new career in Arboriculture. They provided him with help, encouragement, and the funding that he needed to get his professional training and apply for work. Now Kane has a great job as an Arborist with a leading utilities service company.

“Upon leaving the Army I was really stuck in a rut and didn’t know what to do. The turning point was meeting Lynsey at WWTW. She gave me so much help and support along the way and now I have landed myself...
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Paul's story

By Walking With The Wounded on

Paul served for 23 years in the RAF, mainly in the Bomb Disposal Unit, but his job exposed him to prolonged danger and repeated traumatic events, and his mental health suffered as a result. During Paul’s first tour abroad, he started to experience panic attacks and he was sent back to the UK with suspected Acute Stress Reaction. As a committed team member, he felt guilty and ashamed that he had left his colleagues and he asked to be sent back to Iraq to re-join his unit. The second and third tours followed and Paul was exposed to further trauma and started to suffer from anxiety and depression and to experience intense and disturbing flashbacks. To try to hide the symptoms of PTSD and to manage his mental health, Paul self-medicated with...

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