ABOUT US
Stand Tall for PTS was founded in 2010 by Tony Dell, a Vietnam Veteran who spent 40 years of his life with PTSD without being diagnosed. This totally volunteer not for profit was originally founded to help the other thousands of Vietnam Veterans who had no idea why their lives had turned sour after they came home.
Within a few years the target market had grown to include serving military, Veterans of other conflicts and our First Responders.
And now, at the beginning of 2020, Stand Tall is arguably Australia’s foremost promoter of PTS awareness, champion of total collaboration with other ESOs, researchers and mental health professionals and promoter of more action by governments.
Stand Tall along with other ESOs and interested parties is planning to promote 2020 as a watershed year for the improvement of treatment for PTS, the reduction of the stigma associated with all mental illness and the reduction of mental health associated suicides.
SOME INSIGHT INTO THE BOLT 4 MENTAL TRAUMA FUNDRAISER
WHAT IS MENTAL TRAUMA?
Most people will go through at least 1 traumatic event in their lives, but not everyone will respond in the same way. It is difficult to get accurate information about the prevalence of stress and trauma and associated impacts because of the complex events and variation in individual responses. Previous research has shown that 90% of public mental health clients have been exposed to (and most have actually experienced) multiple experiences of trauma (Jennings 2004).
As many as a quarter of patients in quarantine due to COVID-19 had trauma-related mental health problems, with evidence that these symptoms could last for a number of years.
In the previous 12 months, 17.7% of transitioned ADF personnel had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to 8.7% still serving in the ADF full-time, and 5.2% in the Australian community.
First responders are more likely to suffer from psychological distress due to job stress, repeated exposure to trauma, lack of sleep, the physical demands of the job, lack of resources and working long hours or multiple jobs.
5 years after the brushfires, 22% of people in high impact communities were still reporting symptoms of mental health disorders.
https://www.jems.com/2020/07/28/first-responders-and-ptsd-a-literature-review/
https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/4/is-the-bushfire-mental-health-response-adequate/