The Veterans’ Survival Guide: The Veterans’ Survival Guide: Explaining combat-related PTSD for ex-servicemen and their families

‘Thanks, your Guide has opened my eyes to something even I dismissed before. I was so wrong and I realise now I’ve been suffering for years.’

- Gulf War veteran

‘I felt your experiences as if my own, as I had a career as an Infantry Officer in the Punjab Regiment and fought a messy war in 1971 with India. I spent two years in captivity as a POW and your Guide has enormously helped me.’

- Veteran captain, Pakistan Army

‘Thank you so much for the Guide. I’ve read it about five times – it’s dead on. If I had known about it before my court case, I wouldn’t be here now.’

- Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Falklands veteran

‘Jimmy, I got more out of this book, than I did from all my ten years of therapy’

- Northern Ireland veteran

‘When I read the Guide I started to cry, I could relate to it so much it was unreal. If I had been given this Guide on leaving the Army it would have helped me a lot and also helped my family spot the change in me.’

- Afghanistan veteran

‘Watching one’s child suffering PTSD is a heartbreaking experience. It made me feel totally inadequate as a mother, as I could not take away the pain, fear, hurt, anger etc. of my child. I also believed this anger was directed at me personally and found it difficult to understand. The Survival Guide gave me, in words that I can understand, a greater knowledge of PTSD, showing me how to help myself deal with PTSD and therefore help and support my child.’

- Mother of a sufferer of PTSD

‘Many thanks for all you did for the young Para, Jimmy. He said, “It’s as if the guy can see inside my head.” That is what he said to me after he read your Survival Guide. Once again, my sincere thanks.’

- A prison ‘listener’, referring to an Iraq war veteran on suicide watch

‘Thanks. For once there is light at the end of the tunnel, yours is an outstanding and worthy cause, well done’

- Northern Ireland veteran

A Statement from the Author

Read a statement from Jimmy Johnson, the author of The Veterans' Survival Guide

An Excerpt of the Book

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The Veterans’ Survival Guide

Remember the Surviving Soldiers

Post-traumatic stress disorder affects many servicemen and women returning from tours of duty. Unaware that they are suffering from the condition, upon returning to civilian life they may be left undiagnosed and untreated, with potentially devastating consequences.

The Veterans’ Survival Guide has been written to help veterans and their families to understand the causes, symptoms and very real dangers of PTSD. Sharing the experiences of real soldiers who have been affected by the disorder, the Guide is designed to increase awareness of combat-related PTSD, to help sufferers and their families identify the condition, and to encourage veterans to seek the treatment they need and deserve.

A Foreword

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Testimonies

Praise for The Veterans' Survival Guide

Chapter List

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About This Book

This Book is for Soldiers all over the World Many veterans are paying a hidden and very high price for being well-trained soldiers. They are often unaware that they are carrying psychological injuries from being exposed to life-threatening situations. On their return home, some may find it difficult to fit back into a society at peace.

No one knows exactly how many undiagnosed veterans there might be suffering combat-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after serving in wars and conflicts. It is a shameful paradox that people who chose to serve their country are then overlooked by its government. PTSD is costly for both the veterans and their families and for society at large, needlessly destroying relationships with family and friends, making it difficult to hold down jobs, and sometimes causing destructive, violent or depressive behaviour that can result in substance abuse, crime or suicide.

This book has been written by a former soldier who suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder for soldiers all over the World, both serving and discharged in the hope that it will help them understand their situation.