A Veteran’s Story: Combatting Mental Health
The veterans who visit us at Woody’s Lodge will often have varying challenging backgrounds, from physical to mental health ailments to difficulty adjusting to civilian life once they’ve returned home from active service.
Here at Woody’s Lodge, we approach the challenges our veterans, emergency services leavers and their families face in an environment that provides support, care and friendship. Find out more about one of our veterans that visits us, Kevin, and his experience since serving in the British Army.
Our veterans: Kevin
After serving in the British Army for 10 years, Kevin is a 35-year-old veteran that undertook active service both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kevin left the Army suffering with several health issues including PTSD, anxiety and depression. An incident witnessed by Kevin whilst on foot patrol in Afghanistan, is one instance which has led to his current mental health condition. Also, soon after leaving the Army, Kevin’s mother died leading to further mental stress.
He is prone to becoming very aggressive at times and can spiral positive situations into negative ones. He appears to be very isolated and somewhat withdrawn, especially for instance when dealing with larger groups of unfamiliar people. Kevin was treated at Audley Court. The programme consisted of cognitive behavioural-based Psycho-Educational groups, as well as individual trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Kevin attends Woody’s Lodge with his partner. At first, he was very shy and reluctant to mix with other veterans. However, after a couple of weeks, he approached our team and asked what, if any, help he might be entitled to. He now regularly attends Woody’s Lodge and is slowly beginning to mix with other veterans.
Kevin made a claim for PIP but unfortunately his claim was refused. We lodged an appeal on his behalf and accompanied him to the hearing, where we’re pleased to say he was awarded daily living allowance at the enhanced rate and mobility at the lower rate. Kevin has admitted that if it were not for Woody’s Lodge something “unthinkable” may have happened to him. We’re so pleased that he came to us at Woody’s Lodge and approached the team for some help.
If you’re experiencing similar issues to our veteran, Woody’s Lodge is a Welsh veteran’s charity and we can help. Our team have experience in providing support to those in a variety of situations, find out more about how Woody’s Lodge can help you here. Plus, we have regular Veteran Drop-in Centres across Wales where you can pop in and see our team. For information, or if you’d like to come in and speak to our team, you can get in touch by calling 07562916312 (South Wales) or 07731417974 (North Wales). You can also email us: [email protected].