
Lorraine’s husband Harry had an extreme breakdown in July last year – which left their family of four in a financial crisis.
“He told me he had a migraine and was going to the doctor, but thankfully he told the doctor the truth,” she said.
Harry, 39, served in the Navy for 11 years and had four major deployments including Iraq and Afghanistan.
His wife says there were signs that something was troubling him as far back as 2001, but it wasn’t until a few years after he left the military that he finally spoke to his doctor about it.
Harry said he was hearing voices and his doctor advised him to go to hospital, but then he went missing.
“We had to call the police, we had a search party out for him and that’s initially when it really became obvious that he had a mental health issue. At that stage I didn’t even know it was PTSD, it was the hospital that diagnosed him,” said Lorraine.

Harry was diagnosed with PTSD after four major Naval deployments. Image via Getty.
The Adelaide couple, who have two children, Kelly, 5 and Oein, 4, then got help from a specialist military hospital.
"His body is here but his soul isn't. He's not the person I married any more," says 40-year old Lorraine.
"PTSD totally changes a person, they're so withdrawn and they can be cranky. He doesn't have the temperament with the kids he used to have. And with the depression, there's withdrawal and that isolation from everyone that gets in the way of who he really is."
Top Comments
Good on you Lorraine for telling your story x
Multiply this by many of the damaged men that came back from the great war and were told basically to such it up. They either abused their families or self medicated with alcohol or both. Those ripples are still being felt today