Firefighter Paul Sharratt’s traumas compelled him to get help
FIREFIGHTER Paul Sharratt’s battle with PTSD and testicular cancer is the reason why he is one of thousands of Australian men taking part in Movember. He still has flashbacks to when he was helping survivors of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.
NSW
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WHEN firefighter Paul Sharratt fell through a floor and landed on his head during a traumatic house fire, he thought he was going to die.
The acting station officer had been in plenty of scrapes during his 23-year career — including surviving testicular cancer — but this was different.
Obviously he did survive but it gave him flashbacks to when he was helping survivors of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand, which killed 185 people.
“We were taking a woman out of the building and there was an aftershock,” the father-of-three said.
“We got hit by bits of concrete and I thought: ‘This is it’. Falling through the floor back in Sydney took me back to Christchurch.”
But, like many first responders, he dusted himself off and went back to work. He was trained to look out for signs of mental issues in fellow fireys. The irony was he did not have the strength to face what he was going through.
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He improved his diet, took up exercise and changed his lifestyle but nothing helped his depression, anxiety and withdrawal from others.
“It took me two months before I reported that I was suffering,” he said.
“I thought that I could get through it myself and I would be able to make changes in my life to get there. I didn’t realise that the changes were not helping but I needed to do more.”
Mr Sharratt was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2017. About one in four people who are exposed to traumatic events suffer PTSD and about seven per cent of Australians suffer from the condition.
“I have lost mates to mental health issues and PTSD and I did not want to go down the path myself,” Mr Sharratt said.
“We are first responders so we tend to look after ourselves last.”
Mr Sharratt’s battle with PTSD and testicular cancer is the reason why he is one of thousands of Australian men taking part in Movember.
The charity event gets blokes to grow a moustache in November, raising money for men’s mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer research.
“The reality is you are not alone; everyone has had the condition you have had and you can get help,” he said.
“By coming forward and telling my story I want to make it easier for others to do the same.”
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