Absolute *** of our time Pt.MXXVI

[Nick]

Sorry mate that you feel the Army was your abuser, but what exactly did you think being a soldier was going to be ? Big boys games Big boys rules I'm afraid. Most people who join up have a realisation that there is a good chance that at some point in their service time they will be deployed in a war zone and will see some bloody awful stuff and probably will be involved in kill or be killed situations.

However it is fair to say that until you are in those situations you do not know if you have the mental strengths needed to cope with the inevitable trauma that will follow . Some people take the attitude " oh well shit happens it goes with the territory " I include myself in that category. But of course others suffer long lasting trauma and that is where P.T.S.D units called combat stress come into play. They are located up and down the country and are residential for periods of time that you are booked in for. Paid for and run by the M.O.D / government they give specialist care for servicemen who are suffering and do all they can including financial help to the men / women and their families. the N.H.S good as they may be cannot compare with the care at combat stress because they do not understand the mind set of soldiers with P.T.S.D as some of those symptoms are the direct result of guilt feelings. Give it a try mate what have you got to lose ?

You don't know the first thing about this guy and what you have written above is fairly offensive and a little naive.

[Guest MattP]

You don't know the first thing about this guy and what you have written above is fairly offensive and a little naive.

Surely as an ex soldier he is in a perfect position to pass comment?

[acooling08]

How do you "make someone work" though?

I feel like so long as benefits cannot afford a luxury lifestyle then there is little issue with it.

All these proposed measures would end up costing the taxpayer more money than they currently pay.

If someone is capable of work and refuses to look for it then cut their benefits completely. If it's work or starve, they'll ****ing work. Lazy scum cvnt.

[Bilo]

If someone is capable of work and refuses to look for it then cut their benefits completely. If it's work or starve, they'll ****ing work. Lazy scum cvnt.

In the middle of a recession? Where unemployment is rife at all levels from those without qualifications to red brick university graduates and professionals?

The number of people who actually refuse to work in any way, shape or form is far smaller than the Daily Mail and Jeremy Kyle would have you believe.

[flowwolf]

You don't know the first thing about this guy and what you have written above is fairly offensive and a little naive.

He is a ex soldier and so am I, so he knows what I am talking about, where as you as usual spout your ( I'm offended on someone else behalf ) hand wringing pissy little girl tripe that comes natural to the head in the clouds type you clearly are.

The word naive was actually invented for people just like you. ( unless of course your doing a poor man's troll )

Edited 1 November 2012 by flowwolf

[Rincewind]

Spoken like a true psychiatrist.

[Nick]

Surely as an ex soldier he is in a perfect position to pass comment?

If he was a former mental health specialist yes, a former ex soldier, no not really Matt.

[Nick]

He is a ex soldier and so am I, so he knows what I am talking about, where as you as usual spout your ( I'm offended on someone else behalf ) hand wringing pissy little girl tripe that comes natural to the head in the clouds type you clearly are.

The word naive was actually invented for people just like you. ( unless of course your doing a poor man's troll )

I'm sure he does know what you are talking about. You however dont know what he is talking about. You are a bloke who thinks that all homeless ex military choose to be homeless. And you think PTSD is all about your mindset and how tough or mentally robust you are. You only see it from your own perspective. You lack critical applied thinking, knowledge and empathy as you do with most subjects on here.

Spouting about 'big boys rules' and people who go through PTSD knowing what they signed up for and insinuating that they are not 'man' enough to cope with their experiences (like you have obviously been) seems to me like you are the troll as usual.

You see everything in black or white then call me naive.

Hmm.

[Mike Oxlong]

If he was a former mental health specialist yes, a former ex soldier, no not really Matt.

What is a former ex soldier?

Is it someone who is no longer an ex soldier?

[Nick]

What is a former ex soldier?

Is it someone who is no longer an ex soldier?

Its early and I haven't had coffee yet.

[MooseBreath]

In the middle of a recession? Where unemployment is rife at all levels from those without qualifications to red brick university graduates and professionals?

The number of people who actually refuse to work in any way, shape or form is far smaller than the Daily Mail and Jeremy Kyle would have you believe.

We're not in recession. Unemployment is going down. Number of employed people is higher than ever. These excuses are somewhat flimsy.

[Reynard Bleu]

Many soldiers on active service can appear to be coping with the dreadful stress and trauma of combat. Being with you mates and safe within the bosom of the battalion you tend to just get on with the job, fatigue in a funny way helps, you are often just too knackered to think about it. Not true for all but for plenty. Once you leave the Army, its like leaving your mother. the Army has wiped your arse for so many years the shock of being cut adrift from all you know and not having that strong hand guiding and directing you can be too much for some. Yes there is help available, but you have to seek it out, it isnt always offered as a matter of course. Some won't or don't recogise they have a problem and need help, too proud perhaps? When I left I was interviewed by the MO who asked if I was OK, did I need someone to talk to? Etc. Being the macho kick-ass combat infantryman I thought was, I said I was fine mentally, I bore some physical scars but otherwise I felt OK. After 6 weeks at home in the UK I was a wreck. Luckly my GP is a diamond and within two days I was under treatment with a councillor, an ex Falklands vet who knew what I was going through. You never forget the bad stuff, you just put it where it belongs - behind you.

Flowolf is right the help exists, its juat not always esy to find it particularly when you are in shit-state. Go and find the help mate, it works and you deserve it.

[Nick]

I was sat yesterday discussing tangible options for cutting or redesigning benefits systems and employing approaches like they have in Holland. It's such a complex issue it's hard to find a starting point that doesn't involve people being put at risk.

[ADK]

Easiest way to improve things is provide genuine incentives to be working and i don't mean £5 extra a week and a golden sticker.

[Leicfox]

Sorry mate that you feel the Army was your abuser, but what exactly did you think being a soldier was going to be ? Big boys games Big boys rules I'm afraid. Most people who join up have a realisation that there is a good chance that at some point in their service time they will be deployed in a war zone and will see some bloody awful stuff and probably will be involved in kill or be killed situations.

However it is fair to say that until you are in those situations you do not know if you have the mental strengths needed to cope with the inevitable trauma that will follow . Some people take the attitude " oh well shit happens it goes with the territory " I include myself in that category. But of course others suffer long lasting trauma and that is where P.T.S.D units called combat stress come into play. They are located up and down the country and are residential for periods of time that you are booked in for. Paid for and run by the M.O.D / government they give specialist care for servicemen who are suffering and do all they can including financial help to the men / women and their families. the N.H.S good as they may be cannot compare with the care at combat stress because they do not understand the mind set of soldiers with P.T.S.D as some of those symptoms are the direct result of guilt feelings. Give it a try mate what have you got to lose ?

Well I won't go into detail but maybe it wasn't combat that lead me to become ill , and maybe the people I thought would protect me and help me turned a blind eye and maybe then I thought I never had anyone to turn to, not even my family (actually they have only just found out what went on as after the Army didn't bother I kept it a secret and it become normal to me) and definitely not the Army.

Think more along the lines of Deepcut.

Edited 2 November 2012 by Leicfox

[Guest MattP]

If he was a former mental health specialist yes, a former ex soldier, no not really Matt.

Yet bizarrely others seem to think they are.

Edited 2 November 2012 by MattP

[ADK]

You don't need to be a mental health specialist to offer the simple advice of getting help.

[Leicfox]

Yet bizarrely others seem to think they are.

I actually told my therapist this morning that maybe it was all my own fault as it's Big Boys games with Big Boys rules like flowwolf suggests. I won't repeat his reply.

[Nick]

Yet bizarrely others seem to think they are.

You don't need to be a mental health specialist to offer the simple advice of getting help.

No, but if you are going to lay comment about an illness, it's causes and make reference to an individuals mental robustness, a degree of clinical insight into the individual circumstances of the person might make you slightly more defensibly equipped to 'chuck in one's sixpence'

[Guest MattP]

Surely sharing exactly the same persons experiences in life over the course of years and years would make you more qualified than a person who hasn't.

All depends what answers you want to hear I suppose.

[Reynard Bleu]

Well I won't go into detail but maybe it wasn't combat that lead me to become ill , and maybe the people I thought would protect me and help me turned a blind eye and maybe then I thought I never had anyone to turn to, not even my family (actually they have only just found out what went on as after the Army didn't bother I kept it a secret and it become normal to me) and definitely not the Army.

Think more along the lines of Deepcut.

Deepcut is a stain on the British Army, if you were subjected to that kind of treatment you should still seek the help but also report your treatment to the authorities, Don't bother with your ex-Regiment, go to your MP and get him to drive it.

[Nick]

Surely sharing exactly the same persons experiences in life over the course of years and years would make you more qualified than a person who hasn't.

All depends what answers you want to hear I suppose.

THE EXPERIENCES ARE CLEARLY NOT THE SAME NOR IS THE COMPREHENSION OF THE ILLNESS.

Which is the point.

The point now backed up by the poster to which the comment was made.

Try and read the thread.

[Guest MattP]

[Nick]

That's great, it's saved you from looking ignorant.

You now come over as funny and original.

[Captain...]

We're not in recession. Unemployment is going down. Number of employed people is higher than ever. These excuses are somewhat flimsy.

We are in recession, the figures of 1% growth in the last quarter are hugely misleading as they are based on comparing the last quarter, which contained the big money spinner the Olympics, with the previous quarter which had an extra bank holiday for old queeny, the real figure growth with those taken into account is 0.2% we will be back in recession when the next figures come out.