10 Minute Mend: Developing PTSD After the Military
On The Mend
High Performance
4.9 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 2 April 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this heartwarming conversation, former special forces soldier Jason Fox opens up about his experience with PTSD, depression, and chronic burnout after leaving the military. He shares the reality of hitting rock bottom, including a moment standing on the edge of a cliff, and the turning point that forced him to confront his mental health with honesty.
The discussion explores how high-pressure environments can rewire the brain, why returning to “normal life” can feel so difficult, and how impulsive emotional moments can lead to dangerous decisions. Viewers will gain insight into concepts like operator syndrome, emotional control, and the hidden challenges many face after intense careers.
This episode offers an honest look at mental health, recovery, and resilience, with practical takeaways around self-awareness, managing emotions, and the importance of speaking up before reaching breaking point.
Need Support?
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Mental Health Mates: mentalhealthmates.co.uk
Shout: https: giveusashout.org
IAPT: england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/nhs-talking-therapies/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Want to know who's coming up next? |
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| 0:05.5 | Were you diagnosed with PTSD? |
| 0:07.3 | Yeah. |
| 0:07.8 | So my diagnosis was PTSD, depression and chronic burnout. |
| 0:12.1 | So there was a few different things. |
| 0:13.3 | The burnout was attributed to always going away. |
| 0:15.7 | You know, it's during a busy period for the British Armed Forces. |
| 0:22.0 | And obviously the PTSD, that's what they call the syndrome. |
| 0:26.3 | Yeah. |
| 0:26.7 | It's funny, when I look back on that period and the period after, you know, after I left, |
| 0:32.0 | it always seems a bit fuzzy. |
| 0:34.2 | Yeah. |
| 0:34.6 | I look back on it and I'm like every day was miserable. |
| 0:54.5 | It rained every day. But the period spanned about two years, two and a half years. So I'm like, couldn't have rained every day. Right. Yeah. Because my mind was in a weird place. I've heard you spoke publicly about suicidal thoughts. You know, this is something that we get asked about or, and I don't feel fully equipped to talk about that. So, I mean, can you talk us through what happened there? |
| 0:58.7 | Yeah, so it was, I'd left and I was a, and I'd left under this cloud of mental health. |
| 1:04.4 | So I was really embarrassed and I was, you know, I've come away from what people, I suppose |
| 1:08.0 | the outside world looking in would see the special forces as a very |
| 1:11.9 | alpha male, you know, loaded testosterone, that rubbish. It's not actually like that, but I felt embarrassed |
| 1:19.1 | about it, so I cut it all away. I like, couple my mates off. I disappeared into deepest, darkest |
| 1:24.6 | Devon, and just tried to get on with being normal. |
| 1:28.9 | And it was hard. |
... |
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