Invisible wounds - Business Works

Invisible wounds

Talking2Minds

A t a time when businesses are looking for ways forward and are not sure of the current economic climate where do they turn? The question to ask is ... “Is the solution to a problem in the problem itself?” Many find this question rather interesting, especially when they find that that the answer is “No”.

In the UK, we have a forgotten workforce with amazing skill sets and a strong dedication to hard work. Ex-military personnel have skills that many of us would give our eye teeth for. However, many of them are suffering with a condition that no-one wants publicly to acknowledge, yet use the term freely, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a wound that is unseen and yet, in some ways, more crippling than a physical injury. Just because you can’t see it, in no way means that it is not there.

Simon Weston, T2M Patron, with Cardiff FC
Simon Weston, T2M Patron, with Cardiff FC

Ex-military personnel are used to working and being needed. When they are medically discharged and having nightmares, flashbacks and are unsure how to live in a civilian world, it is not surprising that many turn to self-medication in the form of drugs, both prescription and recreational drugs, alcohol and many other things. They feel left out, misunderstood and like no-one values them. Many have tried getting help from the NHS, Combat Stress and other organizations with little or no effective results.

Now I have a new life where the past is only there to remind me that change is possible. Without those experiences, I would not have found what I have now. The miracle of the self to transform has amazing powers!
Steve, ex 22 SAS
Talking2Minds (T2M) was set up as a charity to help veterans in this difficult situation. The Founder, Rob Paxman, was one such soldier. Rob, ex-22 SAS and Royal Engineers suffered severe flashbacks and nightmares for a number of years. He was getting very little sleep and self-medicating with controlled drugs and alcohol and eventually he was put in touch with Mick Stott of Quantum Performance. Nothing else had worked so far, so it was time to find something that would make a real difference. As the age-old saying goes, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It was time to do something different.

“Talking2minds is the way forward, using a product that has been around for a while, so it's not new and untested. The technique looks at life in a unique and revolutionary way and with an even and honest eye which means that it achieves better results,” says Simon Weston. Simon is well known for overcoming the injuries he sustained in the Falklands conflict (46% burns) and for redefining his role in life. He is now one of Talking2Minds’ Patrons and one of the UK’s leading motivational speakers.

Talking2Minds

Mick Stott had spent 28 years in the military himself as an Army Physical Training Cores Instructor. He clearly recognized the huge benefits of empowering people and working with them as individuals, rather than as a “collective mind”. Being responsible for the physical, adventurous and recreational training of service personnel and having coached members of the GB Fencing team and numerous other elite athletes with a focus directed at personal performance, Mick gained an invaluable insight into people that would prove to be useful in the design of his unique product, Synergy. The success of Synergy has been proven by statistical analysis and it is the sole therapy used by T2M in their work with PTSD.

During his time in the military Mick witnessed a great deal of PTSD as well as suffering from the condition himself. This has become his passion.

I was in a dark place and the only light came from what felt like a self-destruct button in front of my face. I was nearing rock bottom. By the end of the four days I had a feeling of calmness, clarity and positivity. I had not felt this way in 10 years. I left the programme with this feeling and it has not diminished. I also have a new network of friends that I know I can call on in any time of difficulty.
James, ex-Rifles
In 2004 Mick resigned his commission as Captain to develop a number of therapeutic techniques to a level where he could help ex-military and serving military personnel to move forward from PTSD. This knowledge and many of these techniques used apply equally to the business community and the man in the street. It is the individual’s responsibility to want to make the changes and then to effect the changes they have been assisted to make.

Using these unique techniques, within a very short period of time, Rob no longer suffered nightmares and had his first full nights sleep! He went on to work with Mick to eradicate all his symptoms of PTSD. It was through this that Talking2Minds was born to help others in the same position.

T2M gained charity status in August 2009 and is now a leading charity in the therapeutic treatment of PTSD. What separates Talking2minds from other charities working the field is the unique and revolutionary way of treating the symptoms, the effects and the root causes of the PTSD. With the treatment methods used, it is not necessary to re-live the events in any detail, making it user friendly and less traumatic than other approaches currently being used. Also, many of the practitioners are ex-service personnel who have themselves suffered from PTSD and therefore have a unique understanding of the condition – creating the “Veterans helping Veterans” ethos. Everyone is committed to supporting the families and partners affected by PTSD.

Since establishing the final version of the treatment in August 2009, Talking2Minds has treated over 50 Veterans, enabling them and their families to return to a normal life and take part in their communities, working and fulfilling their potential.

Crucially you weren’t made to feel like a patient – you were a client and you have the answers. The course simply helped you find them within yourself. I found my answers and lost my fear.
Martin, Light Infantry
Once our veterans have healed and are ready to take the next step, our business community will benefit once again from the amazing skill sets that they bring with them. One of the things that we can be grateful for is the training that the military give our veterans and we can all benefit from good values, strong skill sets and, more to the point, our military personnel know how to keep time, do things right and are always dedicated to the job at hand.

Together, Talking2Minds and Quantum Performance are bringing communities together. Once these Veterans have their symptoms taken away, they will be able to support themselves and in turn, that gives them the sense of belonging and value. The business community in turn will benefit from the skills, the increased dedicated work force and knowledge that a lot of civilians do not have.


For further information:
Talking2Minds
t: 020 8133 0217
e: info@talking2minds.co.uk
w: www.talking2minds.co.uk

Quantum Performance
t: 01233 220458
e: info@quantumperformace.org
w: www.quantumpeformance.org

Mick Stott’s approach through Talking2Minds is one that can be used in many ways to include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Personal Development, Professional Sports Performance and High Performance in the business world, opening up an opportunity for anyone that wants to move forward in any way they choose. The techniques have been used with organisations like UKBA (formerly known as Customs and Excise and Immigration), Kent Police, BMW, Fujitsu, EDS, Atlas and the Royal Marines to name a few. Mick also worked with the GB Olympic Skeleton coach, who, using some of the skills he learnt, helped influence members of the team towards wining Gold in the 2010 Olympics in Canada.



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