Warrant Officer speaks up to encourage mental health chat
A high ranking soldier is speaking out on his own mental health battle to encourage others not to suffer in silence.
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A high ranking soldier is speaking out on his own mental health battle to encourage others not to suffer in silence.
Deployments had ended and the eerily quiet isolation of COVID took its toll on Warrant Officer Class One Jason Watene as his change in behaviour and response to things prompted him to reach out for help.
With a 30 year army career under his belt, 11 overseas deployments and 14 postings, WO1 Watene said he had unresolved trauma that crept up on him at once.
“I had a few issues I haven’t dealt with over time, due to both my personal life experience, but also to my military experience,” WO1 Watene said.
“Defence has been very helpful.
“I approached a psychiatrist for a referral for (hospital) intake and since then it’s changed my life.”
WO1 Watene took place in a game of wheelchair rugby between Townsville Private Clinic patients and Mates4Mates members as part of Queensland Mental Health Week (10-18 October 2020), an annual awareness week that aims to shine a spotlight on individual and community mental health and wellbeing.
After taking part in a Townsville Private Clinic trauma program, WO1 Watene said he wanted to use the tools he’s learnt to take back to his workplace and better support other serving members of the defence force through their mental health journeys too.
“That course allowed me to identify traumas that I hadn’t dealt with previously,” he said.
“And feel in a comfortable enough environment to actually articulate them to trusted people.
“Some of the stuff that I’ve worked on in the environment that they provide to encourage me and enhance learning opportunities is incredible.”
Originally published as Warrant Officer speaks up to encourage mental health chat