{"id":4922,"date":"2019-10-16T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T10:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/?p=4922"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:18:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T14:18:56","slug":"poppies-and-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorteddev\/poppies-and-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Poppies and poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In time for this year\u2019s Remembrance Day, Mark Stibbe interviewed ex-British Army helicopter pilot Karl Tearney about learning to manage post-traumatic  stress disorder  (PTSD) through  writing poetry.<\/p>\n

How long did you serve in the army?<\/p>\n

I had always wanted to be a pilot when I was little, but I had a very difficult childhood and I left school without qualifications. In 1983, I joined the Army Air Corps at sixteen. I had to spend eight years as a soldier before training to be a pilot. I passed the pilot\u2019s course in early 1993 and was a helicopter pilot for 24 years. I was really pleased to be a soldier and if I had my time all over, I would do the same again. Who doesn\u2019t want to do the job they enjoy?<\/p>\n

Yet you suffer from PTSD. What caused that?<\/p>\n

My trauma developed over time. It stemmed back to my experiences in Bosnia; what I saw there was appalling. What made it far worse was that I couldn\u2019t shoot or intervene when I saw atrocities taking place. At least in N...<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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