Depression and Suicidal Thoughts

Having recently left the armed forces after tours in Afghanistan, Adam found himself in such a dark place.  He was struggling to find his sense of purpose and life was seemingly pulling away from him.  His relationship had ended, he was in need of work and was unsure of what he wanted from life.  The days were long, lonely and dark and depression had engulfed him.  It was beginning to swallow everything he once held dear and cover his life in grey clouds.  He found himself wanting the pain of his life to stop, and wondering how he could end his life completely.

Adam had witnessed such terrible things whilst on tour and carried some guilt for having survived where others did not.  He was certain the depression he was feeling was as a result of his experiences over the last few years.  Thoughts of what happened on his tours haunted him and was unable to allow himself to be happy.  He wasn’t sure what the point of it all was anymore.  Everything about his day to day life seemed so unimportant and trivial and his depression sank deeper each passing day.

“Before I came to you I've never been in such a dark place in my life and I don't think I ever will be again. The thought of killing myself on a daily basis just did not seem like a big deal anymore, it was just the thing that was always on my mind. 

After coming to see you I started looking at things more positively and was able to pull myself out of a negative mind space more easily.”

Adam was told about Rapid Transformational Therapy and the support EmpowerPlan can offer by his mother (an EAP member). His mother arranged for him to give it a try. His mother was extremely worried about him as she had noticed how his moods had altered over time.  She was aware of the dark thoughts he was having and knew he needed some form of intervention. Luckily the EAP users are able to transfer their therapy allowance to other members of their household should they need to. We recognise that sometimes employee stress and hardships come from worry and concern for spouses or children.

Rapid Transformational Therapy looks at the root cause of any issue and Adam was surprised by the root cause that showed up during his session.  He had expected it to be as a result of the events experienced whilst on tour, and yet was so surprised to discover that those events were nothing at all to do with why his mental health had deteriorated.  Although they may have acted as a trigger, the root cause came from early on in his life and a belief he had formed at an early age.  A belief he wasn’t aware he held. 

“People say to me now ‘You look happy!’ and that sounds like a small thing, but that is huge for me.  I am in a really good place now with my mental health and mindset.”

After Adam’s initial session we did some coaching around his career goals which also helped to turn his life around.  Finding a new sense of purpose, enjoyment and fulfilment in his life.

10 months after Adam’s initial session, he is now working in his dream job and has just bought a house with his girlfriend.  And has stated that he can’t recommend RTT enough.  It has not only changed his life but it has saved his life.