Listen: helping millions of UK veterans to get life changing mental health treatment

With over 1.5 million veterans living in the UK, new research highlights many misconceptions that the public have about military veterans.  Over a third of people (37%) are unaware of just how many former military personnel we have in the UK, as ONS data signals that 7% of households across the UK have one or more veterans residing.

Whilst the vast majority of those leaving the Armed Forces go on to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives, there is a small but significant group who develop trauma-related mental health problems, and struggle to leave the battlefield behind. Data from Combat Stress, the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health, underlines how almost a third of people (29%) do not understand the extent of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its symptoms, while 1 in 10 (10%) were not able to identify any of the symptoms of PTSD.

The UK public is being encouraged to either walk or run 10 miles throughout the month of March, all in aid of supporting the provision of vital mental health treatment for UK veterans.

Aston spoke to Robert Marsh, director of fundraising at Combat Stress.