The girlfriend of a soldier found hanged in a quarry on New Years day has pleaded for more help for individuals who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

29-year-old Welsh Guardsman, L/Sgt Dan Collins, was found dead on New Year’s Day after taking his own life.

Girlfriend Vicky Roach has said that the soldier faced a “constant battle” after being shot twice and having lost two close friends in Afghanistan, and is calling for more help for charities helping soldiers with PTSD.

Roach explained to BBC Wales in an interview, that what happened on Sunday was not Collins first attempt to take his own life.

“If you lose a leg or an arm – don’t get me wrong, that’s horrendous – but you deal with it and you move on,”

“He couldn’t move on, there was no way of him moving on.

“It was a constant battle in his mind every day, and he was fighting this battle.” She said.

Toby Harnden, a journalist and author – met Collins and spent some time with him whilst conducting research for a book about the Welsh Guards.

He described the soldiers escapes from death as ‘miraculous’ and said that he believed that the way Dan had to cope with people who were dying or dead was something that had really eaten away at him.

Roach and Collins met back in February 2011 after he returned home from Afghanistan, and only shortly after Roach began to pick up on some unusual behaviour.

Roach described one particular incident in which Collins had dropped to the floor in a Tesco store after a loud noise spooked him, and also spoke of other incidents such as nightmares, screams and shouting.

After Roach encouraged Collins to seek help, he received regular counselling sessions through the army though still remained deeply troubled and unable to speak openly about his experiences to his family.

Roach is now calling for more help to be given to charities such as the Bridgend-based Healing the Wounds, which aims to help Welsh soldiers suffering from mental health issues.

“If we can just save one soldier in the future it will mean the world to us.” Said Roach.

If you are concerned that either yourself or a loved one may be suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder, please visit our fact-sheet for information about how counselling may be able to help.

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For many, seeing in the New Year marks a fresh start and often brings about a readiness for change. Perhaps then, that is why January still remains the busiest month of the year for divorces.

If you are considering beginning divorce proceedings or are in the midst of separation, the following tips and advice may help you to cope with what is sure to be a very difficult period as amicably, fairly and simply as possible.

The first piece of advice for anyone thinking about filing for divorce is to seek professional advice and support from a family solicitor. Your solicitor will be able to advise you on all of the options available to you, and will only move on to discussing court proceedings at a later date if they are certain that a resolution cannot be reached another way.

If there are children involved, remember that your primary aim is that they do not find themselves in the centre of bitter divorce proceedings. Not only does that mean the emotional impact of the separation on the children will be minimised, but it also could help to keep legal costs down.

A divorce method that is currently experiencing a significant growth in popularity is that of mediation. The mediation process involves divorcing couples visiting a mediator who will provide them with advice and guidance about the best way to proceed. It is worth noting however, that this process will only work if both parties are committed to an amicable divorce and are prepared to be 100% open about their financial circumstances.

If you do not feel as though mediation is for you then there are other options. Your solicitor can help through meetings and negotiations between you, your spouse and their solicitor.

If you and your spouse can’t seem to reach an independent agreement about finances then it may be that the divorce has to go to the courts. If this is the case, try to reach a direct agreement with your spouse about childcare arrangements so as to keep your children out of the crossfire.

Whatever happens, divorces don’t have to be acrimonious and a source of yet more hurt for both yourself and the rest of your family. There are always ways to minimise conflict and ensure that the proceedings are dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible. Communication and co-operation are key.

If you are considering beginning divorce proceedings or are currently struggling through a difficult divorce, please visit our separation and divorce fact-sheet to find out how counselling may be able to help you.

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A mental health trust in Sussex has today released advice for those struggling to cope with the start of the new year.

2011 was a difficult year for Britain, with widespread financial instability, redundancies, service cuts, mounting debts, fee increases and riots.

Lisa Rodrigues, chief executive of the Sussex Partnership HNS Trust, has recognised that life is tough for everyone, but especially for those suffering hardship.

Rodrigues said: “mental health services can’t make people’s lives easier, but they can help people to cope with what life brings, however hard it may be.”

Her tips for people who want to improve their mental health in these troubling times are as follows:

1. Keep active – exercise really does noticeably change the way you feel by releasing certain feel-good hormones. Not only does it make you happier, it keeps your body looking healthy and working properly. It can also help people suffering from serious mental illnesses such as psychosis.

2. Eat well – research has revealed significant links between eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein, with an improvement in mental health. Diet is important – you will notice that if you eat junk food, you feel worse even if you enjoyed it at the time.

3. Sleep well – try to go to bed at a reasonable time, allowing you to have 6-8 hours of sleep at night. Relax before bed – don’t work at the computer, play games, watch TV or drink caffeine before sleeping as these activities act as stimulants and will keep your brain awake.

4. Don’t drink too much – we all enjoy a drink every now and then, but moderation is essential. If you are feeling low, alcohol will act as a depressant and make you feel even worse. Find another way to distract yourself, like immersing yourself in a book or a film.

5. Keep a social life – sometimes it is an effort to socialise when you don’t feel like it. Forcing yourself to get out and keep in touch with family and friends is important and will make you feel better.

6. Talk about it – if you think you might need professional help, don’t be afraid to seek it. Admitting to a problem is the first step towards fighting it. We all feel sad sometimes, but if the feeling won’t go then you may benefit from some external advice or treatment.

7. Go outside – fresh air really is medicine. Going for a walk in the park or by the sea can do wonders for your mind. It will replenish your oxygen supplies, heighten your senses and maybe even take your mind off things.

8. Think of 3 good things – when things are particularly tough and you struggle to find any positive aspects to your life, force yourself to write 3 good things down. This can involve even the smallest achievement or event – from getting out of bed, to someone smiling at you in the street. Reading back at the end of the week will make you realise that not all is bad.

9. Help someone – sometimes all we need is to feel a little compassion. Doing something good for someone not only spreads goodwill, it also makes you feel better. Human beings are social creatures – it makes sense that helping each other makes us happy.

To find out more about how talking to a counsellor could help you,  please browse our Types of Distress section, or find a counsellor using our search tool. 

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2012 looks set to be the year of austerity, with 49% of Brits vowing to take control of their accounts this January.

The figures were compiled by price comparison website Gocompare.com from a survey of 3,000 people across the UK.

The traditional resolutions of getting fit and losing weight have been eclipsed by the wide-spread effects of the country’s recession.

The most popular resolutions this year were:

1. Sorting out finances and reducing outgoings
2. Getting fit and exercising more
3. Losing weight
4. Changing diet and eating more healthily
5. Beginning a new hobby or sport
6. Stopping smoking or reducing smoking
7. Spending more time with family and friends
8. Finding a new job
9. Giving up or reducing drinking

According to the survey, finance-related resolutions included paying off debt, saving money in a deposit account, increasing pension payments and investing in the stock market.

John Miles, business development director of Gocompare.com has said: “unlike some of the health and lifestyle resolutions, there are several easy, practical steps people can take to make a real change to their finances in 2012.”

Of the 26 million Britons set to make New Year’s resolutions this year, a staggering 40% of them will have given them up by the end of January. 87% of them will have given up by June.

If you would like further advice about managing debts, please visit our Debt Management page. Here you can find out how a counsellor could help you to manage debt and financial problems. Seeing a counsellor could be the first step towards keeping your New Year’s resolution this year.

View and comment on the original Sacbee article. 

Scientists at Surrey University have announced plans to conduct a three-year research project into the impact of birdsong on human creativity and wellbeing.

There’s been many a meandering speculation into the enlightening effects of birdsong throughout the history of romantic poetry. True, it was Aldous Huxley who once said ‘remove birds from poetry, and we would have to cast aside half of the English canon’.

Huxley famously wrote ‘Island’, a story of a utopia where inhabitants lived in pure enlightened bliss. In this state of Nirvana, the birds never sang, but instead mimicked the word ‘attention’ in order to remind people to stop and take in the world around them. By connecting with the world, people could be at peace with life.

Now scientists are considering whether there is an element of fact in Huxley’s famous imaginings.

The study, supported by the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust, will involve experiments testing the impact of birdsong on participants’ ability to relax, concentrate and think creatively.

According to researcher Eleanor Ratcliffe: “A great deal of anecdotal evidence suggests that we respond positively to birdsong. However, currently there is a lack of scientific research on the psychological effects of listening to birds”.

Peter Brash of the National Trust believes that birdsong is ‘good for the mind and soul’, that it helps to bring us closer to nature and is more effective at evoking happy memories than any other sound.

Even without scientific evidence, it is clear that being outside can help restore mental health and make us feel better.

If you are struggling with emotional distress, you may wish to speak with a counsellor. To discover the vast number of different ways a counsellor can help, please feel free to browse our Types of Distress page.

View and comment on the original Guardian article. 

With Christmas only a few days away, most people’s thoughts will be on turkey collections, last minute shopping and present wrapping to ensure the Big Day runs as smoothly as possible.

For the charities Lifeline, Samaritans and Childline, however, all thoughts will be on the many people across Britain who will not be enjoying Christmas this year.

“Christmas is a very happy time but, for some of us, it can be a time of loneliness and isolation,” said Suzanne Costello, director of Samaritans Ireland.

Samaritans offers a 24 hour phone-line for those who simply need someone to talk to about their distress. Samaritan volunteers will listen to any caller unconditionally, offering support and guidance whenever asked.

Samaritans, along with Lifeline and Childline,  are staying open throughout the festive period. Volunteers are expecting to deal with up to 8,000 calls for help over Christmas.

Lifeline lets you speak directly to qualified crisis counsellors who also offer up to six free face-to-face sessions at a location convenient to you.

NSPCC’s Childline too relies heavily on the kindness of volunteers. They will be giving up part of their Christmas holiday to be there for children who need help with bullying, abuse or family relationship issues.

Christmas can be a difficult time for many of us. Charity counsellors are always there to help those most in need.

If you feel that you have issues you need to address over a longer period of time, you can use our directory to locate a qualified counsellor near you.

For the charity phone numbers and to view or comment on the original article, visit UTV. 

We have always known that prevention is better than a cure, so now a team of dementia experts have set out to do just that – spot the signs of the disease and treat them before the symptoms begin to set in.

As the sixth leading cause of death in the UK and with an estimated 750,000 people currently affected, dementia could at some point in the not so distant future become somewhat of an epidemic.

With that in mind a team of researchers will be coming together at a new centre at University College London to see if they can find a way of preventing the disease before it really begins to develop.

The team of experts will be looking into neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, with a view to finding treatments which will slow or halt the progression of the disease so they can apply them as early as possible.

“These treatments must then be offered as early as possible, when the minimum of irretrievable neuronal loss has occurred, in order to have maximum impact on loss of cognitive and neurological function.” Said expert Professor Nick Fox from UCL’s Institute of Neurology.

Professor Clive Ballard from the Alzheimer’s Society went on to say that even though around one in four 75-year-olds have evidence of Alzheimer’s proteins in their brain, there is nothing wrong with them and they have not yet displayed any symptoms.

“And it’s known that the signs appear 10-15 years before the symptoms.” He added.

Instead of focussing their efforts on researching treatments for patients who are already affected, the disease centre at UCL will be the first of its kind to instead investigate preventative treatment.

Being diagnosed with dementia and living with the condition can bring about many difficult emotions. Often, sufferers find it difficult to understand what is happening to them, and family members feel that they are slowly losing a person to whom they are very close. Counselling offers both sufferers themselves and their family the opportunity to speak openly and honestly about their experiences of the condition and ways in which they can move forward.

If counselling for dementia sounds like something that may be of interest to you, please visit our homepage and use the search tool to locate a qualified professional in your local area.

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

According to a study recently carried out in the US, legalising same-sex marriages could create a happier and healthier environment for gay men.

The results of the American study showed that after same-sex marriages were legalised in the state of Massachusetts, the amount of visits to health clinics experienced a significant drop, irrespective of whether or not the men in question were in a stable relationship.

The researchers who conducted the study found that there was a 13% drop in health visits after the new law was passed and there was also a reduction in blood pressure issues, depression and stress related “adjustment disorders”.

Lead author of the study Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler said,” Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men

“Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions.”

With previous research already indicating that gay men are more likely to experience depression and/or suicidal thoughts then heterosexual men, this new wave of research adds further weight to the idea that social exclusion – including disapproval over gay marriage, could be partly to blame.

Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK-based sexual health and HIV charity, have agreed that there is a known link between health and happiness.

According to a spokesperson from the charity, we should not be surprised that individuals who are treated as second-class citizens have low self-esteem – which may be why they are more likely to engage in behaviour that poses health risks.

“It’s no surprise that people who are treated as second class citizens tend to have low self esteem, which in turn makes them more likely to take risks.

“Whether this is drugs, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex, treating gay men unequally has lasting repercussions for their health.”

If you or someone you know are having difficulty coming to terms with your sexuality and you would like to talk about your experiences with a qualified counsellor in confidence, please visit the homepage of this site and use the search tool to contact a professional in your local area.

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

The UK has enjoyed almost a decade of falling divorce rates but, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the numbers are once more on the rise.  

In only one year, the number of couples filing for divorce has increased by almost 5%- a large enough percentage to warrant an explanation.

What is it about the new decade that’s caused so many spouses to give up on their marriages?

According to  government statisticians, the mounting divorce rate can be attributed to the recession.

It’s true, there’s nothing romantic about mounting debts, service cuts and wide-spread redundancies. It seems the effects of the recession on middle-class people has, as divorce lawyer Marilyn Stowe explains, put pressure on marriages.

Ms Stowe says: Its hard to pay school fees. There’s higher tax. That puts pressure on people. They are more likely to become candidates for divorce.”

If you are suffering from marital problems and would like to find out more about how counselling could help, please visit our Relationship Issues page. To find a counsellor, visit the Counselling Directory home page and type your postcode into the search box. 

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NUS warns that more and more students in England are turning to dangerous methods in order to afford the £9000 a year University fees.

According to the English Collective of Prostitutes, which runs a helpline for people working in the sex industry, the number of calls it receives from students has at least doubled over the last year.

Research from the University of Kingston suggests that 20% of women working as lap dancers are students and 16% of all students asked said they would consider working in the sex industry.

Sarah Walker, who works for a prostitute helpline, has noticed an increase in calls since the government announced the planned rise in tuition fees. She told the BBC: “they [government ministers] know that the cuts they’re making are driving women into things like sex work. It’s a survival strategy so we would hold the government responsible for that.”

One young woman has revealed how she started working as an escort when she was 17 in order to fund her £70 weekly travel expenses to college.

The woman decided that in order to complete her A levels and eventually make it to University, she would have to find a job that didn’t clash with her study hours. In the end a friend encouraged her to work for his escort agency and she accepted.

According to the BBC, the young woman now thoroughly regrets her decision and has lost self-confidence and trust in others as a result. She encourages other young people in her position to find out as much as possible about available grants and benefits before making such life-changing decisions.

In light of these worrying reports, the Department of Education has released plans to offer £180 million worth of financial support to the most vulnerable 16-19 year olds hoping to go to University.

If you have worked or are working in the sex industry and you want to speak with a counsellor, you can find out more about the help on offer by visiting Types of Distress. Alternatively you can search for a counsellor using the search tool on the Counselling Directory homepage. 

View and comment on the original BBC article